Card #21 – ”Seek Prospects” from the Creative Whack Pack
Available on the iOS App Store and as a physical deck of cards

Be on the lookout for opportunities — especially in situations where things have gone sour.
Example: after the Great Fire of Rome razed most of the city in AD 64 (during Nero’s reign), Roman officials realized they needed to rethink their basic construction methods to prevent future conflagrations. The result was a radically upgraded building code, in which the use of wood in beams was discouraged.
This change allowed the widespread use of a fairly new building material: pozzolana-enriched concrete. This flexible material freed Roman architects from constraints such as right angles, and allowed them to develop new shapes, such as the dome and the vault.
The catastrophe of the fire served as a catalyst for architectural change.
— If your idea were burnt to a crisp, what opportunities would you sniff out in its ashes?