Dr Frederik G. PferdtFrom Stanford & Google — To You

3 Words That Unlock Every Big Problem (Laura Jones, CMO of Instacart)

12 May 2026 · 1 min

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Laura Jones, Instacart's CMO, explains how the question "how might we" creates space for teams to brainstorm without presupposing solutions. Learned at Stanford's d.school, this design-thinking tool suspends disbelief and lets even impossible ideas surface.

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I think that that tool of how might we is the key because what I love about framing things in that way is it creates so much space. It is the most open-ended question possible. It doesn't suppose that you even can, like the answer might be like, No, there's no, there's no applicability, but it leaves so much room open. So I think again, going back to the d.school, I learned that skill of asking how might we as kind of the jumping off point for ideation. And I think that has just opened so many doors in terms of new ideas and really kind of suspending disbelief. Another, another term that I learned at the d.school.