What Ifs...

 What IFS is a powerful acronym for remembering three important mental models. 

I - Inversion 

F - First Principles 

S - Second-Order Thinking

Inversion thinking is simply figuring out the opposite of your objective. 

If you were planning a birthday party for someone and wanted to make it a great party the inversion technique can help you think through potential blind spots. 

You might ask yourself "if I were planning the worst possible birthday party what would that look like."

This mental exercise turns the tables on the planning process and allows you to think through, in a fun and creative way, all the ways you would plan a terrible party. After you list them out you map them to their opposite points. 

The second aspect of What IFs is the first principle. 

First-principles is a mental model and exercise that helps you break down complex ideas and processes into their core basic components. 

This is a helpful exercise when you are feeling overwhelmed and do not know where to start. Thinking through first principles allows you to deconstruct and reassemble any process or project from the ground up. 

Lastly, second-order thinking gets you in the mindset to think through various outcomes based on decisions made. This is where you can think through the unintended consequences of your decisions and actions. 

Putting all three of these models together will allow you to make better, more rational decisions. 

If I can think through the design or implementation by looking at the inverse and breakdown the problem to its core components and rationalize and understand potential unintended consequences this is a formula for making better decisions.