The Leapfrog-and-Retreat
Design a radical future version to break mental constraints, then fold the best ideas back into the current product
When a current product's problems become overwhelming, shift attention to designing a radically ambitious future version. This futurist exercise forces bold thinking and breaks the mental constraints that come from being mired in current problems. After the sprint, harvest the best ideas and fold them back into the current product, then snap attention back to near-term execution with renewed clarity and specific innovations that would never have emerged from incremental thinking.
- When stuck on current-product problems, shift attention to designing a radically ambitious future version
- The directive for the future version should be: if it has any chance of working, include it
- Give the design sprint a compressed timeline—weeks, not months
- Harvest the best ideas and fold them back into the current product
- Then immediately snap attention back to near-term execution
- Declare a moonshot successor productName a radically ambitious future version of your current product. Set expectations that this is a blue-sky exercise with no constraints other than physics.Pro tipGive it a distinct name to separate it psychologically from the current product. Musk used '1337 engine' to distinguish it from Raptor 2.
- Sprint on the future design with extreme ambitionFor a compressed period (2-4 weeks), have the team design the future version with the directive that any idea with a non-zero chance of success should be included.Pro tipThe purpose is not to build a product—it is to break mental constraints and generate ideas that would never emerge from incremental thinking.WarningDo not let the exercise drag on for months. The sprint must be time-boxed to maintain energy and prevent it from becoming a distraction.
- Identify practical innovations from the sprintAfter the sprint, critically evaluate which bold ideas from the future design are actually practical for the current product.Pro tipThe best ideas are usually deletions—things the future design did without that the current product still has.
- Fold innovations back and resume executionIncorporate the practical innovations into the current product and immediately resume focus on near-term execution and production.Pro tipThe return to execution should be abrupt and decisive. The team now has renewed clarity and specific improvements to implement.
When Raptor 2 development was stuck, Musk spent October 2021 forcing the team to design a revolutionary 1337 engine with no constraints. After the sprint, he abruptly pivoted back to Raptor 2, incorporating ideas from the 1337 exercise like removing shrouds and skirts.
Musk used this method during the Raptor engine crisis in 2021. When Raptor 2 development was stuck, he spent October forcing the team to design a revolutionary future engine called the 1337 engine, with the directive: if an idea has a chance of success above zero, put it in. After the sprint, the team identified which bold ideas were practical, folded them back into Raptor 2 (removing shrouds, skirts, and other components), and resumed production focus. Raptor 2 then reached production of more than one engine per day.