Weigh each idea on a short list by its Positives, Interesting points, Negatives and Concerns.
A simple pros-and-cons list misses two things that often decide whether an idea succeeds. One is the curious parts: features that aren't clearly good or bad yet, but might turn out to be valuable. The other is the worries: things that haven't gone wrong, but could. The PINC Filter gives each of these its own box.
For each idea on your shortlist you fill four boxes. Positives are clear benefits. Interesting points are intriguing features whose value isn't proven yet. Negatives are clear costs or drawbacks. Concerns are risks that might bite later. Fill one box at a time for one idea at a time, then compare the finished boxes side by side.
Use it when you're down to two to five strong ideas and want a careful look before committing, or when an idea seems promising but people can't say exactly why they feel uneasy.
Positives and Negatives are clear now. Interesting points and Concerns are possibilities to explore or check.
Choose a part of the diagram or a tab to explore each box.
What's clearly good about this idea?
What's intriguing about this idea, even if you can't yet say it's good?
What's clearly bad, costly or weak about it?
What might go wrong, even though it hasn't yet?
Adding two boxes to a pros-and-cons list sounds like a small change. It changes what people notice.
Unusual features are often dismissed because nobody can yet explain why they're good. The Interesting box keeps them alive without forcing anyone to defend them. Plenty of good ideas start as “that's odd, but I like it”.
A vague sense of unease can quietly sink a good idea in a meeting. Separating Concerns from Negatives makes people name the worry, so it can be checked, tested or planned for instead of silently blocking the idea.
Every finalist gets the same four boxes and the same attention. Lining the boxes up side by side makes real differences visible and keeps the most talked-about idea from winning by default.
Once you pick an idea, its Negatives and Concerns are the obvious next problems to solve. The PINC box turns straight into an improvement plan for the winner.
Bring two to five strong ideas, no more. PINC takes time for each idea, so narrow a longer list first with Negative Selection or a NUF Test.
For each idea, write its name at the top of a page and split the page into four boxes: Positives and Interesting on top, Negatives and Concerns below.
Work through Positives, Interesting, Negatives and Concerns in turn, with everyone thinking about the same box. Welcome odd, half-formed thoughts in Interesting. In Concerns, note each worry without arguing it away yet.
Fill a fresh box for each finalist, in the same order and with the same time. Change who speaks first, so the same voices don't set the tone every time.
Put all the boxes up side by side. Don't count the comments; weigh them. Choose the idea to take forward, then turn its Negatives and Concerns into the next problems to solve.
A flipchart page per idea divided into four boxes, sticky notes in two colors, a timer and about an hour. With AI, use the prompt below.
Business: a family bakery with two ovens and five staff. Finalists: a bread subscription, Saturday baking classes, and supplying two local cafés. Goal: steady income in the slow months.
Classes fill the quiet Saturday afternoons, bring in $65 a seat and use ovens that sit idle after noon. Regulars have asked for them for years.
Students could become the bakery's most loyal fans. Class recipes could become a small cookbook. Local schools might book private sessions.
Someone has to teach every week, and the owner is already worn out on Saturdays. Prep and cleanup add about three hours.
What if only four people sign up? Do we need extra insurance with the public in the kitchen? Will regulars mind a busier shop?
Strong Positives, such as steady, predictable income, but big Concerns about delivery costs and customers canceling after a month.
Easy to start, but the Negatives were heavy: thin margins, 4 a.m. baking and depending on just two buyers.
The team chose the classes. Their Negatives were the easiest to fix, since a part-time baker could teach, and their Interesting box hinted at growth the other ideas lacked. The first Concern became a quick test: one pilot class, advertised only to regulars.
Teams usually fill one box well and the others poorly. Optimists flood Positives, cautious people flood Concerns, and Interesting stays nearly empty. AI can even that out. It can add points to thin boxes, separate real Negatives from vague Concerns and compare finalists evenly. You know which points truly matter for your business.
Ask for more in the box your team finds hardest, which is often Interesting.
Our Interesting box for the baking classes is nearly empty. Give me 6 curious angles, even odd ones.
Turn each worry into a quick, cheap way to check whether it's real.
For each Concern on our list, suggest a quick, cheap way to find out whether it's a real problem.
Get a side-by-side view so no idea gets more attention than the others.
Put our three PINC boxes side by side in one table and show where one idea clearly beats the others.
Turn the chosen idea's Negatives and Concerns into the next problems to solve.
Turn the Negatives and Concerns for our chosen idea into 'How might we...' questions for our next session.
List your shortlist, pick a mode, then copy the prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. In coach mode the AI takes you through one idea and one box at a time, asks for your points first, then helps you compare and choose.
The “Open in” links put the prompt in the web address. If your challenge includes anything sensitive, copy and paste instead.
After the session, click one to copy it, then paste it into the same chat.