Preparing your brainstorm like a pro in 3, 2, 1
Do you believe that you can only be creative if you let go of structure? And that a stack of stickies is all you need? Think again. It is not without reason that people say that 90% of the success depends on the preparation. And it is no different for brainstormingsessions!
If you no longer want to be disappointed in the results of your session and you want to organize a brainstorm that truly makes an impact, make sure that you go through 3 essential steps during and after the preparatory meeting with your client: the Knowing, Feeling and Doing-triangle, the Stakeholder Circle and the mother of all checklists.
🔺 Part 1: the Knowing-Feeling-Doing Triangle
Are you going to sit down with your client for the first exploration of a possible brainstorming session? Then make sure you have prepared yourself with the Knowing-Feeling-Doing Triangle. This provides you with tools to understand:
1. the current situation;
2. the drive of your client ;
3. how future-proof the results of the session will be.
How these three factors will help you achieve the intended goal? Read along, brainfluencer!
1.1 Knowing — mapping the facts
What is the core problem or question? What has the client already done to solve the issue? What solutions do they have in mind? Make sure you have all the facts on the table.
Also, discover whether your client is the ultimate decision-maker or if there is someone else who calls the shots. Can the ideas that come out of the brainstorm be implemented immediately? If your client is not allowed to make the big decisions, it might be smart to also get the real decision-maker at the table — or at least on board.
And don’t forget to turn the issue into an effective brainstorming question! Read how in our article ‘7 tricks to build the perfect brainstorming question’.
1.2 Feeling — do you feel the drive?
Listen to your gut. Do you feel that your client is motivated to solve the problem? Do you notice their drive, energy and enthusiasm? Green light!
But does your gut feeling tell you that the client may not really want this brainstorm to happen? Do you hear words about opportunities and solutions, but does your client feel as if it makes him unhappy or bored? Orange light!
Ask questions to discover if this brainstorming is more like a shotgun wedding. Or that it is a company trip in disguise. If that is the case, then you should probably design the brainstorm differently. Or come to the conclusion that a brainstorm is not the answer.
If a brainstorm is purely for fun, a creativity training or a mindstorm — a session where participants brainstorm about their own questions — might be much more appropriate. Brainstorm right or don’t brainstorm at all!
1.3 Doing — is this future proof?
Nothing is more frustrating than a brainstorm with great results — and that nobody does anything with them. That is why you need to ask the right questions: is the client able to create the right follow-up to the brainstorm?
Check whether the organization has enough manpower and resources to be able to roll out the plans. Yes? Good. Because you don’t want to do it for less.
🔵 Part 2: the Stakeholder-circle
During this step, you’ll focus on the stakeholders of this brainstorm. Who are the main characters of this story? Who are the people most affected by the problem and the solution? If you understand this, you’ll also know who you want to give a role in the session — and who you don’t!
2.1 Main and supporting roles
Take the model (or draw it yourself, 3 circles ain’t that complicated) and fill in the circles. You put the people who will ‘feel’ the outcomes of the brainstorming smack dab in the middle. For example: the customer of your client. Around it, you put the people who are indirectly involved. Put the people who influence each other close to each other — or maybe you want to keep them apart.
You also look at the roles these people play. Are they (informal) decision-makers, the people you need to have on board to make sure the show will go on? Or someone who will influence you from the sidelines? Finally, they could also be gatekeepers: secretaries, for example, or the secretary of the board. In other words: the people who give you access to the big guns.
2.2 Build a dream team
Now that you have the key players, supporting roles and other stakeholders in view, it is time to build the ideal brainstorming team. And just like in sports, look further than the star players, look at group dynamics. Maybe you shouldn’t invite the non-enthusiastic departmental head for the brainstorm, but give them in a different role. And do invite that receptionist who is always bubbling with ideas.
Pro-tip: let the target group participate in the session. It can be a hundred times more effective if you can test your ideas directly with the target group — or make them come up with ideas that your team never could have thought of!
2.3 The perfect formula for your ideation team
Are you unsure who to invite to your brainstorm? A handy maxim is the 40/40/20 rule. 40% specialists, 40% generalists and 20% wizards.
- 40% specialists: The experts, who know everything about the subjects in the session.
- 40% generalists: All-rounders who know enough about the subject, but are also familiar with other subjects. In internal brainstorms, these are often people from other departments.
- 20% wizards 🧙: These are your wildcards, the wizards who will provide a high level of magi.. creativity. In addition to the wizards, there are four other stereotypes that you encounter during brainstorming: shadows, bosses, critics and deputies. Learn to recognize them and use that to your advantage.
✅ Part 3: Prepare for the best
If you are perfectly prepared in terms of subject-matter; but you do not have enough stickies and the location is as boring as it gets, then you still will not achieve the best possible results from the brainstorm. Therefore, make sure that the facilities are also arranged down to the last detail.
Who is responsible for all the arrangements? That too is essential to coordinate. Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups. Things like “weren’t you supposed to bring the sharpies?” or “I thought you sent the invitation!”, makes no one happy.
And do not lose sight of the details. It will not be the first time that the client says that they have loads of stickies in the office. And then it turns out to be 50 units, while you need 200. Or they are just those boring yellow ones, while you wanted those nice rainbow colours that make everyone feel like a kid again.
A suitable location is also massively important. That musty box with a dropped ceiling is not going to give you the most creative results. Read our article about the Brain Fuel funnel to learn more about choosing your location.
And then .. check, double-check and triple-check!
If you:
1. have extracted all the necessary information from the client,
2. have a good feeling about this brainstorm,
3. have an overview of the stakeholders,
4. have put together a dream team,
5. know who is responsible for what,
then it is time to tick off the necessary checklists.
That way you’ll know for sure that you’re brainstorming session will be excellent at the least. Below you’ll find some basic examples, but feel more than free to add whatever is relevant for your session!
Checklist part 1: is your client R.A.W?
☑️ Resourceful: does the client have the required capacities and resources?
☑️ Authorized: can the client take the necessary decisions himself?
☑️ Willing: does the client feel driven to improve the situation?
(Yeah, I know this is cheesy but it was the best acronym I could come up with. The alternative was ‘Is your client ready for W.A.R?’)
Checklist part 2: participants
☑️ How many participants are there?
☑️ Are there (40%) specialists?
☑️ Are there (40%) generalists?
☑️ Are there (20%) wizards?
☑️ optional: representatives of the target group
☑️ optional: brainstorming stereotypes (shadows, wizards, bosses, deputies, critics)
☑️ optional: male / female ratio
Checklist part 3: facilities
☑️ Who invites the participants?
☑️ At what time do we start / who is responsible for the playbook
☑️ Does the location meet all requirements?
☑️ What materials are needed? (a separate checklist for this might be wise)
☑️ Who brings what?
☑️ Do we need food and drinks?
Ticked off all the boxes? Could it be that you have made all the preparations to turn this brainstorm into a magical, meaningful and effective session? Yes you did!
Do you want to learn more about ideation? Do you want to become a brainstorming master? Find me at Brain Fuel or e-mail me at friso@brainfueltool.com. Always happy to help and happy to receive help!
