Running Great Sessions
A brilliant technique still fails without good facilitation. Ideation is a designed experience: the facilitator sets the frame, manages energy and psychological safety, protects the two modes, and drives to a real output. Here is what separates a session that produces gold from one that wastes an hour.
Before the session
Sharpen the question. Frame a specific, constraint-rich "How Might We". Too broad and you get mush; too narrow and you get one answer.
Curate the group. Diverse perspectives beat homogeneous experts. Keep it small (roughly 5-7) so everyone contributes.
Prepare the space. Walls to write on, sticky notes, a timer, and a clear plan of which techniques you'll run.
During the session
IDEO's classic rules
1. Defer judgment
2. Encourage wild ideas
3. Build on the ideas of others
4. Stay focused on the topic
5. One conversation at a time
6. Be visual
7. Go for quantity
Closing the session
Never end a session with a wall of unsorted stickies. Converge deliberately: cluster related ideas, apply agreed criteria (desirable, feasible, viable), and let the group vote (e.g. dot voting) to surface a focused shortlist. Assign owners and next steps so ideas become action - otherwise the energy evaporates by Monday.
Think of the last ideation session you attended. Which of these practices were present, and which were missing? What was the single biggest reason it did or didn't produce useful ideas?
Sources
- Kelley, T., The Art of Innovation, 2001 (IDEO brainstorming rules).
- IDEO, "Seven Rules of Brainstorming".
- Global Innovation Institute (GInI), Foundations of Innovation body of knowledge.