Objective: Dramatically improve brainstorming/ideation session results by avoiding the common mistakes most organizations make in planning and executing them.

Key Learnings:

Learn the 9 most common mistakes, and how to turn them to your advantage with straightforward remedies:

1. Lack of commitment

2. Amateur or poor facilitation

3. No time for idea incubation

4. Poorly defined goals

5. Lack of brainstorming skill due to no practice

6. Not inviting “trouble makers”

7. Guessing consumer needs

8. Cutting out the fun in order to get more done

9. Not getting into action after the session

Ideation — sometimes known as brainstorming — is a powerful technique to use in problem solving and new product invention. Ideation is essentially structured brainstorming. Traditional brainstorming – a technique that has been around for years — falls in and out of favor because results are too frequently hit or miss. Ideation, on the other hand, addresses most of the shortcomings of brainstorming by putting a structure around it. The structure includes techniques to generate not only more ideas, but more on-target ideas.

This added structure works — and more corporations are realizing the benefits and joining the trend. Managers are often pleased with results — but perhaps not pleased often enough. Managers sometimes end up disappointed because the sessions are subtly compromised – sometimes by the participants, sometimes by the “system,” sometimes by the planners themselves. In the latter case, it’s unintended of course, but the effect is the same – the session is “hosed.”

Gregg Fraley, an experienced ideation facilitator, will give you nine ways to avoid disaster, and have a great ideation session. Given the investment of time and money, and the dramatic need in today’s competitive market, it might be a strategic investment.