117 How You Can Generate Ideas

<p>How to best tap into the idea potential of our work teams?  We know that the success of the organisation will be determined by the quality of the ideas we generate and the capacity to execute those excellent insights. Gathering folk around the white board and having a free form pitchfest of ideas is more often destructive than creative.  Dominant personalities always hog the white board content. There is usually only one speed of idea creation being employed – fast, which is the easiest but most lightweight. </p> <p> </p> <p>Researchers are questioning whether the group idea creation model actually works best at all, so how should we involve the team when producing ideas? </p> <p> </p> <p>Here are the steps: ensure there is a facilitator to run the activity so the process is followed correctly.  Use Green Light/Red Light thinking to maximise the opportunity to build up our idea bench strength.  In the Green Light phase we promote idea free flow without impediment.  This means no critiquing of ideas as they emerge. </p> <p> </p> <p>Green Light thinking moves through seven stages.</p> <p> </p> <p>Stage One - SILENCE.  We ask that each person sit quietly and think.  As they capture an idea, they write it clearly on a Post It note.  The individuals in the team attach their Post It notes to the whiteboard, again in total silence.  In this way, there is no pressure on anyone.  Each person can think at their own pace, there are no power plays underway and there is no critique of what is being produced.  We are seeking quantity not quality of ideas at this stage</p> <p> </p> <p>Stage Two - the team go through the Post It notes on the white board together and rearrange them into columns of similar topics.  Again, there is no evaluation or commentary on the content, just some clarification as to what was written down, if it is not clear to other members of the group.  The column is given a topic name and this is written at the top of the column.</p> <p> </p> <p>Stage Three - each of the teams share what they have come u