• Step 1: Create a clear focus area for your idea generations session, backed up with some non-negotiable rules (yes, rules) and set up the room (or digital space) for the session.
• Step 2: Use proven idea generation prompts to get good ideas that can solve the problem or give you growth ideas.
• Step 3: Use idea multipliers to improve and amplify your ideas to create ground-breaking solutions.

Look at all the most successful idea generation sessions. They all have rules (constraints on what you can and can’t do and time limits), prompts that get the mind firing, and multipliers that improve the ideas.
 
Here’s how you can do it:

An ideal room set-up is one that:

• Makes the room feel different to a typical meeting room
• Stimulates the senses (especially visually)
• Engages people the moment they walk in or join (if digital room)
• Has space for people to stand and place posters on the wall
• Is set up for easy conversations (e.g. sitting around a round table)

In an era of meeting overload, most meetings feel the same – like a waste of time and boring. Having a meeting space that looks and feels like every other hum drum meeting subconsciously tells people there’s no need to do anything different. Research backs up the concept that our physical environment affects our thinking. Dull space equals dull ideas.
 

This is just one of the reasons why most idea generation sessions never reach a tipping point of exponential ideas.

Don’t make your next brainstorming session boring. Hit the Twitter icon below to tweet a link and tag your team (or any other people who think long brainstorming sessions = more ideas).

If running a brainstorming session in your standard meeting room isn’t the answer to getting more high-quality ideas, then what is?

1. Think of 3 thought-provoking questions
2. Stick up posters with the thought-provoking questions
3. Supply tables with multiple coloured Post-it Notes
4.  Have colourful fidget toys, e.g. PlayDoh on the table
5. Have reams of coloured paper on tables
6. Have multiple flip charts around the room
7. Have modelling putty (Blu-Tac) for easy sticking of ideas/ posters
8. Have fun background music playing and have an easily visible timer
9. Have a visual agenda of the session drawn up on a poster
10. Have water and a couple of snacks on the tables

Early into one of my client engagements, I spent time observing how teams ran their idea generation sessions. Here’s what I saw repeatedly happening across the organisation.

• Problem defined (usually around 10 minutes)
• Facilitator asks for participants to share ideas (no technique, prompts or process)
• First-person shares idea aloud (no writing down of idea)
• Critiquing on the first idea around the room begins (usually 15 minutes)
• After 25 minutes, the total output is 1 substandard idea.
   

The three types of prompts that are the most consistent are:

1. Question prompts
2. Reverse brainstorming
3. Forced Connections with a random object
    

Question prompts are the easiest and most effective of all idea generating prompts.

A question prompt can be as simple as asking the group, “Is there anything we can substitute for improving this product or solving this problem?” And then, give the team a couple of minutes to write down all the potential substation ideas they can generate individually (I’ll explain more about this sharing part in the bonus section).

There are a host of acronyms that people can use to help make it easy to ask these idea-generating prompts. A common one is SCAMPER, while one of ours is SCRAMBLE™️. Why scramble? Because not only does it mean for a pilot or fighter aircraft to take off immediately for action, but it also means to jumble things together and mix things up. 

• SUBSTITUTION: What could you substitute? 
• COMBINATION: What could you combine? 
• REVERSE: What could you reverse? 
• ADAPT/ADDITION: What could you adapt or add? 
• MULTIPLY: What could you multiply? 
• BREAK DOWN/BREAK UP: What could you break down or break up? 
• LEVERAGE: What could you leverage? 
• ELIMINATE: What could you eliminate? 

1. Use one prompt at a time
2. People write down their own ideas (one idea per post-it note)
3. Have a time limit for each question prompt, e.g. 90 seconds
4. Do not share or critique ideas during the session
5. Have the question visible to everyone and applied to the focus area

Reverse brainstorming involves a few steps, yet it’s guaranteed to create outstanding ideas. 

This idea generation technique is so successful because it taps into your brain’s negativity bias. The negativity bias has evolved in humans to avoid danger. Your negativity bias continuously looks for threats, risks, and potential mistakes. 
  
The reverse brainstorming technique is counterintuitive because it gets you to look at all the things you can’t do.
 
Here’s how to do it:
 
Grab a sheet of paper and draw two vertical lines parallel to each other so you have three columns and label the columns like this: 

Next, consider your insights or area of reinvention focus. Start by thinking of all the things you can’t do around the focus area. You’re trying to focus on not solving the problem. Yes, that seems counterintuitive. Go with me on this one. 

You want to look for all the ways to ensure this problem is NOT solved. Alternatively, you can look for all the things you shouldn’t do. 
  
In the far-left column, you will list everything you could do to ensure the problem is not solved.
 
Once your left column list is complete, it’s time to do the opposite. 

In your far-right column, list as many crazy opposites to each can’t or should not do activities.
 
Sometimes the complete opposite crazy-to-do activity is not such a bad idea. That’s okay. You can work that out later. Once you’ve gone through each one of your can’t dos and created the crazy opposites, then it’s time to work on your can-do column. 

The can-do column is when you look at your crazy opposites while considering your insight focus area and ask yourself, “What would I need to do for us to get away with this commercially?” If the crazy-to-do action is doable, leave it as is; if it’s not feasible, what would be a viable version of it?
 
Best practices for a highly reverse brainstorming prompt activity are:

1. Make sure you are applying to a specific focus area
2. Work the left column first, then 3rd column, and only work the middle column after these two
3. Stretch yourself for the crazy ideas (the crazier, the better)
4. Go for a high quantity 

This prompt works so well because it doesn’t feel like you are trying to solve a problem. It works by stealth. Steal it and use it now!

Edward de Bono, who coined the term ‘lateral thinking’, developed several ways to break the habits and patterns of thought. In particular, De Bono mastered the use of ‘random prompts’ to elicit new ideas. In a nutshell, De Bono discovered that by using a random prompt (such as showing someone a picture and getting them to record their initial thoughts) and then forcing the person to think of a way to link those thoughts to the creative focus area, the result was very fresh creative ideas.

A random ‘word prompt’ approach is one effective version of this.

Here’s how to use a random word prompt:
Use a book or piece of writing, randomly open a page, run your finger down the page and stop on the nearest noun. Even if you don’t like the noun, use it anyway. For example, if the word you find is ‘shark’, you then look for any first thoughts about the word shark. List all the words you can think of, e.g. teeth, danger, blood, jaws, water, cold, movies, blockbuster, Hollywood, fear, fish and chips, and so on. 

This will create sufficient disruption to your traditional problem-solving approach.

 Now link these disruption-generated words and force yourself to link the words with the area in which you want to be creative. Once you have established the first thoughts, focus on the first association.

How could you use it to incorporate new concepts?
Make sure you look for ideas beyond the original prompt and go with any wild associations your mind has. Forget logic!

There are many different techniques you can use to create prompts. For example, you could create boxes that contain physical prompts, such as colour swabs, pictures, and items with different textures, smells or sounds, all to prompt yourself in the ‘wrong’ direction and get the ‘right’ results

Best practices for a highly productive random forced connection prompt idea generation activity are:

1. Use a fiction book instead of a non-fiction book
2. Make sure you work with a noun
3. Once you have your associations – forget the original prompt word
4. Have a time limit for the activity

Most business people stop when they have a couple of ideas. The busy mind says, "We've got a solution. Let's get on with it". More often than not, the solution is sub-par and ineffective in dealing with the problem or opportunity at hand.

Research shows that we need quantity to create quality. The higher your quota of ideas, the more likely you are to get the breakthrough ideas. The challenge is getting all those extra ideas that get you past the ordinary solutions into the breakthrough solutions stage. That's where idea multipliers come in.

Idea multipliers are essential techniques to turn one idea into 10 more new ideas. And because you are using some new ideas already as a springboard for the new ones, generating new ideas seems easier and faster. That's why it's so productive and valuable.

Earlier, I mentioned how the human brain is an association machine. Idea multipliers tap into this superpower to enable us to create multiple variations and improvements on ideas. Meaning you get more effective, profitable ideas and solutions quicker.
 
There are 3 main idea multipliers that I've found work most effectively:

1. Brainwriting
2. Alternatives
3. Gap filling
    

Brainwriting is commonly used as an idea generation technique on its own. I've found, however, through running idea generation workshops with thousands of people over the last two decades, that this technique is used at the wrong time. If used too early in an idea generation session, you lose the multiplying effect it can have.

The basic concept of brainwriting is this:
Participants write an idea down on a PostIt Note or small card and then pass it to the person next to them. They then use that idea to either trigger their ideas or look at an improvement. 
 
If this technique is done early in an idea generation session, I've noticed that the number of quality ideas generated is 65% less than if the activity is done later. Now that you know it's better to use this technique later in an idea session, let's find out how.
 
Traditionally people would begin by writing down as many ideas as possible (one per post-it note). But we're looking for something other than traditional results. We want exceptional results, so here's how we do it differently:
Have each person collect their best ideas from earlier in the session (one idea per post-it note). Next, get people to share one of those ideas with the person sitting next to you (if seated at a table, pass them in a clockwise direction).

Use the previous person's post-it note ideas to help prompt you to generate new ideas. Write down any new ideas or modifications to the previous ideas (one idea per post-it note). 2-3 minutes

Pass your post-it notes along with the first person's idea to the person next to you (if sitting at a table, pass them in a clockwise direction).
Using the ideas with post-it notes from round 1 and round 2, use them to help prompt you for new ideas. Write down any new ideas or modifications to the previous ideas (one idea per post-it note). 2-3 minutes.
Now repeat the activity with another one of the preselected best ideas.
You can run more rounds if you need more ideas.
 
What's different here is we are springboarding off our good ideas and creating new ones or helping to transform the good ideas into brilliant ideas.
 
Best practices for the Brainwriting idea multiplier are:

1. Frame up to the people in the session to avoid judging and critiquing the other person's idea/s. Use them as a prompt to create new additional ideas.
2. Encourage people to work quickly by not overthinking what people have written before. Use them as prompts to create or improve on ideas.
3. Frame up the activity by telling people they are association geniuses capable of creating many ideas, even if they were not yours originally.
4. State that this is a team effort, and everyone wins. 
5. Try to have people in a circle around a table, so it's easy to pass the Pot-it notes around in the same direction.
6. Ask people to write legibly on their post-it notes so people can read them easily.

1. Creating alternative internal components/ steps/ materials/ appearance
2. Creating alternative applications
3. Creating alternative ideas to achieve a similar outcome

1. Are there any alternatives to the components/ automation/ usability/steps/ materials/ structure or appearance?
2. Are there any alternative ways that this idea can be applied?
3. Are there any alternative ideas that can achieve a similar outcome?

1. Frame up the activity by telling people they are association geniuses and are capable of creating many alternatives. 
2. Do a fun priming warm-up, asking people to generate as many alternative uses for an everyday object, like a shoe or a phone.
3. Encourage people to work quickly by not overthinking. 
4. Have the 3 alternative questions visible for everyone, so they stay focused.
5. Use a timer and have a time limit.

Gap-filling is a powerful way to help strengthen existing ideas and create new ones.
The reality is there will be gaps in the ideas that people generated earlier in the session. By filling the gaps, we create superior solutions and new ideas simultaneously.

There are two main gap-filling approaches you should use:

1. Filling the gap between the idea and the outcome you're trying to achieve
2. Filling the gap in the existing idea

• What ideas can I generate to fill the gap between this idea and the outcome we're trying to achieve?

• What ideas can I create to fill the gap in this existing idea?

1. Frame up that in this activity, you're looking for ideas to improve the ideas by addressing shortcomings and filling the missing gaps.
2. Explain that you are not looking for one perfect fix but rather rapid repairs (think of a duct tape repair on the fly).
3. Create a time limit and use a timer.
4. Don't overthink it. Look for the apparent gap and the first few ideas to fix it.