Thursday, Sep 2, 2010
One of the best starting points for a strategy session is at the end of it. Starting by clearly expressing what the end results should be, serves as a clear target for participants to aim for. I’m talking about more than the objective, but what the experience will be for customers and employees. The sketch [...]
Monday, Aug 23, 2010
A great quote found Roger von Oech’s book, ““A Whack on the Side of the Head” reads as follows… “Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone elseand thinking something different. The quote is attributed to the Nobel prize winning physician Albert Szent-Györgyi. You’ve probably heard the expression, “There is no such thing [...]
Monday, Nov 16, 2009
Did use an abacus or slide rule to build your FY’10 budgets? To prepare and distribute information about next year’s Marketing Plan did you use a typewriter and make a duplicate with a layer of ink paper? Or did you hand crank copies on a Ditto (or Verifax) machine? Of course you didn’t. That would [...]
Monday, Nov 2, 2009
While there are innumerable reasons for hosting a brainstorming session, the purpose for meeting can be summarized with four situations. They are the need to meet to: (1) Fix Something / Solve Problem, (2) Grow Something, (3) Think-Up Ideas / Fill Idea Pipeline, and (4) Innovate / Create Something New (1) Fix Something / Solve [...]
Thursday, Oct 1, 2009
Some weeks ago, I shared a decision making method that utilized a Two-By-Two Diagram to rank/filter ideas using two key parameters. While I received positive feedback, I was asked what to use when you need to rank/filter ideas that involve more than just two parameters. For this, I recommend using a “swim lane” diagram. (It [...]
Monday, Sep 28, 2009
In June, I posted an article called How To Create The Perfect (Brain) Storm. I shared the perspective that a great brainstorm or strategy session… heck ANY great meeting… is a combination of the right people, the right process, at the right place. Upon exploring this thought further, I realized there is a priority to [...]
Monday, Sep 14, 2009
For those of you who have been reading Idea Sandbox from the beginning… Even back when I co-launched Brand Autopsy with John Moore… You may recall the original concept of… and dream behind… Idea Sandbox was to build the world’s best brainstorming destination. This idea never went away… It has been simmering while I’ve been [...]
Tuesday, Jun 2, 2009
Have you ever been in a brainstorming or strategy meeting where all the elements seemed just right and ideas just kept flowing and flowing? You and your team were able to hit ideas “out of the park?” Chances are you had… the right people assembled, the right process and tools, and were, in the right [...]
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
Great ideas can strike at the most inopportune times. For me, many ideas hit me when I’m in the shower. Back in April I shared that I purchased a dive slate to capture ideas while lathering. A dive slate is a white piece of plastic with a pencil attached. It’s what SCUBA divers use to [...]
Friday, Sep 5, 2008
At times, coming up new ideas can be as frustrating as staring at a blank piece of paper… Waiting for the words to come to you. You’re experiencing the innovator’s version of writer’s block – thinker’s block. In the August edition of “Sand for Your Inbox” (the Idea Sandbox eNewsletter) I share a super-strength brain [...]
Friday, Jul 18, 2008
Today is the last stop for the virtual book tour featuring the business novel Jack’s Notebook, by Gregg Fraley. Andrew Clark provides his impression of the book and shares an engaging exchange he had with Gregg. You can read the entire tour here! Today: The Brand Chef by Andrew Clark Thursday: InnoBlog by Renee Hopkins [...]
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
If there is a book about creativity, brainstorming, or creative problem solving… Idea Sandbox has probably read it. It’s not often that a book comes along that stands out among the rest. “Creativity Today” is that sort of book. It is one of – if not the – best books written on how to be [...]
Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
Michael Michalko (author of “Thinkertoys” and “Cracking Creativity“) was interviewed recently by Dan Keldsen BizTechTalk. They discussed Michael’s perspective on various techniques for creative thinking. During the discussion Michael mentions a technique Walt Disney would use for drumming up ideas… Dreamer, Realist, Critic Walt would approach ideas in three phases… Dreamer Day one, he would [...]
Monday, Apr 16, 2007
Are you still looking for easy-to-approach process for coming up with ideas and problem solving? Do you still not feel you are “good” at being creative? Sam Harrison’s book “Zing!: Five Steps and 101 Tips for Creativity on Command” offers simple, but effective tools as well as solid and doable tips to be creative. His [...]
