No perfect idea: Idea generation for startups
We’ve all had one of those lightbulb moments - be it while showering, lying in bed or walking the dog. And these ideas can be a great place to start. Yet, as an entrepreneur, it is also important to be able to frame and plan your ideation and creativity time, particularly in the early days.
Your first idea might not always be your best one.
Idea generation sessions remove the focus from the one perfect idea or eureka moment to a series of structured exercises that generate a broad range of ideas and early direction seeds. These provide your team with a higher probability of further idea development and future value creation.
Here at Sustainable Ventures, group idea generation is a crucial part of all of our projects, both internal and external. It’s a process we use from early inception right through to market entry and beyond. Whether you’re just starting out, or looking to expand into new, unchartered territory, we’ve put together some of our top tips for idea generation sessions to get you started:
Problem vs opportunity - Try to frame your session with an opportunity statement, rather than a problem. Asking questions like “what if?” and “how might we?” allow divergent responses, while you should also be defining the why, what and who as part of your idea generation briefing. e.g. with rising energy bills, how might we reduce heat loss through walls, windows and doors for renters in their accommodation?
Quantity not quality - The perfect is the enemy of the good, the more ideas you have, the more ideas you can combine and develop into something much greater. You don’t want to be sat trying to capture the perfect idea on a single post-it! Have as many ideas as you can and combine and improve them later having reviewed them.
Permission giving - In idea generation sessions you want to encourage diverse ideas, so you must be willing to share, encourage and capture unconventional, surprising and unexpected ideas from your team. When sharing ideas, give feedback that builds upon other’s ideas (yes, and) rather than dismissing them (no, but). Having a flat hierarchy of attendees is also essential.
Keep it short - Choose a time of day that is generally creative. We find that before lunch often works well for us. Keep individual brainstorm sessions short - we’re talking 5 minutes max! Be mindful of the team energy levels, and stop if the ideas aren’t flowing.
Hot vs cold idea generation - It is always a good idea to capture your initial thoughts and ideas on each challenge, utilising the power of naivety and a fresh perspective (cold idea generation) before deeper research which can restrict your thinking. However, including knowledgable participants is always recommended for subsequent sessions (hot idea generation).
If you’d like support coming up with new ideas, get in touch.
Words by James Wright
James heads up our Design team at Sustainable Ventures. James has 7+ years experience creating products and technologies, specialising in innovation using early-stage user engagement/HCD. Prior to Sustainable Ventures, he spent 3 years tutoring at the RCA.