Idea Ignition: Solving Big Problems in 60 minutes

Idea Ignition is a powerful tool for Product Managers and innovators who need to quickly find solutions for big and complex problems.

The post-pandemic era has brought dramatic changes to consumer behavior and demand. Higher prices and higher borrowing costs are driving consumers to be more cautious of their spending… and businesses are feeling these changes on their bottom line.

Late last year, I was asked to host a brainstorming session addressing changes in consumer behavior. Typically, I like to have a full-day session to explore trends, drive discussions about our business, and come up with ways to deliver for customers. This time, my team had a packed agenda, so I was given a whole hour. As a PM passionate about innovation, I took on the challenge and designed a 60-minute brainstorming session that I like to call Idea Ignition.

Idea Ignition is a powerful tool for Product Managers and innovators who need to quickly find solutions for big and complex problems. In my case, it enabled my team to generate three new and promising ideas in a matter of minutes. I believe this tool will be especially useful in 2023 as more companies are cutting back to “do more with less.”

I created Idea Ignition by adapting Design Thinking techniques into a short and structured format. The goal of Idea Ignition is to stimulate the flow of ideas by prioritizing customer needs and identifying problems, then converging on the most promising concepts. Whether you are spinning up new projects, developing a product, or trying to find a solution to a complex problem, Idea Ignition is the perfect way to start.

Idea Ignition consists of 7 steps:

1. Empathy — Make your audience understand the customer’s pain
2. Pose the main question — Focus on the right problem to solve
3. Ideate — Generate as many ideas as possible
4. Organize — Group ideas into themes
5. Select — Pick the top winning ideas
6. Journey Map — Draft the bases of the customer journey
7. Wrap up — Summarize and define next steps

Preparation

Preparation is the foundation for success in any situation, and a well-prepared brainstorming session is no exception. When running a fast-paced session like an Idea Ignition, it’s even more critical to have everything organized and ready to go. From choosing the right participants and setting clear goals, to having all necessary materials and tools on hand, preparing in advance will help ensure a smooth and productive session. By taking the time to prepare, you can maximize the output of your brainstorming and minimize any distractions or disruptions. In the end, a well-prepared session will help your team generate innovative ideas and come up with winning solutions in less time.

Clearly Define the Problem. The first and foremost step in preparation is to identify and clarify the problem you want to solve. Choose a specific customer segment and their pain points, and summarize them into a single, focused question. A well-crafted problem statement acts as a guiding light for the brainstorming session and keeps everyone on track. It should be specific enough to keep the discussion focused, but open-ended enough to spark creativity and allow for multiple solutions.

For example, if you’re trying to help parents raise bilingual children, some well-framed questions could be:

• What are the biggest challenges faced by parents in teaching their kids a new language?
• How can we make it easier for parents to find resources and tools for bilingual education?
• What innovative solutions can we offer to help parents raise bilingual kids with confidence?

Remember to always keep the customer at the center of your problem statement, whether it’s for an internal or external project.

Optimize your group size and diversity. For an effective brainstorming session, aim for a group of 4–8 participants with a balanced mix of backgrounds, genders, experience levels, and expertise related to the problem at hand. Having a diverse group will bring fresh perspectives and enhance creativity during the session. Remember to adjust group size and composition as needed to ensure maximum impact.

Location location location. When planning, consider the setting for your brainstorming session. If you’re working in a physical space, book a room that’s large enough for all participants and has all the required tools and materials, such as projectors, post-it notes, markers, whiteboards, etc. The same applies to virtual environments, where you should ensure that you have set up the right collaboration tools to support all activities. A conducive location will help foster creativity and productivity during the session.

Create an atmosphere of collaboration. Whether you are running a virtual or physical brainstorming session, don’t forget to consider the atmosphere you want to create. One of the best ways is to set ground rules, my favorites are:

• Generate as many ideas as possible during the session.
• Defer judgment
• Wild and ambitious ideas are welcome.
• Stay focused on the question at hand
• One conversation at the time
• People are encouraged to build on other ideas.
• Be visual
• Make it fun!

Also think about playing music, restricting phones, and providing snacks. A relaxed, distraction-free space will help to foster a better appreciation of everyone’s ideas.

Running the workshop

As you welcome everyone to the session make sure to introduce the team, state the purpose of the meeting, and highlight the ground rules.

#1 Empathy — Make your audience understand the customer’s pain (10 minutes)

For the first part, I prefer doing a role-playing activity to engage my team with the customer’s pain. In my last workshop, we talked about having to return a product, and I wanted my team to really care so I made it personal. I asked my teammates to think about a gift they would like to receive. Then I asked them to share why it’s important and why it would bring them joy. Then I introduced the twist…. I told them they had to return the product. The twist was aimed at creating pain or tension. I gave each of them a post-it note with a reason why they needed to return it and then moved on to the next phase. As you do this for your own organization or products, think of ways to role-play to really step into the customer’s shoes.

#2 Pose the main question — Focus on the right problem to solve (2 minutes)

Here is the big reveal, the question you pose to the group will kick-start the ideation session. Take some time, no more than a minute, to provide background on the customer segment and problem at hand. It’s important to share this after the empathy phase to make sure your audience can really empathize and focus.

#3 Ideate — Generate as many ideas as possible (5 minutes)

Here is where the fun begins! Give everyone a set of post-it notes, at least 20, and give folks 2 minutes to come up with as many ideas as possible on their own. Make sure the team writes/draws one idea per post-it note. After the 2 minutes are done have the team place their ideas anywhere on the board (virtual or physical), and spread them out so they are evenly spread around the board.

#4 Organize — Group ideas into themes (10 minutes)

For this stage, split the board into 3 to 4 sections, split your audience into groups, and assign sections of the board for each group. Each group will need to find common themes, and group ideas into theme clusters in 2 minutes. Then as a group, review the board and join idea themes together to have one final view of all themes. Review each theme with the group as a whole, read most of the ideas, and have a general conversation about what you have come up with.

#5 Select — Pick the top winning ideas (10 minutes)

To select the top ideas, have the team vote on their favorite ideas. I personally like dot voting, but you can use any voting scheme you’d like. For dot voting, each member has 3 votes, sticky dots, which they should place on the idea they like the most. Each member can only vote for an idea once. Then focus on the 3 ideas with the most votes. At this point, I suggest having a conversation with the team about which one should be the top idea. Ideally, you will select the one with the most votes, but in my experience, many times the top 3 are either really close in votes or are tied.

#6 Define the experience — Write down the high-level customer journey (10 minutes)

Now that we have a winning idea, let’s define what the experience will look like. This step is crucial as it significantly simplifies the process of sharing the idea with both customers and leaders. You can start by answering the following questions:

• What is the end experience the customer should have?
• What is the main benefit for my customer?
• How will they find/hear about this product/service?
• How will the customer purchase this product/service?

It’s also helpful to create a journey map if you have the time! Jot down the steps that your customer will take in getting to the endpoint. Personally, I like Amazon’s PRFAQ style where you can use the questions above to write a Press release and FAQs about your product.

#7 Wrap up (5 mins)

Make sure you give yourself at least 5 minutes to end the session. For this part, you will focus on the next steps and timeline. here are a few tips:

• Make sure all action items have an owner and timeline
• Define when the next session will be
• Thank the team for their time and ideas
• Distribute meeting minutes or notes to all participants.

And as always end the meeting on a positive note, even if you didn’t have enough time to accomplish everything, it’s important to keep your team motivated.

Summary

• Idea Ignition can help you find solutions for big and complex problems quickly.
• Preparation is the key ingredient for an efficient and effective session.
• No matter how far down the process you make it, give yourself time to recap and assign action items.

Do you think Idea Ignition could work for you?