Ideation is the action of creating ideas, and it brings enthusiasm and stamina to teams that execute strategies and want to lead change.

Together with generating great ideas, there are two other main ingredients that count in such context:

• defining the right problems for the chosen ideation topics, and
• creating the best climate and flow to bring the best out of teamwork and team dynamics

Brainstorming is about divergent thinking and getting out of your comfort zone. For doing so, we use the “magic of the third third”.

This is why, in our ideation workshops, we engage participants to apply at least three brainstorming methods, out of the 30+ methods we tested and qualified.

Let’s share some of the methods:

• NKFA: A brainwriting technique that helps people start with different ideas, helps them to develop the ideas with the divergent thinking of the group and formalizes criticism (one of the most important enemies of creativity).
• Reverse brainstorming: This is a technique that builds on our natural ability to easily see problems rather than solutions. Instead of asking a group to brainstorm ideas that could work, the group brainstorms all the ways that they could fail.
• Crazy eights: This is a sketching technique that aims at quantity rather than quality; it’s about generating a vast number of ideas.
• SCAMPER: Is an acronym and each letter stands for one thinking technique: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse. The SCAMPER technique is focused on the process of finding unusual and creative solutions to problems, but also to come up with innovative ideas.
• 6-3-5: Six people, three ideas, five minutes. This is a brainwriting technique that ensures a large number of ideas in a short period of time (108 ideas in 30 minutes).
• Questioning assumptions: The new frontier of innovation is smashing assumptions we have about how things should be and coming up with disruptive ways of arriving at the same goals in ways we never considered possible. 
• Triggered brainwalking: This might be one of the most flexible methods we can use. When we move, our brain works better - it triggers bigger amounts of energy and creativity.
• Wishing: For this ideation technique, we start out by asking for the impossible and then brainstorm ways to make it. If you can imagine it, you can do it, as Walt Disney said.
• Blue Ocean: Blue Ocean Strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space and create new demand. This method tackles more the strategic innovation.
• Mash-up: This method is a fast and fun ideation technique created by IDEO that brings odd or unexpected things together to spark fresh ideas. So how does it work? After defining the challenge, we pick two broad and unrelated categories. At least one of those 2 categories should tie into the challenge. 

As an example, in one of the innovation workshops we organized with the top management of a large retailer, we used the following set of methods:

• Context mapping – at the start of the workshop and alignment
• Problem framing – synthesizing for addressing the right challenges
• Brainstorming – for ideation warm-up
• Challenging assumptions – for getting out of the comfort zone
• 6-3-5 – for a more divergent approach
• Idea prioritizing – for choosing the top ideas considering business impact and feasibility

Top ideas were included in their strategic development plan and are now in implementation.

In conclusion: choose the right methods for the right team, challenge and time; diversify the selection of methods, use not only the participative, synchronous ones, but also brainwriting techniques based on visual methods.