Module 3: Ideate

Ideating is all about creative collaboration. Ideas arise between us. As we dialog and share we trigger leaps of creativity. When faced with complex problems we need to rely on the collective pool of experience within our team to generate innovative solutions.

We often think of ideation as the generation of a linear succession of ideas until we have that ‘eureka’ moment, when the penny drops and a novel idea strikes us. However this is rarely the case. Innovation is a volume game. The volume of ideas generated dictates the chances of arriving upon a truly innovative solution. 

There are two distinct stages of ideation. The first is the divergence stage. This is where we generate as many solutions as possible. We want quantity over quality. We want a diversity of ideas. Defer all judgment no matter how crazy an idea sounds, it may be the seed for someone else’s idea. Build upon the ideas of others, be visual, encourage wild ideas, make sure everyone in the room is heard because everyone has ideas, and focus on novelty over relevance. If you’re struggling to articulating your idea, you can try writing it as a news headline.

The second stage of ideation is the convergence stage. This is where you define a selection criteria and categorise your ideas. In this stage, we are not selecting suitable ideas and eliminating others, but rather we are looking for the elements of all the ideas that are desirable and fit the criteria and converging these elements into new ideas and solutions. 

This journey can be a little bumpy. You may have a few early convergers on your team, or the ideas may be too safe, or judgment may halt the generation of more ideas. You workshop facility will use different methods and activities to guide this process successfuly. 

As you start out, the ideas may be normal and expected. We need to get these ideas out early so we can move past them. As things gain steam, the ideas become more surprising delivering some unexpected sparks. After this things slow down and people often stop here. But keep pushing through. We want to arrive at the real brilliance. We want to see fresh inspiration, provocative questioning and arrive at the most interesting ideas.

During the convergence stage, it’s common for tension to arise as people as wrestling with different options. Tension is not a bad thing. Where there is no tension, there is no movement. A lack of tension may be a sign that the team is opting for safe ideas or has fallen into groupthink. The facilitator will manage or provoke tension as needed to guide the process successfully.

“All too often, consensus and harmony are confused for collaboration. While this might feel better, it actually limits the potential of the group to innovate. If you want your team to go somewhere, especially somewhere new, we need a healthy dose of tension.” 

MIKE PENG
Partner and Managing Director, IDEO