Value Innovation: Beyond Brainstorming to a New Level of Strategic Logic

If you received today’s copy of the McKinsey Quarterly, you might have seen the article “Seven Steps to Better Brainstorming”. We agree with their premise, that traditional brainstorming does not yield great results. Traditional brainstorming is based on the “throw as many ideas on the wall as possible and see what sticks” method. The authors reveal seven ways to ask better questions in the brainstorming process. Those are good suggestions. See the link below http://e.mckinseyquarterly.com/16ac78d91layfousubk6af4aaaaaaatxmvmush4ytluyaaaaa

We take it one step further and suggest there are tools that help you to think differently than you are thinking now. After all, isn’t the point of brainstorming to come up with new ideas? What usually happens is the new ideas are reworks of the old ideas and don’t result in anything very innovative. In our world, most brainstorming keeps you mired in the market space w here everyone is using the same strategic logic that lands you in the same place, doing the same things, fighting for the same customers. It is so crowded that the best you can do is try to eat them before they eat you. Usually no one wins.

If you really want to get innovative ideas, I recommend utilizing the tools of Blue Ocean Strategy, which automatically direct you away from your standard thought process. Remember, the Einstein quote that you can’t get different, better results by doing what you have always done. The Blue Ocean Strategy tools, take you to that place that might have been scary if you had no direction, but the tools do direct you and you end up confident in the results.

Most of us tend to stay where we are comfortable. Where we can see the competition and monitor what they are doing. Where we can see the customer and monitor what they are doing. The reality is that somewhere out there, past the current customers and competitors, is where your biggest opportunities lie. That seems scary, until you discover there are tools that can take the scary out of the process.

These tools are described elsewhere in this blog. They include the strategy canvas, the six pathways, the three tiers and several others.

There are three ways we take the scary out of strategy and serve our clients by moving them to a new level of strategic logic. We can lead your organization through a strategy creation/strategic planning process where we guide your team and they learn how to use the tools while creating your corporate strategy. We can provide a Keynote to jumpstart your conference or meeting. We can provide mentoring to the executive team and the research needed to objectively evaluate a new direction.

Please give us a call (407/ 342-6507) or email us (info@corporatestrategy.com)