Shopify, the world's leading e-commerce platform, takes a thorough approach to brainstorming sessions in order to foster maximum creativity and collaboration. Representatives from diverse disciplines collaborate under a neutral facilitator's guidance to generate innovative solutions to whatever challenges the company faces.
Engaging participants with thought-provoking questions, the atmosphere values all ideas and encourages creative problem-solving. Active participation and respect for diverse perspectives are key, while distractions from technology are minimized. With a dedicated space featuring a blank wall, ideas are organized using post-it notes. Time allocation is optimized for thorough exploration, and essential materials like chart paper, post-it notes, dot stickers, and pens facilitate collaboration. To conclude the session, realistic deadlines are established, and ownership of actionable items assigned.
With their focus on making individual voices heard and avoiding groupthink, Shopify's approach to brainstorming sessions empowers teams to leverage the power of brainstorming, fostering innovation and driving creative solutions for any business challenge.
Brainstorming Session
(if this is a virtual meeting try to use online tools to mimic the post-it notes)
Tell me a story about… What did you want to be when you were younger... Where do you want to go on holiday and why? etc.
To make sure your session remains focused, you should begin with a question. What specifically are you trying to solve?
A great way to encourage everyone to speak up and to mitigate groupthink is to begin with silence: a solo brainstorm where each individual writes down all of their ideas on post-it notes. This should only last a few minutes. Be sure to use a timer to make sure you stay on track. As people are jotting down their ideas, the facilitator can begin to collect those post-its and start grouping them into themes and concepts onto the whiteboard or blank wall.
After the initial brainstorming session, it’s often useful to have small, circular colored stickers so that people can vote on their preferred ideas. Consider giving each person a maximum of two stickers (or “votes”) per brainstorming sprint, and dole them out accordingly.
The facilitator should paraphrase and synthesize as many of the points as possible to make sure everyone is following.
When the top ideas have been voted upon, it’s time to decide how to take action. Here are two questions the group should determine before leaving the room:
Shopify, the world's leading e-commerce platform, takes a thorough approach to brainstorming sessions in order to foster maximum creativity and collaboration. Representatives from diverse disciplines collaborate under a neutral facilitator's guidance to generate innovative solutions to whatever challenges the company faces.
Engaging participants with thought-provoking questions, the atmosphere values all ideas and encourages creative problem-solving. Active participation and respect for diverse perspectives are key, while distractions from technology are minimized. With a dedicated space featuring a blank wall, ideas are organized using post-it notes. Time allocation is optimized for thorough exploration, and essential materials like chart paper, post-it notes, dot stickers, and pens facilitate collaboration. To conclude the session, realistic deadlines are established, and ownership of actionable items assigned.
With their focus on making individual voices heard and avoiding groupthink, Shopify's approach to brainstorming sessions empowers teams to leverage the power of brainstorming, fostering innovation and driving creative solutions for any business challenge.