Template

Brainstorm template

Lots of ideas first, judging second — and pictures drawn from what people say.

45 minutesFor Anybody who needs more ideas than they haveBrainstorm room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. The question we are answering5 min
    • What exactly are we trying to answer?
    • What would a great answer let us do?
  2. Ideas — no judging yet20 min
    • What is the obvious answer?
    • What would we do with ten times the money, or none?
  3. Group the ideas10 min
    • Which of these are the same idea?
    • What is missing?
  4. Pick three to try10 min
    • Which three can we try this month?
    • Who tries each one?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

The question. How do we get people to invite a second person in their first week?

Ideas. Twenty-three, drawn on the board as they were said.

Three to try. A second seat free for a month (Noah). An invite button on the recap page (Lena). A reminder after the first call (Maya).

Running it well

Ways to change it

Write first, talk secondFive silent minutes where everybody writes ideas alone. You get more ideas, and from more people.
One idea made betterTake last week's best idea and spend the whole time on what would make it work.
A big groupSplit into threes for the ideas and come back together to group them.

When to skip it. When you already know what you are going to do. A brainstorm held to make people feel consulted costs more trust than it earns.

Questions

How many people should be in a brainstorm?

Four to seven. Fewer and you run out of ideas; more and most people stop talking.

What are the rules of brainstorming?

One question, no judging while ideas are coming, build on what others said, and decide what to try before you leave.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Training sessionTeach one thing so that people can do it by the end — shown, tried, and checked.SWOT analysis workshopStrengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — written by everybody, sorted together, and turned into three things to do.Office hoursPeople bring questions; you answer them live, and the answers are written down for next time.Skip-level meetingA conversation between a manager and somebody two levels down, to hear what does not travel up on its own.First 1:1 with a new team memberBefore any work is discussed: how they like to work, what they want from you, and what a good first month looks like.Performance reviewA look back at the year and a plan for the next one, with no surprises in it.All-hands meetingThe whole company in one call: where things stand, what is next, and any question people want to ask.Quarterly business review (QBR)Once a quarter with a customer: what they got for their money, what did not work, and what the next quarter is for.

All 60 templates →

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