You got them rooms at the place Ben Affleck stayed last week. There's a tennis court and an 18-hole golf course. The conference room is ultra-modern, the pool is Olympic-sized, and the food is to die for. You ordered fresh flowers for every room; you even had the foresight to prearrange their wake-up calls. Dinner is at 8:00. Brainstorming begins first thing in the morning. The rest is up to them; your work here is done. Or is it?
If you're the type of planner who likes to go the extra mile, well, then you're just warming up. You see, there is so much you can do to help your attendees brainstorm with the best of them. You have the power to get their ideas flowing, their creative juices pumping. In many ways you, the planner, hold the key that unlocks the box and gets everyone thinking outside of it. Believe it or not, the potential for real innovation rests in your hands.
Your work here is just beginning.
First Things First
"If the goal of the meeting is to come up with new ideas, then you'll want to get the attendees excited about that task before they even arrive at the meeting destination," offers Wes Anderson, executive director of Indianapolis-based National Center for Creativity Inc. (NCCI), which conducts seminars on creativity and innovative thinking. He recommends that planners use colorful, enticing language in the invitation, and send around knockout promotional fliers or graphics-intensive e-mail reminders "to build expectation that it's going to be a great day." Talk up the array of interesting food choices, the exciting location, the super-fun downtime activities, and be sure to mention that the attendees will make the meeting a success.
It's also very important to define the objective of the meeting ahead of time. "Make sure the participants understand what they're going to be doing," advises Doug Hall, founder and CEO of Eureka! Ranch, an idea invention and creativity training camp located just outside Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, planners should describe, in advance, what success looks like by "focusing on the end benefit of the meeting." He says, "Unless you provide a definition of both the meeting objective and the nature of success, everyone will be on completely different pages." Once you do that, says Hall, everything else will fall into place.
Deck the Walls
Next, "Liven up that meeting space! Make it more attractive and inviting, more upbeat and playful," says creativity pro Barbara Stennes, excitedly. "Tack funny cartoons to the walls, collage materials, or vibrant art posters." Says Stennes, president of Resources Unlimited, a global training and management consulting firm based in Des Moines, Iowa: "Sometimes I laminate interesting - or odd-looking - pages from magazines and hang them around the room." She and other experts in her field believe art, provocative or otherwise, acts as a stimulus in the brain, triggering outbursts of creativity and innovation. "Visuals spark ideas, and one thought leads to another," adds planner Linda Reeder at ME Productions, a destination management and event production company in Pembroke Park, Florida. "And, you never know what will be at the root of that initial idea." Colorful balloons and banners sometimes do the trick, particularly those containing motivational mantras like: "Wild Ideas Are Encouraged."
However, Stennes cautions, you don't want the room to look hokey, especially if you're planning for a group that tends to be on the stiff or stuffy side. "Start with conventional artwork, and then later in the day when the group is getting comfortable and a little more trusting, add some wackier wall decorations."
It's also important to "get people up out of their chairs, doing stuff," says Tom Drucker, co-founder of InnovationNetwork, a virtual community of creativity experts headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. "It keeps the energy high and the brains awake." (So does a strong cup o' joe, notes Hall, citing medical data that shows java drinkers come up with more ideas than those who sip Sanka.) One way to bring 'em to their feet: Line the inside of the meeting room with white paper, creating a blank palette that just begs for a flurry of thoughts and ideas.
Naturally, participants will need something to scribble with. Creativity connoisseurs like Gregg Fraley, who's been speaking on the topic for the past seven years, recommends crayons, colored markers, even finger paint. "Let them have some fun while they're working. Fun is probably the most essential ingredient to creativity." Participants can also be encouraged to doodle on the paper before the meeting is in full swing; after all, creativity tends to give birth to creativity.
Stennes likes to convert conference room walls into festive, idea-enhancing workspaces by tacking up brown butcher paper that has been spritzed with a "spray mount" type of compound. And, instead of notepads, she supplies attendees with piles of Post-it notes ("People are more likely to jot down a quick idea if they've got Post-its at the ready"), which can be easily stuck to the newly installed wallpaper. "It makes for a terrific visual, and tells attendees that this is an active, creative place and they are an integral part of it."
Babes in Toyland
Once the meeting space has been transformed into a vibrant den of creativity, planners would be wise to place similar forms of stimuli directly into the hands of attendees, says NCCI's Anderson. "Like artwork, toys, such as rubber balls, brightly colored stuffed animals, squishy Nerf-type objects, yo-yos, and clay preoccupy the mind and free up the lighthearted, playful side in all of us," adds Drucker. Both experts agree that to get into creative mode adults need to unleash their inner child, so to speak. "When kids play with toys," Drucker points out, "they're making stuff up as they go along - in effect, thinking way outside of the box. For them, there is no box."
Anderson recommends planners stock the meeting room with a wide variety of stimuli because not every item will work for each individual in the same way. "Some people think (read: create) best when their fingers are busy fiddling with something. For others, the mere presence of colorful and playful objects scattered about a room is enough to get ideas forming." A fan of both the visual and physical forms of stimuli, planner Carol Kassab, president of San Jose-based Organized Events, likes to provide group members with little cardboard boxes they can futz with while brainstorming - taking the notion of "thinking outside of the box" to new levels.
While Eureka!'s Hall is a big proponent of the use of toys and knickknacks as a way of tapping into the creative side of the human brain, he insists that some of the stimuli must be related to the task at hand. "If the purpose of the meeting is to come up with a new product idea, have samples of the existing product in the room. If attendees have gathered to produce a new brochure, they should bring along a copy of the old one." He admonishes: "Don't let them sit there in a vacuum expecting a miracle to happen. It won't."
Take (the Jackson) Five
This will be music to the ears of attendees: "Work more short breaks into the meeting agenda." That advice from Annette Moser-Wellman, author, and president of FireMark Inc., a Seattle-based consulting firm that offers workshops in creative business thinking. "Ideas occur in transitions, mainly because the change of scenery stimulates the imagination." If time constraints won't allow for a multitude of breaks, she suggests planners mix up the brainstorming venue as much as possible. "Schedule one part of the meeting in the conference room. Follow it with a program outdoors - perhaps a 'walk while we talk' session. Then wrap up the day back inside." This will leave attendees feeling as if they've enjoyed more breaks, thereby boosting their mental and physical energy.
A good way to signal the start or end of a session or break is with "some well-chosen tunes" says creative speaker Fraley. He suggests planners put together a rockin' musical hit list that speaks to both the theme of the meeting and the particular group involved. Most people derive some form of inspiration from music, though it's important to monitor the volume so it doesn't interfere with the creative process. However, "The music should be pumping during breaks. A good song can go a long way toward sustaining an upbeat mood."
Naps have the same effect. Sleeping on the job, you ask? You're not dreaming, quips Moser-Wellman. "Plenty of people do some of their best thinking lying down, or as they're drifting off to sleep at night." Plus, attendees should be encouraged to indulge their natural circadian rhythms, which make them want to doze off after lunch. And all a planner has to do is make sure there are some comfy chairs in the meeting room, or nearby, or perhaps a few lawn chairs outside.
Moser-Wellman suggests planners have participants blow up rafts at some point during the meeting. This serves a dual purpose: "Not only is it a perfect spot for a quick cat nap, the act of inflating the raft increases the level of oxygen in the blood, stimulating the brain."
Scheduling naptime, or at the very least a bit of quiet time, into the agenda also allows for individual thinking or writing, something Stennes of Resources Unlimited believes is crucial to the creative process. Meeting maven Joan Eisenstodt backs her up. "People need to let their heads go for a while, giving ideas the chance to form," says the president of Eisenstodt Associates in Washington D.C. "Besides, every single second of the meeting doesn't have to be productive," she adds. "People often come up with new ideas while they're involved in a conversation or activity that has nothing to do with the agenda."
Treat Me Nice
So long as the budget's there, meeting participants should be made to feel great, says Hall. "Planners need to drive home this point to the meeting leader: 'If you want two-bit ideas, host a two-bit event.' It costs next to nothing to serve good food, excellent coffee, and a decent glass of wine." He adds, "Extra-special treatment tells attendees that they and their ideas are important to the company." Stennes agrees, adding, "You want to make the creativity process simple and convenient - effortless, really - for those involved to not only feel confident enough to conjure up new ideas, but to open up and share them." That's also why many creativity experts encourage casual, comfortable outfits - sans shoes - when attendees don their thinking caps.
"Creative energy explodes when people are delighted by an interesting surprise." Dropping a boatload of balloons, offers Fraley, can generate a certain level of excitement, as can unexpected guests, like local or national celebs, or even (brace yourself) Elvis. Food and drinks can function as surprises, too, if the timing is right and if they're presented in a unique way. "Hire little old ladies to serve milk and cookies during a break," he suggests, "or have roller-skating car hops with beehive coifs dish out ice-cream sodas."
In a nutshell, planners should strive to "create a playful, stimulating, and comfortable atmosphere where creativity can live," says Fraley. Then, sink back on your raft, relax, and even snooze to the happy sounds of boxes opening up and light bulbs flicking on all around the conference room.