Without agreement on specific creative criteria, the repetitive ailment of creative churn sets in.
Once for a New York client, we presented our best strategic plan for a networking opportunity. When we finished, I asked the client what she thought. With minimal physical action, she twisted her a mouth a bit and said, “Mmm, I’m not sure.”
When she didn’t continue, I make a major mistake.
“Do you like this aspect?” No response. “Well, if not, we might change …”
And so it went. I started to dismantle my own idea because I felt like I had to fill the air. In reality, the good idea we original presented started to get worse as I offered up suggestions on how to fix or change it.
What I should have done was stop talking into we got better direction from the client.
Instead, we returned to the office and tried to brainstorm anew, but without any explanation or direction from the client on what they liked, didn’t like, etc. We were clutching at straws to come up with new solutions, but without any direction, we were coming up with ideas which didn’t have a purpose, or felt ‘off,’ or just didn’t seem relevant. It might sound like a good idea to just keep at it, but unfortunately the reality of diminishing returns quickly sets in. Each brainstorm – in fact, each idea – got progressively worse. The sad part is that the best ideas – the ones which would have accomplished the collective goal for everyone – ended up as damaged goods, impossible now to seel to anyone. Instead, we ended up compromising on a lesser idea, and in the end, we lost the client.
Stop creative churn by putting two preventative measures in place.
- Define specific criteria in advance of the brainstorm how you will select the best ideas. As much as possible, these list of criteria should be discussed with the brainstorm sponsor and facilitator.
- Don’t conduct additional brainstorms until you’re able to get specific feedback, reasons or considerations from the host or client on why the ideas aren’t what they wanted.
What other ways have you tried to limit creative churn? Please add your thoughts or comments below.
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