Here's the deal: You are one of the creatives in a forward-thinking company and have been asked to raise the bar for brainstorming sessions -- real time and virtual. That's the good news. The-not-so-good news? Even though you're an idea-generating machine, facilitating sessions that bring out brilliance in others is not your forte. And to raise the stakes even higher, your internal client wants more than "ideas". Your client wants remarkable, actionable ideas and wants the sessions that you lead to be highly engaging, energizing, and worth their precious time. Get it? The heat is on, big time.

Enter Idea Champions. We can help.

A boutique, innovation consultancy headquartered in Woodstock, NY (yes, that Woodstock, we are one of the few companies in the world who train other companies how to facilitate brainstorming sessions. Yes, we've been known to give people fish, but we're way more interested in teaching people how to fish — not just in their own bathtub, but in the great sea of endless possibility.

1. YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO:

• Nail the pre-session needs assessment process
• Ensure your client has framed the most powerful question possible
• Prime the pump, so you hit the ground running
• Establish conditions conducive to maximum creativity
• Diffuse naysaying and idea killing behavior
• Use a variety of creative thinking tools and techniques
• Balance divergent and convergent thinking
• Design brainstorm agendas that get results
• Manage a highly opinionated group of type .A. personalities
• Process highly charged feedback in a humane way
• Use storytelling as an idea-generating catalyst
• Get into the right mindset to facilitate the creative process
• Co-facilitate with peers
• Manage the end-of-session closure process
• Guarantee meaningful follow through

2. YOU WILL GET GREAT TAKEAWAYS:

• CONDUCTING GENIUS PLAYBOOK: A 142-page guide on the art and science of facilitating breakthrough brainstorming sessions.

• FREE THE GENIE: A deck of 55 cards that spark the generation and development of bold, new ideas.

• FREE THE GENIE GUIDEBOOK: An 8-page guide that describes 31 ways of using the cards as an icebreaker, brainstorming tool, and coaching catalyst.

• FREE THE GENIE VIRTUAL: An online tool that makes it easy for anyone in your organization to generate and share newly conceived ideas.

• BIG IDEA CHARTS: A set of flipcharts that makes it easy for brainstorm session participants to distill the best of their thinking into one-page summaries.

• AWAKE AT THE WHEEL: Our award-winning book on the creative process. Includes 35 creative thinking techniques and 10 best practices.

• INNOVATION QUOTE CARDS: A set of twenty, 11x17 laminated quotes from a variety of world-class innovators. A great ice breaker and thought starter.

• STORYTELLING AT WORK: Our award-winning book on the power of storytelling and why it matters in the modern-day workplace.

3. YOU WILL GET YOUR CHOICE OF POST TRAINING SUPPORT:

• Custom Landing Page on Our Website: Links to 52 videos and articles specific to your group's brainstorm facilitation needs. A simple way to keep everyone on top of their idea-sparking game.

• On Demand Phone Coaching: Let's say it's a week before your next session or the night before and you find yourself in the UH OH zone. No problem. Just call us. 24/7 availability.

• Web Training: If you want to extend the value of our onsite training, we can schedule one or more online sessions — 60-90 minute tutorials that that will open minds, open doors, and deepen everyone's learning process.

• Post Session Debriefs: A chance for you and your Idea Champions trainer to review the outcomes of your brainstorming sessions. You get to acknowledge successes, best practices, and lessons learned. You also get to explore whatever challenges you may have encountered so you can avoid those potholes next time.

• Co-Facilitation: Sometimes the best way to learn is by apprenticing. That's why we make ourselves available to co-facilitate with graduates of our training. We'll co-design the session with you, partner in the delivery, and debrief the session afterwards in service to your ongoing effort to become a masterful brainstorm facilitator.

* ONE DAY, TWO DAYS, or THREE? Most of our clients are very busy. We get it. Which is why we now offer a one-day version of our Conducting Genius training. That being said, we encourage all of our clients to invest 2-3 days. When you think about how much revenue is at stake — for your organization and for your clients — an extra day or two of training is time well-spent. More tools. More techniques. More practice. More coaching. More skills. More confidence. More ability to facilitate breakthrough brainstorming sessions without frying.

Our client list
What our clients say: Part 1
What our clients say: Part 2
MWW testimonial
Blue State Digital testimonial
The DNA of our training
Our customizable curriculum
Case studies
In Defense of Brainstorming

"We found Idea Champions in a desperate search for brainstorm facilitation training and haven't looked back. During the past few months, they've helped us harness our innovative spirit and significantly improve the way we execute our ideation process. We now have the tools and process we need to dig deeper into our creativity — adding a lot more value and power to our company culture."
— Jody Johnson, Chief People Officer, M Booth & Associates, Inc.