Idea Storm Workshop: How to transform problems into innovative solutions

I once facilitated an Idea Storm workshop for a major bank where the management team insisted they "weren't creative people." The room was filled with skeptical bankers in suits, arms crossed, convinced this would be a waste of their valuable time. The team had spent months trying to innovate their onboarding process but had made little progress through traditional meetings and discussions.

By the end of our three-hour structured workshop, the energy in the room was electric. The same "uncreative" bankers had generated over 200 unique ideas, developed concepts they were genuinely excited about, and couldn't wait to implement. Many participants told me afterwards they'd never realized how creative they actually were. The difference wasn't some magical transformation of personalities; it was having the right process.

In this guide, I'll share three powerful workshop tactics from Workshop Tactics by Pip Decks that will help you transform any problem into innovative solutions through an Idea Storm workshop, regardless of how "creative" your team thinks they are.

What We'll Cover in This Guide:

1. Framing problems as questions with How Might We
2. Generating lots of ideas with Idea Eight
3. Developing and clarifying ideas with T-Bar Format

Let's explore these tactics with a real-world example: Pip's Creative Consultancy wants to enhance communication between creative and consultant teams by fostering collaborative, dynamic idea generation and breaking down departmental barriers.

1. Framing Problems as Questions with How Might We

Before jumping into solutions, you need to properly frame your problem. The How Might We tactic transforms daunting problems into solvable questions, shifting your team's mindset from panic to possibility.

⏱️ Time: 1 hour
🧠 What's the goal? Frame your problem as a question to get the group into a solution mindset.
👀 Why this matters: This tactic transforms problems and observations into solvable questions. A problem on its own can seem daunting. Rephrasing problems as questions is a powerful way to switch the mind from panic mode to solution mode.

How to Use How Might We:

1. Gather information about the problem you're solving. This could be in the form of recording an interview with an expert on the problem or compiling research findings into a presentation. (Completed before workshop)
2. Since this is the start of your overall workshop, begin with an icebreaker to warm everyone up.
3. Inform the group that as they watch the interview or presentation, they should write down any problems they hear as 'How Might We...' questions, one per sticky note. (5 minutes)
4. Explain how to write a How Might We question: rephrase a problem you hear as a question, so that it asks for a solution. (5 minutes)
5. Present your research about the problem to the group. (25 minutes)
6. Invite everyone to stick their notes on the workspace. (15 minutes)
7. If you have a lot of competing questions, use Priority Map to work out which one to tackle first. (10 minutes)

Example from Pip's Creative Consultancy:

The team reviewed their communication challenges and identified several problems, including:

• Communication between departments via email lacks consistency and often misses vital information
• Departments rarely meet with each other in person or online
• There's no designated person to communicate important information between departments

They reframed these as How Might We questions:

• "How might we improve communication between departments with messages that include all vital information?"
• "How might we encourage departments to meet with each other in person/online?"
• "How might we designate someone to communicate important information between departments?"

Using the Priority Map, they identified "How might we improve communication between departments with messages that include all vital information?" as their top priority based on its high impact and manageable cost.

2. Generating Lots of Ideas with Idea Eight

With your problem framed as a How Might We question, it's time to generate potential solutions. The Idea Eight tactic (also known as Crazy Eights) encourages rapid ideation in a structured format, pushing participants to think beyond the obvious.

⏱️ Time: 35 minutes
🧠 What's the goal? Generate lots of ideas and share them with each other.
👀 Why this matters: This tactic generates many ideas quickly. Sometimes, to be truly creative, our brains need structure and rules. By restricting space and time but letting everyone know that anything goes, this tactic forces ideas out fast.

How to Use Idea Eight:

1. Fold a piece of paper three times to make a grid of eight rectangles. (2 minutes)
2. Define the problem to solve in the form of a How Might We question from the previous tactic. (2 minutes)
3. Set a timer for one minute per idea (one idea per box) and encourage each person (or groups of two) to write or draw as many ideas as possible. (8 minutes)
4. At the end of the eight minutes, ask each person to talk through their ideas and encourage participants to draw inspiration from each other. (5 minutes)
5. Repeat the exercise for different How Might We questions if time allows, or give each group a different question if you're tight on time. (8 minutes)
6. Ask each participant to present their final ideas to the group. (10 minutes)

Example from Pip's Creative Consultancy:

The team focused on their top-priority question: "How might we improve communication between departments with messages that include all vital information?"

Some of their ideas included:

• Create standardized message templates for cross-department communication
• Implement a communication portal with category tags for different types of information
• Establish "communication ambassadors" in each department
• Develop a visual board showing communication status and priorities
• Create automated prompts for missing information in messages
• Schedule brief daily standups between department representatives
• Design a shared document system with real-time editing capabilities
• Build a chatbot that asks for missing information before messages are sent

3. Developing and Clarifying Ideas with T-Bar Format

With a collection of promising ideas in hand, it's time to develop and refine them. The T-Bar Format tactic helps participants articulate their ideas in a clear, structured way that makes them easier to evaluate and compare.

⏱️ Time: 30 minutes
🧠 What's the goal? Develop and clarify your ideas by drawing them up.
👀 Why this matters: This tactic helps you put your ideas into a format that can explain itself. Having clearly articulated ideas in a consistent format makes them easier to understand and compare in a group. It also encourages the development of an idea by expanding on the detail and function.

How to Use T-Bar Format:

1. Ask each participant to draw a 'T' covering the height and width of a piece of paper. (1 minute)
2. On the right side, give your idea a description that is easy to read. Bullet points are your friend. (3 minutes)
3. Draw your idea on the left side. It doesn't have to be a work of art—it just needs to help communicate your idea. (5 minutes)
4. At the top, give your idea an inspiring title that communicates your idea clearly. (6 minutes)
5. Each participant should stick their T-Bars on the wall and present them to the group. (10 minutes)
6. Prioritize the top three ideas with Secret Vote. (5 minutes)

Example from Pip's Creative Consultancy:

One team member selected their "Communication Portal" idea and developed it using the T-Bar Format:

Title: "Department Connect: Visual Communication Hub"

Illustration: A sketch showing a dashboard with different department sections, message templates, and status indicators.

Description:

• Web-based portal where all cross-department communication is centralized
• Color-coded message templates ensure all required information is included
• Visual status indicators show urgency, response needed, and completion status
• Dashboard analytics highlight communication patterns and potential bottlenecks

After all ideas were presented, the team voted and selected three to develop further: the Communication Portal, Daily Stand-ups, and Message Templates.

What If We Don't Have Time for All This?

Some teams might resist dedicating time to an Idea Storm, arguing that they're too busy with their "real work." But consider this: How much time is your team currently wasting on circular discussions, pursuing unfocused solutions, or implementing ideas that haven't been properly thought through?

A well-facilitated Idea Storm typically takes 2-3 hours but can save weeks or even months of misdirected effort. One creative director I worked with estimated that their team saved an entire project iteration by taking the time to run a proper Idea Storm before diving into implementation.

As one product manager put it: "We thought we couldn't afford to take half a day for an Idea Storm. What we learned was that we couldn't afford not to."

Ways to Use This Recipe

• Over multiple days: Two short sessions, about 1 hour each.
• Half-day experience: Two sessions for about an hour each, with a longer break in the middle.

What You Need Before You Start

In person

• Preparation (book room, invite people, write and share agenda)
• Materials (whiteboard, sticky notes, pens)
• Tech check (charger, adapter, screen projector)
• Room (refreshments, temperature, chairs, wall space)

Hybrid

• Preparation (book room, send call link, invite people, write and share agenda)
• Materials (whiteboard, sticky notes, pens, Miro board)
• Tech check (charger, adapter, screen projector)
• Room (refreshments, temperature, chairs, wall space)

Online

• Preparation (invite people, write and share agenda, create and send call invite)
• Materials (Miro board)
• Tech check (charger, adapter, Microphone/headphones)

Real-World Success: From Skeptical Bankers to Innovation Champions

During my time consulting for a major financial institution, I encountered a team of investment bankers who were tasked with reimagining their client onboarding process. Their previous attempts at innovation consisted of formal meetings where the most senior person's ideas usually won out, regardless of merit. The team was growing frustrated, and competing banks were starting to outpace them with more streamlined client experiences.

I convinced them to try an Idea Storm workshop using these three tactics. Initially reluctant ("We analyze spreadsheets for a living, we're not creative"), they were transformed by the process. The How Might We technique helped them reframe their challenge from "We need to fix our onboarding" to "How might we make a client's first 30 days feel like they've made the best decision of their career?" The Idea Eight sessions generated over 200 concepts, from the practical to the wildly ambitious. The T-Bar Format then helped them develop these raw ideas into implementable solutions.

The results surprised everyone, especially the participants themselves. Within three months, they had implemented several innovations that reduced onboarding time by 75% while significantly improving client satisfaction scores. What's more, these "uncreative" bankers began running their own ideation sessions, spreading the methodology throughout the organization. The division head later told me, "We've had management consultants charge us millions for less impactful ideas than what we generated ourselves in one afternoon."

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with these powerful tactics, there are pitfalls to watch for:

1. Rushing the problem framing: The How Might We step is crucial. A poorly framed question will lead to less effective solutions. Take the time to craft questions that are neither too broad nor too narrow.
2. Judging ideas too early: During the Idea Eight phase, quantity matters more than quality. Save evaluation for later and encourage even seemingly impractical ideas.
3. Lacking diversity in the room: Including people with different perspectives, experiences, and thinking styles is essential for generating truly innovative ideas.
4. Skipping the development phase: Raw ideas rarely translate directly into implementation. The T-Bar Format and subsequent refinement are essential to turn promising concepts into viable solutions.

Putting It All Together

These three workshop tactics from Pip Decks' Workshop Tactics form a powerful sequence for an Idea Storm workshop:

1. How Might We helps you frame problems as questions to put your team in a solution mindset
2. Idea Eight generates a wealth of potential solutions through rapid ideation
3. T-Bar Format helps you develop and clarify the most promising ideas

Together, they transform frustration into focus, blank pages into brilliant concepts, and scattered thoughts into structured solutions. They replace unproductive discussions with a systematic approach to idea generation that engages every participant and produces results.

Remember those skeptical bankers I mentioned? Six months after our Idea Storm workshop, they had completely transformed their approach to problem-solving. The team implemented several of the ideas generated during the session, reducing their customer onboarding time from 12 days to just 3. But what surprised them most was how the structured approach to ideation had spread throughout the organization, with teams across departments requesting similar workshops for their own challenges.

Your team deserves the same advantages. Whether you're working with "creative types" or analytical minds, developing products or streamlining operations, these tactics will help you transform any challenge into a wealth of innovative solutions.

Ready to Transform Your Ideation Process?

Start implementing these tactics in your next team challenge and experience the difference a structured approach makes in your ability to generate innovative solutions.

Introducing Workshop Tactics by Pip Decks

These three Idea Storm tactics are just a small sample of the powerful facilitation tools available in the full Workshop Tactics deck by Pip Decks. With 54 carefully designed workshop recipe cards, you'll confidently lead teams through any collaborative challenge.

Workshop Tactics helps you:

• Run effective workshops that produce real outcomes
• Put an end to pointless, unproductive meetings
• Give your team clarity on complex problems
• Generate truly innovative, out-of-the-box ideas
• Uncover hidden skills within your organisation

As one innovation leader put it: "Workshop Tactics transformed how our teams approach problems. Instead of getting stuck in the same old thinking patterns, we now have a structured way to generate genuinely new ideas."

Get Workshop Tactics →

Based on the Idea Storm recipe from Workshop Tactics

"I designed this recipe to help teams break through creative blocks with a structured, collaborative approach."

– Charles Burdett, Founder of Pip Decks

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