CINTRO 07/23/2012 10:1:36 Page 10

FFIRS 07/23/2012 10:27:57 Page 1

more praise for Idea Stormers

“As a creative thinking expert, I am very familiar with Bryan Mattimore and
his outstanding work in the ideation and innovation consulting field. Bryan is
one of the best facilitators and corporate creativity consultants in the world.
He is among my heroes who inspire, teach, and guide others in the corporate
world on how to create original and implementable ideas that make a
difference in our competitive business environment. Mattimore’s newest book,
Idea Stormers, offers a host of creative-thinking tools and techniques. More
importantly, it provides an excellent framework for unleashing the creativity
of groups, no matter what their role or function is within an organization.
Mattimore’s behind-the-scenes look at his successes with teams provide you
with lessons and techniques to create, inspire, facilitate, and drive creative
collaboration to generate the ideas you need to achieve uncommon results.
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Mattimore shows us
how together we can generate original ideas, make good ideas great, and create
game-changing ones.”
—Michael Michalko, author, Thinkertoys, Cracking Creativity,
ThinkPak and Creative Thinkering

&&&

“Question everything! Hands-on and ready-to-go, here are techniques to get

you started.”
—Seth Godin, author, Purple Cow

&&&

“Bryan Mattimore has helped me create breakthrough new products for

Godiva, generate innovative promotions for The Food Network, and most
recently, with re-positioning Good Morning America. I know firsthand that the
ideation techniques and innovation processes in Idea Stormers work, and that
they can unleash the creative potential of any team. Idea Stormers should be
required reading for anyone on the front lines of marketing innovation!”
—Adam Rockmore, senior vice president marketing,
ABC Daytime and News and SOAPnet
FFIRS 07/23/2012 10:27:57 Page 2
FFIRS 07/23/2012 10:27:57 Page 3

idea stormers
how to lead and inspire
creative breakthroughs

bryan w. mattimore
FFIRS 07/23/2012 10:27:57 Page 4

Copyright #  by Bryan W. Mattimore. All rights reserved.

Jacket design by Adrian Morgan
Author photo by Tim Geaney
Cover Illustration # Michele Paccione, iStockphoto (RF)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mattimore, Bryan W.
Idea stormers : how to lead and inspire creative breakthroughs / Bryan W. Mattimore. — st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN ---- (cloth)
ISBN ---- (ebk.)
ISBN ---- (ebk.)
ISBN ---- (ebk.)
. Creative ability in business. . leadership. I. Title.
HD.M 
. 0—dc


Printed in the United States of America

FIRST EDITION
HB Printing          
FFIRS 07/23/2012 10:27:57 Page 5

To my wife, Hazel, who is creatively brilliant without even trying.

FFIRS 07/23/2012 10:27:57 Page 6
FTOC 07/13/2012 11:12:30 Page 7

contents

Preface ix
Introduction: Idea Engines 

&&&

1 A Map of the Creative Mind: Embracing Seven Creative

Thinking Mind-Sets 
2 Beyond Brainstorming: Understanding Individual
and Group Ideation Techniques 
3 Your Ideation Tool Kit: The Seven All-Time
Greatest Ideation Techniques 
4 Innovation Overview: Strategies and Tools of
a Successful Innovation Process 
5 Real-World Challenges: Applying Ideation
Techniques and Innovation Processes 
6 Idea Meets World: Navigating the Road from
Good Idea to Successful Innovation 

vii
FTOC 07/13/2012 11:12:30 Page 8

viii Contents

7 Thinking Like a Facilitating Leader I: The Who,

Where, and How of Planning and Leading Group
Ideation Sessions 
8 Thinking Like a Facilitating Leader II:
New Product Ideation Session Design 
9 Thinking Like a Facilitating Leader III:
Five Strategies for Inventing Ideation and
Innovation Processes 

&&&

Conclusion 
Notes 
Acknowledgments 
About the Author 
Index 
FPREF 07/13/2012 11:17:25 Page 9

preface

S ome years ago, quite by accident, I happened upon my young

daughter, Caroline, standing in front of the mirrored armoire in
our dining room. Caroline was dressed in a beautiful princess outfit
with a royal crown on her head and a magic wand in her hand.
As I watched her stare at herself in the mirror, I was immediately
struck by her intensity. This was not, by any stretch of the imagination,
just child’s play. This was serious business. I watched and waited, un-
seen, curious to see what she would do next. And then, to my surprise,
even though she was alone, she said something.
“I have a magic wand,” she proclaimed to her reflected mirror-self
in an utterly determined voice, “and I am not afraid to use it!”
To this day, I still feel blessed to have witnessed such a mo-
ment of pure imagination and creative willpower in the life of my
child. Over the years, as I’ve reflected on what my daughter said
that day, I’ve come to see that it has great symbolism for both the
work I do and this book.

ix
FPREF 07/13/2012 11:17:25 Page 10

x Preface

I’m convinced that the insights, stories, advice, and creativity

and innovation processes in this book can become a sort of magic
wand for both individuals and leaders of high-performing teams.
You have in your hands the work of a dedicated practitioner who,
day in and day out, for over thirty years now, has been confronted
with the creative (and often daunting) challenge of helping clients
generate more and better ideas to solve critical business challenges.
So at one level, there is nothing theoretical about the content in
this book. These are accounts of what actually happened: stories of
the creative mind-sets, processes, and techniques that helped gener-
ate breakthrough ideas and solve difficult creative business chal-
lenges. Essentially these are stories of what worked.
However, telling stories of what worked is not enough. I’ve also
shared the why of my work: specifically, why I believe a particular cre-
ative approach, technique, or mind-set was effective for a challenge. My
hope is that with these explanations, you will arrive at a broader theo-
retical understanding of the creative processes themselves, including
which creative techniques are most likely to work best for specific kinds
of creative challenges. It’s the combination of and linkages among the-
ory, technique, practical application, and results that makes this book
different from how-to creativity and innovation books on the market,
and I hope it is much more useful.
So welcome to the world of creative idea creation, a world in which
you may already be well traveled. Even for the seasoned creative trav-
eler, I’m confident you’ll discover original, inventive, and practical new
creative thinking tools and techniques, which, like my daughter, Caro-
line, with her magic wand, I fully expect you won’t be afraid to use.
FPREF 07/13/2012 11:17:25 Page 11

idea stormers
FPREF 07/13/2012 11:17:25 Page 12
CINTRO 07/23/2012 10:1:35 Page 1

introduction: idea engines

T he call came from Candelin Wahl, Ben and Jerry’s aptly titled
“Mother of Invention.” Would I be interested in working with
Ben and Jerry’s new product development team to design and facilitate
a brainstorming session to generate new ice cream novelties ideas: pop-
sicles, bonbons—anything but new flavor ideas for pints? The session
would be near Ben and Jerry’s headquarters at a Vermont inn, and
every flavor of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream would be served at the after-
noon break as creative inspiration. Would I be interested? “When can
I come?” was my response before even thinking about negotiating
my fee.
There was a catch though: as part of the day-long ice cream novelty
session, I’d also have to lead the group in naming a new Ben and Jerry’s
ice cream flavor: a delicious new combination of fudge and strawberry
ice cream. Sure, I could do that. I’d done scores of naming sessions
before. No problem, I thought.
But in fact, yes, there was a problem. Candelin said we could devote
only half an hour to naming the new ice cream—even though the new