BrainZooming

OCTOBER 6, 2015

We, however, routinely share how we do things via our methodology, tools, and learnings from Brainzooming strategic thinking workshops. Why Do We Give Away So Many Strategic Thinking Exercises? Strategic Thinking – Exercises and Tools for Creative Thinking and Strategy.

Strategic Thinking 40

Strategic Thinking Exercises Creative Thinking eBook 40

BrainZooming

JULY 6, 2016

This time of year, preparing for upcoming strategic planning exercises may seem like something far in the future. Whether strategic planning is months away or close at hand, however, it’s always smart to get a head start tackling big strategic thinking questions that warrant in-depth consideration.

Strategic Thinking 63

Strategic Thinking Exercises Strategic Management Strategy 63

Leapfrogging

APRIL 4, 2024

By stepping away from daily operations, you and your team can focus on long-term goals, engage in deep discussions, and forge stronger bonds. These retreats are not merely a change of scenery but a strategic move to foster innovation and alignment among the top decision-makers of your company.

Underperforming Technical Team 100

Underperforming Technical Team Leadership Design Exercises 100

BrainZooming

APRIL 7, 2017

Articulating Your Strategic Innovation Direction in an Understandable Way. Strategic Thinking Questions to Identify What Matters for a Brand. Workplace Diversity – The Why, Who, and How of Strategic Thinking. Strategic Thinking Success – 3 Critical Thinking Perspectives.

Strategy 151

Strategy Strategy Culture Strategic Thinking 151

Leapfrogging

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Curious : Exhibiting a strong desire to learn and understand more. By identifying these traits, organizations can pinpoint the individuals most likely to succeed in roles that require innovative thinking and leadership. Encouraging a Mindset of Continuous Learning Continuous learning is the bedrock of innovation.

Culture of Innovation 113

Culture of Innovation Culture Leadership Innovation 113

BrainZooming

APRIL 6, 2016

I am in New York today delivering a Brainzooming branding strategy workshop on Engaging Your Internal Brand Team. Our content addresses collaborative ways to strategically engage employees in creating and delivering the best brand experience. Branding Strategy – Engaging an Internal Brand Team. Mike Brown.

Engagement 40

Engagement Strategy Strategy Strategic Thinking 40

Leapfrogging

APRIL 4, 2024

Through a blend of strategic planning sessions, team-building activities, and reflective exercises, a well-designed offsite can unlock new perspectives, ignite creativity, and lay the groundwork for transformative growth. Conversely, if your team excels in operational details, encourage activities that stretch their strategic thinking.

Strategy 130

Strategy Strategy Technical Review Groups 130

BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

There are a couple of different ways to apply structure to strategic planning exercises : You can enforce using templates and forms participants have to complete so their answers are uniformed and structured. Productive Structure for Strategic Planning Exercises. FREE Download: “Results!!!

Exercises 40

Exercises Strategic Thinking Collaboration Strategy 40

BrainZooming

JANUARY 22, 2016

The search term “strategic visioning exercises” has been consistently near the top recently for what has bringing people to the Brainzooming website. 14 Articles on Strategic Visioning Exercises. Strategic Planning – All the Strategy Roles You Need. Strategic Visioning Exercises to Create a Vision Statement.

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Exercises Collaboration Strategic Thinking Strategy 40

BrainZooming

NOVEMBER 13, 2017

As we worked on strategic thinking exercises to explore the company’s future vision and user experience, the change management strategy vocabulary the group used was conventional, unemotional, and lacking innovative thinking. Lesson learned. Want to learn more about that process? – Mike Brown.

Strategy 93

Strategy Strategy Change Management 93

BrainZooming

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

We have been working with a client that had done a lot of strategic planning exercises about a new initiative. Taking a look at the list, we started trying different approaches to arrange the big list of ideas from their strategic planning exercises into sensible groups to help stimulate progress. From Latest to Earliest.

Exercises 40

Exercises Strategic Thinking Groups Engagement 40

BrainZooming

MARCH 16, 2016

Whenever possible, we try to help clients select a mix of people to participate in group strategy exercises. We are also proponents for reaching beyond familiar people that are always involved strategic planning meetings and drive the outcomes of group strategy exercises. – Mike Brown. FREE Download: “Results!!!

Exercises 40

Exercises Groups Strategy Strategy 40

BrainZooming

APRIL 22, 2016

I debuted a presentation on “Results – Creating Strategic Impact,” our mini-book on employee engagement ideas to boost an organization’s strategic thinking. The question was whether it makes sense to try and engage employees in the ways I discussed when they aren’t likely to be around for very long.

Engagement 40

Engagement Strategic Thinking Underperforming Technical Team Exercises 40

Leapfrogging

APRIL 4, 2024

Importance of Strategic Planning Offsites A strategic planning offsite is not just another meeting; it’s an investment in your organization’s future. By removing distractions and dedicating time solely to strategic thinking, you create an atmosphere where creativity and big-picture thinking can thrive.

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Roadmap Design Underperforming Technical Team How To 100

BrainZooming

AUGUST 17, 2016

Here’s an overview of each of the strategic thinking exercises : 5 Content Marketing Strategy Exercises to Generate Audience-Oriented Topics. The initial exercise explored three phases of an audience member’s journey. The second exercise used questions from the first one to generate content topic ideas.

Exercises 40

Exercises Marketing Strategy Strategy 40

BrainZooming

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Strategic Thinking Exercises – 5 Questions to Test Your Vision Statement Impact . Listening to & Learning from Customers. Strategic Thinking Exercises – Where Does Your Brand Live? . Find engaging topics your brand can credibly address via social-first content. Sharing Social-First Stories.

Strategy 71

Strategy Strategy Strategic Thinking Exercises 71

BrainZooming

AUGUST 29, 2017

Step 1: Select 10 to 15 very successful engagements. Also, select 10 to 15 unsuccessful (or less successful) engagements. What talents, perspectives, energy, engagement, and activities did each person and group contribute to the process? too much oversight or not enough engagement)? comparable engagements)?

Strategy 74

Strategy Strategy eBook Strategic Thinking 74

Leapfrogging

MARCH 6, 2024

XQ refers to the ability to draw from past experiences, learnings, and insights to make better decisions, solve complex problems, and navigate the uncertainties of the corporate world. Additionally, learn how to maximize team performance by leveraging experiential intelligence to create psychology safety for high performing teams.

Leadership 113

Leadership Innovation Collaboration Culture 113

BrainZooming

JANUARY 23, 2018

Create expanded roles to ensure partners can contribute their expertise and strategic thinking early. I learned that lesson when I was on the client side and first put competitive marketing agencies together on project teams. It becomes clear quickly if a partner isn’t engaging with the best intentions.

Strategy 95

Strategy Strategy Marketing Strategic Thinking 95

BrainZooming

MARCH 21, 2016

I was horrified by this viewpoint coming from senior executives because it is so strategically misguided. 3 Keys to Engaging Your Internal Brand Team. With that change in perspective, you introduce possibilities for engaging employee in shaping branding strategy. Download Your Free Internal Branding Strategy eBook!

Engagement 40

Engagement Strategy Strategy eBook 40

BrainZooming

APRIL 11, 2018

Be very silent (uncomfortably silent) until the audience notices and re-engages. Move to the Shrimp creative thinking exercise. Introduce an ice breaker exercise – even in the middle of the presentation (and do funny riffs on peoples’ answers). Call on the person with bright eyes and engage with them.

Exercises 81

Exercises Creative Thinking Creativity Groups 81

BrainZooming

JUNE 29, 2017

While leading strategy development in a new company poses challenges (including needing to learn a tremendous amount as you go), it has a comparable number of advantages (Including not laboring under preconceived ideas about how the organization does things). Getting to What Is Strategic. What Is Strategic and What Isn’t?

Resources 86

Resources Strategic Thinking Comparison Strategy 86

BrainZooming

JUNE 20, 2016

Chuck facilitated multiple engaging, high-energy strategic innovation sessions for us at Yellow Corporation. We’d do these sessions as part of strategic planning. Since we were learning as we went, some sessions worked better than others. Chuck’s creativity techniques and helped us generate tons of ideas.

Exercises 67

Exercises Strategic Thinking Strategy Strategy 67

BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

People frequently complain about how a strategic planning process, whether accidentally or on purpose, is disconnected from employees’ regular duties and priorities. Too often, employees see strategic planning exercises as separate from and unrelated to what they need to do to run a business. – Mike Brown.

Strategic Thinking 40

Strategic Thinking Exercises Engagement Strategy 40

BrainZooming

APRIL 11, 2017

From before the engagement’s launch until near the completion, we asked for strategy documents spelling out corporate priorities, objectives, and expectations. We wanted a strategic target to align IT strategy and innovation initiatives to support the organization in realizing its overall vision.

Exercises 89

Exercises Technical Review eBook Guidelines 89

BrainZooming

MARCH 15, 2017

Short Story: Instead of voting on strategic priorities, use exercises incorporating individual perspectives and strategic conversations to make fact-based decisions on where to focus your company’s attention. How do you approach prioritizing strategic opportunities ?

Exercises 77

Exercises Strategic Thinking eBook Groups 77

BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

“Buy in from staff on the new vision and the required change” 5 Keys to Engaging Employees in Innovation Strategy – Our Buy-In Manifesto. Engaging Employees in High Turnover Situations. Strategic Thinking – Exercises and Tools for Creative Thinking and Strategy. Innovation. Innovation.

Strategy 40

Strategy Strategy eBook Strategic Thinking 40

BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

I’m a strategic planning guy, and even I don’t enjoy strategic planning the way it is typically handled for groups. Part of making strategic planning fun involves fun exercises , which we continue to create and share here. 11 Boring Details for Making Strategic Planning Fun*. – Mike Brown.

Strategic Thinking 40

Strategic Thinking Exercises Collaboration Groups 40

BrainZooming

APRIL 5, 2017

This type of strategic planning process: Guides the organization to greater success. More effectively creates alignment in strategic thinking. 10 Keys to Engaging Stakeholders to Create Improved Results. Actively engage stakeholders in strategy AND implementation success. Want to take me up on that guarantee?

Collaboration 73

Collaboration Strategic Thinking Strategy Strategy 73

BrainZooming

OCTOBER 1, 2015

In nearly every Brainzooming community collaboration workshop, we conclude with a Plus-Minus-Interesting-Recommendation-Question exercise (a PMIRQ for short). I was thinking I may not be as included since I’m not from or otherwise generally associated with (the community).”. Fresh Ideas and Learning. Learned a lot”.

Collaboration 40

Collaboration Exercises Strategic Thinking Brainstorming 40

BrainZooming

OCTOBER 15, 2015

While having a daily deadline has become less stimulating creatively over the years, I shudder to think of how much experience and the number of strategic thinking exercises that would have come and gone without any documentation if not for the Brainzooming blog. Yes, you can do too much of a good thing.

Strategic Thinking 40

Strategic Thinking Exercises eBook Guidelines 40

BrainZooming

MAY 13, 2016

We’ve said it before, experience its confirmation repeatedly, and will thus say it again: One of the best ways to learn more about what you know is to teach it to someone else. We’re several engagements into a relationship with a client implementing a sweeping innovation initiative across its organization.

Strategic Thinking 40

Strategic Thinking Innovation Engagement LEAN 40

BrainZooming

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Looking for the Elusive Big Idea during Strategic Planning. Strategic Planning – All the Strategy Roles You Need. Strategic Thinking Perspectives – Three Strategic Voices to Include on Your Team. Creative Thinking Skills – Using Questions and Structure Successfully. Creating Strategic Impact – How to Start?

Collaboration 40

Collaboration Strategy Strategy Strategic Thinking 40

BrainZooming

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Last week was diverse in the Brainzooming world, as we were engaged in serving clients across many different aspects of what we do. Thursday included working with a local non-profit to develop the strategic foundation for an important initiative, along with developing initial themes from the Carbondale community collaboration workshops.

Collaboration 40

Collaboration Strategic Thinking Groups Engagement 40

BrainZooming

JANUARY 24, 2019

Even cynical types were openly surprised at the insights and learnings. It was what I’d imagined, as a child, that college would be like: a big group of friendly people who are genuinely excited about learning and doing good in the world. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

Conference 74

Conference Strategic Thinking Creativity Resources 74

BrainZooming

AUGUST 11, 2016

They affiliate up, down, and across the organization; they reach out to all levels and areas to ask questions, listen, synthesize what they learn, and share updates back to all the areas that participate in implementation. #2 10 Keys to Engaging Employees to Improve Strategic Results. – Mike Brown.

Collaboration 40

Collaboration Strategy Strategy Strategic Thinking 40

BrainZooming

JANUARY 15, 2016

Individuals Posing Creative Thinking Challenges. How Creative Thinking Gets Killed by Team Members – 8 Fatal Blows. 5 Ideas When an Uber-Positive Boss Crushes Creative Thinking. Strategic Thinking Skills – 29 Clues You’re Not Dealing with a Strategic Thinker. Mike Brown. FREE Download: “Results!!!

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Creative Thinking Creativity Brainstorming Strategic Thinking 40