Action Brainstorming

When should I use this template?

Use this template for a high-level look at your company processes, as an in-depth examination of what isn’t working for a department, or to get yourself out of a rut and get moving.

Our Action Brainstorming Template will take you through the necessary steps to complete your Brainstorming session, but we recommend you brush up on the following first:

• Review your company values
  You need to make sure that all of the tasks and work that is being done aligns with to core values of your company. 

• Look at your company’s year-end business goals
  What are the ultimate goals that you are trying to reach by the end of the year? Is the work that you are doing leading you there? 

• Identify the processes your company takes to serve your clients
  What steps are taken to ensure that your clients or customers are happy? Is what you are doing working? 

• Review any additional company processes and daily workflows
  Think about all of the things that happen in your team’s day-to-day work. Are there multiple daily, weekly, or monthly meetings? 

How do I get started with this template?

The five labeled columns will help you identify what actions you need to Stop, what you need to Minimize or do less of, what needs to Keep Going, what you know you should be Doing More of, and what you need to Start doing in order to move your priorities forward.

1. Stop

   This section is where you and your team will decide what you need to stop doing within your work process. You’ll want to stop doing anything that is holding you back, isn’t working anymore, or that needs to be put on hold for a while. For example, you may need to pause the development of a new product until you can get user feedback.

2. Minimize

   The Minimize section is where you list all the things you don’t want to get rid of completely from your work process, but that you want to cut back on. If you feel that you are doing too much of something, include it in this section so you know to lessen it. For example, you may want to cut back on daily meetings and only hold meetings once a week, or have the marketing team cut back on re-tweeting instead of posting original Tweets.

3. Keep Going 

   Use this section to write down everything that is working well and that your team should continue doing. If something works, don’t change it! For example, paid Facebook Ads are working very well to drive business, so continue using them.

4. Do More 
   This section is where you determine what you want to be doing even more of. If a process you have created is working well, you may want to add to it or implement it in other parts of your team. For example, if your current product is selling well, you may want to add new features to it to continue its momentum.

5. Start

   This section is where you will decide what to start working on next. These are things that aren’t yet in your work process — they might be sitting in a backlog — but you would like to add them in to take your project to the next level. For example, it might be time to launch that new marketing campaign!

This template is a great way to review the work process or processes that you are using for your current workflow. Once your team examines their process, moving forward with plans, projects, and behaviors will become easier.