Focused Ideation

Step 5: Run Focused Ideation—Creative Problem-Solving for Opportunity Areas

The Seven-Step Strategic Planning Process

Phase 1: Where to Play

Phase 2: How to Win

Step 4: Do the Deep Dive
Step 5: Run Focused Ideation (You are here)
Step 6: Perform Concept Optimization (CORE)
Step 7: Finalize, Launch, and Learn

Why This Step Comes Fifth

With deep understanding in hand, the best organizations now solve problems creatively. But not through open-ended brainstorming where anyone suggests anything. Through focused ideation—generating solutions to the specific customer problems identified in the deep dive.

This step answers: How might we creatively solve the specific problems we’ve identified?

Focus is what unlocks breakthroughs. Creativity without focus produces noise. Ideation with a clear problem statement produces differentiation.

The deep dive revealed: “Hospital administrators need visibility and control.” Now ideation asks: “How might we give them that visibility? How might we help them feel in control?”

Those specific questions unlock better ideas than “What could we build for hospitals?”

What Decisions Does This Step Inform?

Focused ideation informs:

Business model options — Multiple ways to serve the customer. Multiple delivery approaches.
Feature/service specifications — What should we build? What’s core vs. nice-to-have?
Positioning angles — How should we frame the offering?
Go-to-market variations — Which channels, pricing models, or launch approaches make sense?
Concept direction — Which ideas have the most promise?

Without focused ideation, you converge too quickly on one solution. You miss options. You build what you think they need instead of what they actually need.

With focused ideation, you explore possibilities. You generate multiple approaches. Then you test them. You let customer feedback tell you which direction is right.

The Process Within This Step

Focused ideation happens through a disciplined process: define problems, diverge, converge, develop.

1. Define the Problem Statements

Start by framing the problems you want to solve:

Use “How might we…” framing — This unlocks creative thinking.

Not: “Solve hospital cost problems”
But: “How might we help hospital administrators understand where waste occurs?”
Not: “Make the decision process easier”
But: “How might we empower clinicians to make faster decisions?”

Connect to specific customer needs — Each problem statement should trace back to a specific customer insight from the deep dive.

“Administrators felt powerless” → “How might we give them visibility and control?”
“Clinicians lack information at the point of care” → “How might we deliver relevant information in real time?”

Sample size guidance — Typically 3-5 problem statements per opportunity. More than that dilutes focus. One is too narrow.

2. Diverge

Generate many ideas without judgment:

Generate 100+ ideas per problem statement — The goal is quantity, not quality.

Use flipcharts, sticky notes, whiteboards, digital tools
Encourage wild thinking
Capture everything
No evaluation yet

Use proven ideation techniques:

Brainstorming — Open ideation around a specific challenge
Role playing — “We are the customer. How would we solve this?”
Borrowing from other industries — “How do airlines solve this? How do retailers solve this?”
Constraint-based ideation — “How would we solve this if we had no budget? If we had unlimited budget? If we had one month?”

Build on others’ ideas — One person’s “bad” idea sparks another person’s great idea. That’s the magic of divergence.

Defer judgment — This is critical. Evaluation kills ideation. Separate the two steps completely.

3. Converge

Narrow from 100+ ideas to 12-15 concepts:

Dot voting — Give each person a certain number of votes. They put votes on ideas they like. The highest-voted ideas rise to the top.

Clustering — Group similar ideas together. See patterns. Which themes emerge?

Ranking and discussion — For the top ideas, discuss briefly:

What’s interesting about this idea?
What’s feasible about it?
What’s risky about it?

Select concepts for development — Choose your 12-15 strongest ideas to develop into concepts.

4. Develop Concepts

Convert ideas into testable concepts:

Write concept descriptions — 100-200 words describing the core idea.

What is it?
For whom?
What problem does it solve?
Why would they care?

Create concept stimuli:

Renderings or mockups — Visual representations of how it would look
Wireframes or storyboards — How would the user experience it?
Video concepts — Sometimes a 60-second video communicates better than pages of copy
Prototypes — Physical or interactive prototypes

Prepare for testing — These concepts become stimuli for Step 6 (Concept Optimization). Customers will react to them. Be prepared to gather feedback.

How This Connects to Your Other Strategic Work

Focused ideation creates the foundation for concept testing:

Innovation & New Product Strategy — How to approach innovation systematically, not randomly.

Design Thinking & Customer-Centric Innovation — How to innovate around customer needs and problems.

Value Proposition Framework — How ideation informs value proposition development. Different concepts suggest different value props.

Go-to-Market Strategy — How concepts inform go-to-market approaches. Different concepts may require different channels or messaging.

Brand Positioning — How solution concepts inform positioning.

Focused ideation is where creative thinking becomes disciplined. It bridges from “we understand the problem” to “here’s how we might solve it.”

The Principle in Action: A Real Example

Here’s how focused ideation produces breakthrough solutions.

A luxury automotive company had conducted a deep dive and identified a key customer insight: One segment of buyers wanted the luxury experience to extend beyond the car to the entire ownership experience.

They ran a focused ideation session. The problem statement: “How might we make the ownership experience as luxurious as the product?”

The team diverged. 100+ ideas on flipcharts:

“What if there was a dedicated concierge?”
“What if we offered white-glove service at home?”
“What if we partnered with five-star hotels for travel packages?”
“What if we had a mobile service unit that comes to you?”
“What if we created an exclusive community?”
“What if we guaranteed resale value?”
“What if we offered exclusive experiences—track days, driving events, travel?”

After dot voting and clustering, 12 core concepts emerged. Some were obvious (“white-glove service”). Some were unexpected (“exclusive driving experiences”). Some were hybrid (“concierge + experiences + at-home service”).

They developed these 12 into testable concepts with renderings and descriptions. In Step 6 (Concept Optimization), they tested them with target customers.

What they discovered: The “exclusive experiences” concept resonated far more than the “service” concepts. Customers didn’t want someone else to wash their car. They wanted to be part of an exclusive community. They wanted experiences that deepened their connection to the brand.

That insight shaped the entire positioning and go-to-market strategy.

Without focused ideation, they would have converged on “concierge service” (the obvious answer) and missed the real opportunity: community and experience.

Common Mistakes

Too many problem statements — If you have 10 problem statements, ideation gets unfocused. Limit to 3-5 per opportunity. Go deep on a few rather than shallow on many.

Evaluating ideas too early — The moment someone says “that won’t work,” ideation stops. Defer all judgment. Capture everything. Evaluate later.

Not narrowing enough — If you move all 100 ideas to concept development, you’re still not prioritized. The convergence step is critical. Narrow ruthlessly.

Skipping the development step — Ideas are abstract. Concepts are concrete. Customers can’t give useful feedback on abstract ideas. Develop them into testable concepts.

Not getting enough buy-in — If ideation happens in a room with three people and never surfaces to leadership, the best ideas get dismissed. Involve broad cross-functional participation. Make it a team sport.

Next: Test Concepts With Customers

With concepts developed, the next step is testing them with target customers:

Move to Step 6: Perform Concept Optimization (CORE)

In Step 6, you’ll conduct iterative concept testing with target customers. You’ll gather feedback, identify winners, and refine concepts based on what you learn.