"Some brainstorming sessions get off to a shaky start because the participants subscribe to a tenet that is provably false: ‘There is no such thing as bad idea’."

– Brainstorming Works Best if People Scramble for Ideas on Their Own, Wall Street Journal, Page B1: June 13, 2006

Executives working for technology firms, large and small, are continuously challenged to develop new and compelling ideas to create demand for their products and services.

How do you find new applications for your technology?  Where can you get new ideas for ease of use or greater efficiency?  How do you figure out the best way to penetrate new markets?  How do you differentiate the good ideas from the bad ones?

Most managers have attacked these problems at one time or another using brainstorming sessions. But many of these have trouble getting off the ground, let alone producing meaningful results. Participants have trouble being creative on demand. Some are trying to impress others, or conversely, are too self conscious to be creative. Many find it hard to “think outside the box” and move beyond the shared assumptions which permeate the company. All too often, these sessions turn into an exercise in “group think.”

The TechPar Group (TPG) has developed a service offering designed specifically to assist senior Product/Marketing Executives of technology firms to meet these challenges. The basic idea is to use brainstorming with the addition of a diverse group of highly qualified outsiders. These CIO’s, CTO’s, business users of technology and technology innovators bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. This combination of grey matter and grey hair can vastly enrich the brainstorming process. They have “been there and done that!”  We call this approach a “Grey Team.”

TPG’s Grey Team program pairs carefully selected, outstanding people with a highly disciplined process to develop, identify and describe new ideas for your organization. It has been our experience that this program can be conducted quickly, so that you and your organization can get fast results that can be put to work.

TPG uses a well-defined but flexible methodology which includes:

1. Carefully selecting TPG participants for the relevance of their knowledge and experience. Insisting that you do the same with your people.
2. Requiring that participants “do their homework” and come prepared with ideas they have generated beforehand.
3. Instilling a teamwork ethic and insisting that egos be left at the door.
4. Testing the new ideas generated versus the accumulated experience of the group. The simple reality here is that there are very few, if any, marketing approaches which haven’t been tried before.

TPG’s professionals will work closely with you and your team to understand your critical challenges, to identify responsive new ideas and to obtain reliable answers. Our goal goes beyond just the Grey Team process of developing new ideas. It is to establish a long-term relationship with you – one that provides guidance and support beyond our initial engagement. It is this special commitment and unique capability that sets TPG apart from other advisors.

The TPG Grey Team Process delivers the following benefits:

• Efficient development of new ideas for complex technology challenges.
• Exposure to decision makers in the field that will help you come up with new ways to position your offering.
• Effective interaction in a peer group that will challenge and verify assumptions and conclusions.
• Executive input into the development of important new ideas.

To learn more about how TechPar Group conducts the Grey Team process click on More on Grey Teams.