Brainstorming

August 18, 2025

Good morning! Coming to you this morning from Without A Vision Consultancy’s summer headquarters in Starboard Cove, Maine. We marvel at the kaleidoscope reveal of sunrise just as California is getting tucked into bed the night before. The recipient of communication is, de facto, the best evaluator of its quality. When will those who’ve recently invested $90+ billion in the scheme prove the rest of us wrong? Or, will it be the other way around? What are the dangers of staying on the sidelines?!The Bitcoin Cryptocurrency rush resembles the gold and silver rushes of two centuries ago when 99% of prospectors went bust. This rush to riches by more and more traditional and mainstream people has us puzzled and perplexed — and somewhat fearful of missing out.

• The so-called Dog Days of Summer have nothing to do with heat, humidity, and declining light…
  • Look to the sky at night to find your answer.
• Most attempts at brainstorming are doomed.
  • To generate better ideas — and to boost the odds that your organization will act on them — start by asking better questions.
  • Know your organization’s decision-making criteria — both the formal and the informal.
  • Choose the right people to be in the room and around the table.
  • Focus!  Divide into subgroups.  Have questions prepared in advance… this is not a time for rambling or philosophizing.
  • Deep dive rather than rambling — there is a time for the latter, but not now.
  • You never know who will have the next best idea, but if it’s not part of THIS focus, respectfully ask for it to be presented after this session; stay focused.
  • Wrap it up!
  • Follow up and follow through!  (Coyne, 2011)

• The best strategic imperatives might not be the right ones because your organization might not be equipped to transform your vision into reality.
  • Vision – Strategic Imperatives – Goals aligned with those imperatives – Work plans…
    • … none of them matters if your organization isn’t aligned operationally.
  • Be sure to travel the parallel paths required to increase the chances of your Vision coming true.
  • Touch these bases:  (Need help… that’s why Without A Vision Consultancy exists!)
    1. Structure
    2. Ecosystem
    3. Leadership
    4. Processes
    5. Technology
    6. Behaviours
    7. Talent
    8. Deployment
    9. Rewards
• Marketing Lesson o’ the Week — elementary and basic but it’s helpful to review.
• If your positioning is soft, no amount of cleverness will save it.
  • Most marketing fails because you’re trying to sell something people don’t understand, don’t want, or can already get somewhere else.
  • How should you position your product?  (Ogilvy)
  • Interview your bests customers
  • Study what your competitors AREN’t saying
  • Boil your answer down to a single bold claim
• If it doesn’t pass the so what?! test, it’s not strong enough.
  • Your marketing is about selling your product (or your service), it’s not about the advertisement for the sake of the advertisement.
  • Good marketing yields, “I need that/ I want that.” rather than, ‘Cool adv!”
  • Lead with the product (service) in action
  • Highlight the value
  • Use testimonials that SHOW, not just tell
  • If your product (service) is not the hero of the message, you’re doing free advertising for your marketing team.
• Make a big bold promise.
  • This promise must set you apart from the competition (Ibid.)
  • What specifically is in it for the customer?
  • Clarity wins.
  • The internet is vast and noisy… the only way to win is with something bold and true.
• Consistency — you’re building your brand one course of bricks at a time.
  • Don’t screw it up by jumping around with different images, messages, logos, and special deals.
  • Take great care to not confuse people.  Consistency rules.
  • Brand is cumulative memory.  Every message should make your brand stronger.
• Clarity beats clever — every time.
  • You’re not writing to impress other marketers; you’re writing to be understood.
  • If your audience wouldn’t say it, don’t write it.  No jargon.  No internal speak.  No trying to sound smart.  (Ogilvy, Etc., et al.)
• “Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.”  (Wilder)