Beyond the Brainstorm: Move Ideas Forward and Avoid Innovation Theater

You’ve just wrapped up a killer brainstorm. The room was buzzing with energy, everyone was on fire, and ideas were flying left and right. People left excited, high-fiving on their way out the door, confident that you’re all about to launch the next big thing. And now, here you are, standing alone in front of a dry-erase board completely covered in colorful Post-It notes, a few wild sketches, and some stray doodles.

Sound familiar?

At this point, many innovation leaders find themselves staring at that board thinking: Now what? The hard truth is that without a solid post-brainstorm plan, all those brilliant ideas could be destined for the “innovation graveyard.” This is where you risk sliding into “innovation theater”—putting on a good show, but never actually doing anything meaningful with all those creative concepts.

But don’t worry. We’ve been there, and we’ve got you covered. Let’s walk through some best practices for making sure your brainstorming sessions lead to real outcomes—and not just applause and applause and a lot of wasted sticky notes.

The Solution: Turning Brainstorm Chaos into Focused Action

Here’s what to do to make sure your brainstorms don’t end up as empty promises:

1. Sort, Categorize, and Prioritize Ideas—Before You Lose Momentum

Before everyone gets too comfortable back at their desks, rally the team one last time (or hop on a quick follow-up call) to sort through the ideas. Use a framework to categorize ideas based on feasibility and impact:

• Quick Wins: Low-effort, high-impact ideas you can tackle right away.
• Strategic Projects: Larger, high-impact ideas that align with your long-term vision.
• Backburner Ideas: Those “crazy” ideas that might just work, but will need more vetting later.

Prioritizing in this way ensures that your team knows where to focus and avoids the dreaded “idea overload” that can paralyze innovation leaders.

2. Evaluate the Top Ideas Like a Pro

Now it’s time to put on your “reality check” hat. You need to see which ideas have real potential and which were simply creative exercises. Use a structured evaluation method, like Clayton Christensen’s Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) theory, to ask key questions:

• Does this idea solve a real problem for our customers?
• Does it align with our strategic goals?
• Do we have the resources to pull this off?

This isn’t about being a buzzkill; it’s about making sure that the best ideas get the attention they deserve.

3. Assign Ownership: Who’s Taking the Ball and Running With It?

Ever heard the saying, “If it’s everyone’s job, it’s no one’s job”? This is where many great ideas go to die. Make sure each idea has a clear owner—someone who’s responsible for moving it forward and rallying support from others. This ensures that all the momentum from your brainstorming session doesn’t dissipate the moment people go back to their day-to-day tasks.

4. Build a Roadmap and Action Plan—Complete with Milestones and Timelines

Time to get tactical! Create a detailed action plan that lays out:

• Best next step: What can someone be doing tomorrow that will help you learn more about the feasibility, desirability, and viability of this concept?
• Key milestones: What’s the first step? What are the major checkpoints?
• Deliverables: What needs to happen by when? What does success look like?
• Timelines: Set clear deadlines, even for small tasks, to keep things on track.

Remember, the best innovation leaders treat ideas like projects, not just concepts. So map it out and get your team working towards clear goals.

5. Establish a Feedback Loop: Innovation is a Journey, Not a One-Off

Once you’ve assigned owners and laid out your plan, set up a regular cadence for feedback and check-ins. These might be bi-weekly innovation review meetings or more informal updates. The goal is to keep everyone informed and engaged, allowing space to course-correct if needed.

Pro Tip: Use tools like LaunchPath or other project management software to track progress and share updates in real-time. This transparency keeps everyone in the loop and maintains momentum.

6. Avoid Innovation Theater—Don’t Let Your Ideas Become Just a Show

Innovation theater happens when we talk a big game but don’t actually do anything meaningful with the ideas we generate. Here are some signs that you’re falling into that trap:

• Premature celebrations for ideas that haven’t been vetted or executed.
• No follow-through on post-brainstorm action plans.
• Relying on buzzwords and flashy presentations without concrete results.

Keep the focus on execution and meaningful progress. If an idea stalls, figure out why and course-correct. Don’t be afraid to pause or pivot, but do it with intention.

Tactics and Strategies to Keep the Momentum Going

• Rapid Prototyping and Testing: Don’t let good ideas gather dust. If possible, build small prototypes or MVPs to test them out. Even a small pilot can provide invaluable feedback and give your team the confidence to move forward.
• Set Up Cross-Functional Teams: Bring in folks from different departments to get a variety of perspectives and skills. This helps break down silos and ensures the solution you’re working on addresses multiple needs.
• Use Innovation Tools and Technology: Platforms like LaunchPath help teams manage ideas, track progress, and collaborate in real-time, making it easier to turn brainstorms into action. You can even use LaunchPath's AI tools to crowdsource problems to solve in advance of the brainstorm.
• Celebrate Real Wins, Not Just Ideas: Yes, recognition is key, but make sure you’re celebrating things like a successful prototype launch, early customer feedback, or reaching a project milestone—rather than just generating ideas in a brainstorming session.

You're Ready to Transform Every Brainstorm into Meaningful Change

Brainstorms are supposed to be fun, high-energy, and creative. But without a plan, they can easily become wasted potential. By following these post-brainstorm best practices—sorting and prioritizing ideas, assigning ownership, creating action plans, and staying focused on execution—you can ensure that your team’s efforts lead to real outcomes and avoid falling into the trap of innovation theater.

Next time you’re standing in front of that board covered in sticky notes, you won’t have to wonder, Now what? Instead, you’ll know exactly how to turn that burst of creativity into meaningful, tangible results that drive real impact for your organization.