Most Brainstorms Waste Time (What to Do Instead)

We’ve all been there.

Sticky notes on the wall. Whiteboard scribbles. A lot of head nodding. Maybe even a burst of energy.

And then... nothing.

No action. No follow-through. No breakthrough.

It’s the classic brainstorm trap—where a bunch of ideas show up, but none of them go anywhere. And for teams trying to innovate faster, it’s a huge source of wasted time and false momentum.

The Problem Isn’t a Lack of Ideas

I was working with a team at a mid-sized tech company who felt stuck. They were responsible for launching new customer engagement features, and leadership had just asked them to “bring fresh thinking” to their next product cycle.

So, naturally, they started with a brainstorm.

They filled a digital board with dozens of ideas. A few were clever. Most were generic. And none felt like a real solution to the underlying customer problem.

Afterwards, the team admitted something I’ve heard before:
“That was fine, but it didn’t get us anywhere new.”

The problem wasn’t creativity. The problem was context.

They were generating ideas without first doing the hard work of understanding the problem or setting constraints. So the ideas lacked depth, originality, and focus. It was a storm of opinions, not insight.

Why Traditional Brainstorms Fall Short

Most brainstorming sessions suffer from three main issues:

1. Too much freedom, not enough focus.
   When anything goes, nothing sticks. Teams need sharp constraints to unlock relevant creativity.
   
   2. Ideas before understanding.
   We jump straight into solutions without clearly defining the problem we’re trying to solve.
   
   3. No path to action.
      Ideas float in a vacuum—unprioritized, untested, and ultimately forgotten.

What Works Instead: Reframe the Session Around Learning

Innovation doesn’t happen because of better ideas. It happens because of better experiments that lead to better learning.

So before you jump into another brainstorming session, try this instead:

1. Start with a real user insight or tension.
   Ask: What do we know about the customer that’s creating friction, frustration, or missed opportunity? Ground your team in real needs, not vague challenges.
   
   2. Set a sharp constraint.
   Say: “Let’s find ideas that solve this problem without adding headcount” or “within a 2-week window.” Constraints sharpen thinking.
   
   3. Make the goal to create something testable.
      End with 1–2 small ideas the team can prototype, simulate, or put in front of customers. If it can’t be tested soon, it’s probably too big or too vague.

A Better Outcome from a Scrappier Start

One of my favorite examples of this came from a healthcare marketing team I coached. They needed to improve patient sign-ups for a wellness program. Their first brainstorm yielded 50+ ideas—most of which involved new tech, budget, or reworking the brand.

So we scrapped it.

Instead, we pulled one customer persona, focused on a single barrier (“Patients don’t believe the program is for them”), and set a challenge:
> “What can we do in the next 5 days to change someone’s mind—with zero new resources?”

Within an hour, the team landed on a simple story-first email format with real patient quotes and a call from a program alumni. They tested it with 10 users. Engagement doubled.

It wasn’t flashy. But it worked. Because it was grounded, constrained, and testable.

The Shift: From Idea Generation to Learning Acceleration

If your goal is innovation, your job isn’t to generate as many ideas as possible. Your job is to uncover what’s worth building.

The best teams don’t just brainstorm—they build, test, and learn faster than everyone else.

Want to help your teams stop spinning and start solving?
Download Breakthrough Innovation: Solving Complex Problems—Fast to learn how to turn insight into action—without the sticky-note overload.