For businesses of any size, some of the key attributes to surviving COVID-19 include creativity and the ability to solve problems. While many companies are good at dealing with the typical problems that arise each day, creativity in the face of a major crisis might not come as easily. To help spark brainstorming for how to respond to the pandemic and its effects on restaurants, hotels, retail and office work, Kelley Styring, owner of Newberg, Ore., research firm InsightFarm, lent her skills, along with 21 other senior business execs, to develop the Instant Think Tank Idea Bank, a free, open-source collection of more than 200 ideas for surviving, emerging from and thriving after the pandemic. “A crisis is an opportunity to demonstrate your values in your actions,” says Styring, who moderated the online ideation sessions and compiled the results. “We aren’t doctors or nurses. But we know how to innovate, build, market and reimagine businesses. This is how we can help.”
“No matter what size or what type of business you’re in, you can take something away from this bank of ideas,” says Kevin Flaherty, vice president of digital marketing for MOD Pizza, who reviewed the report. “Reading through the ideas allowed me to brainstorm much more efficiently. I found nuggets throughout that allowed me to riff on paths forward for my own company and my own team.”
Styring, designer Geoff Marko and product development consultant Vince Mancuso came up with the Instant Think Tank concept. They invited colleagues and clients, together representing 500 years of collective business experience from a broad spectrum of industries, to participate by volunteering their time and expertise. They hope businesses across the country can either apply or find inspiration in the 200+ ideas.
The group focused on three essential actions and an accompanying question: adapt (What can be done now to survive?); evolve (What can be done as businesses reopen to the public?); and accelerate (What can be learned from this experience to emerge better and stronger in the future?).
“We know that business owners have been focused so intently on simply surviving that they may not have the time, resources or even the mental energy to brainstorm what comes next,” Styring says. “Instead of starting with a completely blank piece of paper – which is difficult in the best of times – we thought this idea bank could provide a real tool to help business owners think creatively about what can be done now and in the future.”
The report is available to download (registration required) at https://insightfarm.biz/InstantThinkTank/.