Surely, there can't be anything wrong with your desire to make your lists and check them thrice. And what could be the harm in creating a function book that is orderly and precise? Plan the work and work the plan, right?  Yes, but too much of any good thing is still too much. Just think of the brain cramp you get when eating too much ice cream too quickly. In some respects, the precision and orderliness that helps make meetings run so smoothly can cramp innovation. As the former head of MIT's famed Media Lab, Nicholas Negroponte once said, "Innovation is inefficient. More often than not, it is undisciplined, contrarian, and iconoclastic; and it nourishes itself with confusion and contradiction."

If we are going to get comfortable with working in confusion and contradiction (and you are committed to that, right?) than we need to engage in more effective processes to facilitate the generation and execution of innovative ideas. The work of Edward deBono, a leading authority on creativity, reminds us that good ideas result from a three-step thinking process, completed in this order: create, critique, construct.

Begin with creative thinking and generating the maximum number of ideas and interesting possibilities.

• Set a goal for the number of ideas to generate.
• Designate a facilitator to enforce the "no bad ideas" rule that is so quickly broken during most brainstorming sessions.
• Consider having individuals submit ideas anonymously to help empower people to speak more freely.
• Frame your questions in the most compelling language to invite new and different thinking.
• Bring in external perspectives, ideas, and stimuli to help trigger new thinking and new combinations of ideas.

The idea generation stage is naturally messy, as we struggle to avoid self-censoring our ideas and to build on the ideas of others. Once you feel you have produced enough ideas, move on to critical thinking.

Creative thinking is expansive. Critical thinking is narrowing. You need to develop agreed-upon criteria in order to evaluate the many possibilities you have come up with in your brainstorming session and determine which ones have the most merit. Weigh each idea's desirability, feasibility, wow factor, alignment with brand, and overall ROI.

Since we rarely can implement all the good ideas we generate, save any promising initiatives that weren't selected for future consideration.

The final process involves constructive thinking: deciding how to construct, implement, and execute the ideas you have just selected. This stage also holds promise for some additional creative thinking as you might discover new ways of doing the work you have just identified. While some think of this stage as a narrowing one, it actually is about being expansive again.

• Identify all of the steps, actions, and resources needed to ensure flawless execution on your new ideas and innovations.
• Create flowcharts or mind map all of the required steps to ensure nothing is forgotten.
• Then sequence them in "domino order" to make sure your plan of work completes the appropriate activities at the necessary time.

°Jeffrey Cufaude is a former higher education administrator, meeting planner, and association executive. He currently writes, speaks, and facilitates on a variety of individual and organizational leadership issues. Learn more about his work at www.ideaarchitects.org. To submit topic ideas and feedback on the Leading Learning column, e-mail jeffrey@ideaarchitects.org. Convene's Leading Learning series is sponsored by AVW TELAV. Visit its Web site at www.avwtelav.com.