Facilitation + Team Engagement
Rethink What an Inventing Session Produces
The ideas are valuable. But the engagement those sessions generate may be worth even more.
The main purpose of an inventing session is to generate ideas. So the typical outputs to measure are straightforward: number of unique ideas, and estimated value in terms of sales or cost savings. These metrics are real and worth tracking.
But they miss something bigger.
The Output Nobody Measures
What most teams measure
Number of unique ideas
Estimated value (sales or cost savings)
What actually moves organizations
Most organizations do not struggle with a lack of ideas. They struggle with getting people to take action on them.
“Engaged teams move ideas forward. Disengaged teams let even great ideas die.”
Eureka! Ranch
You could argue engagement is more valuable than the ideas themselves. Most organizations do not struggle with a lack of ideas. They struggle with getting people to take action on them.
The good news is that when the session is structured the right way, engagement increases. We have run hundreds of inventing sessions and you can feel the optimism and energy without even needing to measure it.
What Teams Actually Say
At the end of each session, we ask for final thoughts. These are anonymized reflections from a recent two-day inventing session. See if you can feel the energy.
“I never knew that I could come up with so many ideas. Thinking five to ten years out really pushed me to focus on the future instead of just today.”
“This was such an enjoyable whirlwind. Throwing ideas out, building off each other, and getting to know new people.”
“It was neat to see how people could take the same concept in so many different directions, then combine the best parts into something even better.”
“Hearing different perspectives and pain points helped me think about barriers I hadn’t considered before.”
“Getting different perspectives and personal experiences was inspiring. It reminds you who you’re designing for.”
“I was excited to see the engagement and passion across the board. People were building on each other’s ideas, and I’m very excited about what’s next.”
And it is not just the sessions we facilitate. Here is what a student said in their Blue Belt Reflection after leading their first inventing session:
Blue Belt Student Reflection
“I was blown away by the level of engagement from my attendees and the ideas they contributed. As a bonus beyond just getting great ideas, it also had the added benefit of really making people feel included and heard. The process provided by this course got others invested in the problem I was trying to solve, and we are still feeling the positive benefits from that session.”
“This whole process challenged my assumptions of who is creative and who can innovate. I would say facilitating this creative session was the most fun I had in the course. I was nervous beforehand, but this class gave me the tools to do it and once we got going it was an exhilarating and fun challenge.”
From a Blue Belt Innovation Training reflection
It Works Regardless of Starting Point
The best part is that we hear these kinds of comments regardless of where a team starts. Some teams come in highly ready to create and execute. Others have more fear.
It does not matter.
When people are given the space, structure, and permission to create together, engagement follows.
If you are looking for a practical way to improve engagement, rethink how you use your team’s time.
Instead of defaulting to another team-building retreat, try an inventing session.
You will get ideas. But more importantly, you will get a team that is energized and ready to act on them.
Eureka! Ranch helps organizations build the skills, systems, and culture needed to turn bold ideas into real results.