Moderator Notes for a Theme Meeting PDF Print E-mail
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Moderator Notes for a Theme Meeting

ATTENDEES: 

There are only two types of attendees for this meetings. 1. Those who will be writing a section of the proposal should attend the theme meeting. 2. The ones who know the client the best or who are the best technical experts on the particular project being proposed on. There should be no one else present - no "witnesses," no "tourists." The smaller the group, the more quickly the brainstorming goes. Even if witnesses don't speak, the process slows down considerably. This rule is important. If, by chance, none of the writers (including yourself) has participated in the marketing effort directed at this prospect, one member of that team needs to attend so that they can provide clarification and feedback where necessary. 

LOCATION: 
A secure facility. No windows. Unplug all phones. 

EQUIPMENT: 
Lots of room to write. Cover the walls with sheets of paper or whiteboards. Bring the notes from the marketing team with complete description of the CASE, all BUGS, and their ISSUES. The latest Black Hole Report should be included as well. A copy of the RFP is appropriate but not necessary.

GROUND RULES: 

You do not contribute to the discussion. You must record all comments and make sure everyone gets a chance to be heard. Your job is to draw out quiet members so that the group doesn't miss their contribution. And make it safe for anyone to say the first thing that pops into their head. There are no BAD answers in brainstorming, and the only dumb questions are the ones that didn't get asked.

AGENDA: 
  1. Review the marketing intelligence collected by the marketing team. Use the boards to draw organization charts, list BUGS, note peculiarities of the key players in the customer's organization. The team needs to get a feel for the players who are part of this procurement. Describe the BUGS with all the detail you have available, right down to what their favorite TV show might be.
  2. Write all of the issues on the board and discuss solutions to each.
  3. Rank order the issues, creating at least 3 that you believe are the strongest both in desire on the customer's part and your own ability to solve.
  4. Leave the top issues on the board, and take down or erase the rest.
  5. Read off the issues you're focusing on and ask for any ideas for a theme, no matter how wild, that occur to anyone in the group. When you get stuck, use questions that force the group to access the creative side of the brain by pairing incongruent concepts with the issues. "So, if we wanted to build a restaurant for this customer, what kind of restaurant would we build? What kind of television show would we be? What song would we sing?
  6. Make sure that every idea gets written on the board. Do not allow anyone to discount, groan, or criticize any ideas at this stage. If you do, that part of the group will shut down. Once you've exhausted the group, step back and see if there are any nuggets that fit together for a theme.
  7. During this process, you're listening for a group "Ah Ha!" Once you've heard this in a theme meeting, you'll never forget it. Someone will say something, and several of the others in the group will react immediately. They may not say "Ah Ha!" but the reaction will be much the same. This is important because it signals that you have reached the Theme. When this happens, immediately proceed to the next step: test the theme. Do not stop. Do not let the group hesitate to judge whether this idea is too silly, bold, dangerous, strong, etc. Hesitation at this point will begin a spiral of weaker and weaker ideas, taking hours and hours to wade through.
  8. Testing the theme: Check your theme against its two most important functions:
  • Does it meet the requirements of a Theme?

Is it unique to your firm? (Can another firm use this theme?)

Does it benefit the customer? (Does this somehow help the customer?)

Is it important to the customer? (Does this theme relate to an issue(s) that is important, and not just a trivial side interest of the customer?)

Is it specific? (Does this theme relate specifically to this customer, this project?)

Is it provable? (Can you prove your claims?) 

  • Can you illustrate your benefit statements with this theme?

Construct a benefit statement that ties to your theme. Now address each one of the ISSUES by writing a benefit statement about that ISSUE that ties in your theme. Can you do it? If so, you'll have no problem writing to this theme.

General guidelines: (To be violated whenever necessary) 

  • A shorter theme statement is better than a long one.
  • Concrete metaphors are easier to write to than abstract statements.
  • Fancy words don't earn extra points (avoid 3 and 4 syllable words).

NOTICE: Avoid patent and trademark violations. 

You can allude to, but not capitalize upon trademarks. For instance, it is legal to allude to the Andy Griffith Show as your theme: "We remember watching the Andy Griffith Show at home, and just like Andy was the steady hand, keeping order and peace, your project manager will be your on-site sentry." On the other hand, you cannot use a photo you found on the Internet until you have checked to see if it is copyrighted, and then received permission if it is. Consult with legal counsel whenever you're uncertain.

For more information about building a Theme, Click here...


 

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