"Whoever names the problem gets to solve it!" Tim Shuster
Harry Reese didn't invent the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, but in 1928 he took this amazing combination and created the automated process needed to bring the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup to the world. He was uniquely suited for this challenge because his candy company focused on combining chocolate with a variety of other ingredients such as raisins, almonds, dates, coconut, etc. He new the power of combining ingredients into irresistible treats.
I recently sat down with Tim Schuster, founder of PopUpThinkTank, and I immediately sensed that he also knew the power of combinations. But instead of combining flavors, Tim has found a novel and powerful way to combine people and ideas. As he says it, "We are creating a new category. No one else is thinking about ideation as engagement."
The concept is simple, but powerful. Imagine if the outcome of your brainstorming and ideation process was more than simply good ideas. What if you emerged from those creative spaces with a team of passionate advocates for the ideas that you co-created together? That is the brand promise that PopUpThinkTank is working to deliver. Their site says it this way, "30+ Thinkers, 90 Minutes, 100's of Ideas & Connections."
This innovative combination has ministry roots. Tim was a church planter in South Minneapolis in 2012 when he decided to take a very different approach to small groups. Using open space technology and his intuitive collaborative style, the team launched an approach to small groups where people could join the group that most resonated with their interests all in the same room at the same time. Groups morphed and changed as people moved around to discuss different ideas and aspects of faith and life. Over time, Tim saw that power in these organic and idea-focused groups and wondered, "How do we take what we are doing and give it away to the world?"
So, what makes this model of ideation unique? Tim and his teamwork with an innovator who has an idea over five weeks to hone the presentation, identify people in their network to include, and then host a virtual meeting that immediately feels different than the average Zoom call. The differences aren't rocket science, but together they make a big difference. Tim shared with me about how he uses music, "chit-chat," introductions, countdown timers, thoughtful questions, simple feedback loops, and a finely honed presentation to create an ideation experience.
When I asked Tim to share what he loved about leading these sessions, his answer encapsulated the uniqueness of what he is doing, "The 90 minutes is the culmination of a process with a founder or leader who has said they are going to take two vulnerable things and put them together: your idea and your network." His advice to innovators seeking to get input from others reiterated this key point, "In a world that is always changing, pivoting a product is easier than pivoting relationships. Start with your relationships. When you are clear who your idea is for, you are ready to spend lifetime serving that persona."
I got to experience a PopUpThinkTank session recently at the invitation of Ann Chow, a ministry entrepreneur and a facilitator for PopUpThinkTank. In the session I joined, Ann and a friend were the innovators and Tim was leading the session. He was helping them get input from their network on a new event planning business they are working on.
I was immediately taken in with the process. I was attending because I knew Ann but when I entered it felt like I was joining a party. There was a light and fun atmosphere as I joined in with another 50-70 people. By the end of the 90 minutes, I felt I knew the founders, their vision, and the general outline of the idea. I had given real input and had received a burst of creativity that got my idea engines moving. I also had the opportunity to take the growing ownership I had of Ann's idea and articulate to her (along with everyone else) what part I could play in helping her bring her idea into the world.
As I talked with Tim, one of the impressions I walked away with is that of a "confident asker." Because he believes in people, their ideas and the power of connecting the two, he is willing to ask questions that bring an idea to life and then give people a chance to join together to see it become a reality.
In a world where ideas are commonplace but meaningful relationships are rare, Tim's effort to bring the two together has the power to elevate the best ideas and nurture the right relationships.
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