10 essentials for gamestorming

In the 1930s, the Mountaineers club developed a list they called the 10 essentials, for people who want to explore in backcountry or wilderness areas. These are the things you want to be sure you have anytime you go into the backcountry. They include matches, blanket, flashlight, and so on. The point of the 10 essentials is to have a checklist of the items you’ll need to be self-sufficient as you explore unknown territory.

We’re entering a new age of discovery where we are exploring a world of information. Like the explorers of the past, we often have only a vague sense of what we are looking for and are not sure what we will find when we get there. Based on our collective experience, we have compiled a list of the 10 essentials for gamestorming. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means, but rather a solid, dependable, basic toolkit. It’s a list of tried-and-true methods: the 20% of the toolkit that you’ll use 80% of the time.

These are the methods we employ most often in our work, and they are also the things you will find most useful if you find yourself in a difficult meeting. If you practice and become comfortable with these 10 things, you will be able to work your way through nearly any challenge.

1. Opening and Closing

This concept is so important for managing energy and flow that it belongs on the essentials list. Opening and closing is the way you orchestrate your gamestorming activities. Like breathing, it underlies every activity, giving it rhythm ...