Disney Creative Strategy Template
Fuel innovation with our Creative Strategy Template where teams can dream up ideas to generate new products or solutions to problems. This Disney Strategy is conducted in three magical phases (The Dreamer, The Realist, and The Critic).
About the Disney Creative Strategy template
What is the Disney Creative Strategy?
Walt Disney is famous for dreaming up and executing some of the most ambitious creative projects of our time. The Disney Creative Strategy was inspired by his approach to projects. This creative process bridges the gap between imagination and reality. Use the Disney Creative Strategy template to brainstorm ideas that balance dreams and their execution.
To prepare for a Disney Creative Strategy exercise, divide the room into four parts. The first part is for dreaming and imagination, the second is for realism and planning, the third is for critics, and the fourth is for out-of-the-box thinking. Dividing the room sets the stage for what is to come, preparing the team to switch from one framework to another.
How do you follow the Disney Creative Strategy?
Start with the dreamer’s style of thinking by allowing the team to share their ideas with no restrictions or criticism. Your goal is to generate many ideas without worrying about how feasible or realistic they are. Next, take on the realist’s approach. Move to another location and think in a more logical fashion. Start to create an action plan to bring your ideas to life. Finally, move to another location to adopt the critic’s mindset. Examine your ideas and consider barriers or weaknesses.
The 3 Stages of the Disney Creative Strategy
1. The dreamer: The first stage allows the team to unlock their creativity. Focus on letting the ideas flow without criticism or restrictions.
Ask yourselves: What do we want? How can we imagine a solution? What are some potential benefits of this solution?
2. The realist: Now switch to realist mode. Start from the premise that the dream is possible. Assuming that you can achieve it, figure out what steps you would need to take to do so.
Ask: how can we apply this idea? What is our action plan? What is our timeline? What resources would we need?
3. The critic: Once you have an action plan, it’s time to uncover potential roadblocks.
Ask: what could go wrong with this idea? What is missing? What are some potential weaknesses?
Get started with this template right now.
How Now Wow Matrix Template
Works best for:
Ideation, Product Management, Prioritization
There are no bad ideas in a brainstorm — but some are more original and easier to implement. The How Now Wow matrix is a tool that helps you identify and organize those great ideas, as well as reinvigorates your team to think creatively and take risks (a taller order as you scale). Grab this template to create your own matrix, then rank the ideas you generated in a brainstorm as “How” (difficult to implement), “Now” (easy to implement), or “Wow” (both original and easy to implement).
Lotus Diagram Template
Works best for:
UX Design, Ideation, Diagrams
Even creative thinkers can use occasional help thinking creatively, to see things in fresh ways and generate brilliant ideas. A Lotus Diagram will give them new inspiration — and empower you to run smoother, more effective brainstorming sessions. This creative-thinking technique explores ideas by putting the main idea at the diagram center and ancillary concepts in the surrounding boxes. This template gives you an easy way to create Lotus Diagrams for brainstorms, as well as an infinite canvas for the endless ideas generated.
Reverse Brainstorming Template
Works best for:
Ideation, Brainstorming, Team Meetings
Reverse brainstorming is a technique that prompts a group to think of problems, rather than solutions. Because we naturally think of problems, it’s a great way to get a group to anticipate problems that may occur during a project. To engage in reverse brainstorming, start by identifying the problem, and then think of things that might exacerbate it. Ask your team to generate ideas around ways in which the problem could get worse. Reverse the problems into solutions again, and then evaluate your ideas.
Ansoff Matrix Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Operations, Strategic Planning
Keep growing. Keep scaling. Keep finding those new opportunities in new markets—and creative new ways to reach customers there. Sound like your approach? Then this template might be a great fit. An Ansoff Matrix (aka, a product or market expansion grid) is broken into four potential growth strategies: Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development, and Diversification. When you go through each section with your team, you’ll get a clear view of your options going forward and the potential risks and rewards of each.
Agile Board Template
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Meetings, Agile Workflows
Part of the popular Agile framework, an Agile Board is a visual display that allows you to sync on tasks throughout a production cycle. The Agile Board is typically used in the context of Agile development methods like Kanban and Scrum, but anyone can adopt the tool. Used by software developers and project managers, the Agile Board helps manage workload in a flexible, transparent and iterative way. The Agile template provides an easy way to get started with a premade layout of sticky notes customizable for your tasks and team.
Project Scope Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Decision Making, Project Planning
A project scope helps you plan and confirm your project’s goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, costs, and deadlines. A project manager and team should develop a project scope as early as possible, as it will directly influence both the schedule and cost of a project as it progresses. Though project scopes will vary depending on your team and objectives, they generally include goals, requirements, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints. Aim to include the whole team when you create a project scope to ensure everyone is aligned on responsibilities and deadlines.