What it is for:The lotus blossom technique is a grid method for generating ideas. The team leaves with a full, organised map of up to 64 ideas spread across eight themes, a set of marked ideas worth developing, and the assumption behind each one written down.
Who it helps:Teams facing a broad, many-sided challenge, such as improving a whole service, who want an organised set of ideas rather than a long list.
When to use it
Your challenge is broad and has many sides, such as improving a whole service.
Earlier idea sessions kept returning to the same few themes.
You want a large, organised set of ideas, not a long unsorted list.
How to use it
Write the challenge as an open question in the centre square.
Agree eight themes and move each to the centre of its own outer grid.
Fill each theme's eight petals with ideas, about four minutes per grid.
Spend extra time on thin grids, since empty squares reveal blind spots.
Mark ideas worth keeping and record each with its theme and assumption.
Tip:Spend real care on choosing the eight themes. They shape everything that follows.
Credits and sources:Original Tiremesù worksheet and wording. Method credit: Yasuo Matsumura.
Full guide and film:https://www.tiremesu.com/guides/lotus-blossom
