diverge · Ideation, Problem Solving, Planning · 45–90 min · 3-24 people · medium energy

Disney Creative Strategy

A group works on an idea in three separate roles, each in its own space: the Dreamer imagines freely, the Realist works out how it would actually be done, and the Critic looks for gaps and risks. Criticisms are turned into questions, which go back to the Dreamer. Keeping the roles apart stops ideas being judged before they have been developed.

When to use Disney Creative Strategy

Use when a team needs to develop an ambitious idea into a workable plan without killing it too early.

What it solves

Ideas get shot down in the first five minutes because dreaming and judging happen in the same conversation.

How to run Disney Creative Strategy, step by step

  1. Set up three spaces, clearly labelled Dreamer, Realist and Critic, far enough apart not to interfere (5 min).
  2. Dreamer: imagine the outcome with no limits. What would it look like if it worked? (15 min).
  3. Realist: work out how to make it happen. Storyboard the steps, who does what, when (15 min).
  4. Critic: look at the plan, not the people. What is missing, what could go wrong? Write each criticism as a question (15 min).
  5. Back to the Dreamer space to answer the Critic's questions with new ideas (10 min).
  6. Repeat the cycle until the plan holds up in all three roles, then capture it (10-20 min).

Materials needed

  • Three spaces or walls with signs
  • Flip charts
  • Sticky notes and markers

Facilitator tips

  • Physically moving between spaces helps people switch mindset.
  • Hold the Critic to the plan. Critique of the dreamers is out of bounds.
  • Keep the Dreamer phase free of 'but'.

Common pitfalls

  • Critic thinking creeps into the Dreamer phase.
  • Running only one cycle, so the critic's questions never get answered.

Variations

  • Split the group so subgroups hold each role, then rotate.

Running it online or hybrid

Use three separate board areas or rooms for the three roles and change background or camera position when people switch.

What it produces

A plan that has been dreamed, made concrete and stress-tested, plus the open questions the Critic raised.

Origin

Modelled by Robert Dilts from the way Walt Disney worked, described in his book Strategies of Genius. — source

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