Brainstorms kick off a new planning cycle to generate ideas for a new roadmap. They are often the most expensive meeting given the number of people involved.

Most brainstorms are also considered complete BS for a few reasons:

1. Ideas are all over the place

2. Ideas never see the light of day

3. Unclear goals

But done right, a brainstorm makes the rest of planning easier and energizes the team. It's an effective tool to engage and retain A-level talent. And it starts with doing the right pre-work.

Ideally, it's about instilling ownership, not extracting buy-in.

Let's get started, so you can stop this perception one brainstorm at a time: