Present an idea to help Pencils of Promise

Unit 1: Lateral Thinking & Creative Thinking Techniques

Mission brief
The brief (this is hypothetical)
Raise $1,000,000 in 6 months to help fund urgently needed schools in Guatemala
(You can read about one school here http://bit.ly/15r9xTA)
You can choose your audience, insights, channels and technology.
You can choose whether you focus on an advertising solution or a non-advertising solution.
A kind and imaginary benefactor has offered to cover $250,000 in costs.
About Pencils of Promise
“Pencils of Promise believes every child should have access to quality education.
We create schools, programs, and global communities around the common goal of education for all. We’re the impossible ones. We want to start revolutions with a pencil and a backpack. We want to test the edge of the world by feeling its curves. We want to see more, be more, do more. We stay up late reading books we love and play our music way too loud. We inhale life and exhale fire. We know that we can create a better world through education. We believe in this wholeheartedly. We are something that you’ve never experienced before. We are Pencils of Promise.”
http://www.pencilsofpromise.org
Key resources
- Watch Lateral thinking - Prime Your Head for Ideas (made especially for you)
- Read: How to Explain an Idea: A Mega Post
Bonus resources
- Watch: Edward de Bono on Creative Thinking
- Watch: Edward de Bono on Lateral Thinking
- Read: Wikipedia on Ideas
- Read: Writing Loglines that Sell (a screenwriter’s perspective)
- Read: Writers on Rewriting
- Research tools: Digital Toolbox

Unit 2: Come Up With 25 Ideas

Get started! Set up a project based on the Pencils of Promise brief from the previous Unit.
Get started! Set up a project based on the Pencils of Promise brief from the previous Unit.
1. Wrap your head around lateral thinking. Take some notes on what it means.
2. Research Pencils of Promise
3. Choose an audience then research their behavior (online and offline). What behavior can we fuel?
4. Gather stimuli - screengrabs, mindmaps, notes.
5. Use the stimuli and thinking techniques to generate a ton of ideas - aim for 25 to share with the class (start a project)
Share the 25 ideas you came up with in response to the brief.
Share the 25 ideas you came up with in response to the brief.

Unit 3: Finding Focus

Ideas
Hopefully you have a bunch of ideas now. Some may feel "bigger", some may feel "smaller". The way we differentiate between ideas based on size is always awkward (The big idea versus small idea debate is dumb. Here’s why.)
Some of your ideas will simply excite you more but don't let the others disappear just yet.
Bonus resources
- Make a mindmap
- Sticky Note Ninja - using Post-It Notes for your ideas

Unit 4: Narrow Down Your Ideas

Find patterns in your ideas and consider merging some. Focus on your favorite 3.
Find patterns in your ideas and consider merging some. Focus on your favorite 3.

Try to find the themes in your ideas - and potentially squeeze out new ideas from these themes.
- Force your ideas into random groups and articulate the connection
- Randomly select two of your ideas and force them together then rearticulate (repeat several times)
- Group your ideas into less than 5 ideas per group and articulate the connection
After you've played with the ideas for an hour or so, converge on your favorite 3 and rewrite them - the name and logline. Make the language sharper and more interesting.

Then add executional thoughts. Build a paragraph onto the logline. Explain how the idea will come to life and where. Keep your explanation under 200 words.

Then add these ideas to the student projects.

Don't forget to give feedback to other students!
Share your narrowed down list of 3 ideas.
Share your narrowed down list of 3 ideas.

Unit 5: Leveling Up Your Best Idea

Make your idea better
Once you're down to your best idea, two things need to happen (or be happening):
1. The idea needs to be very clear
How exactly will it work? Why does it feel like the right idea to go with? How will people discover it? How will it solve the problem? Is it feasible?
2. You need to convey the idea in a very compelling manner
Fear not, you don't have to put an incredible presentation together for your idea (unless you want to) but put some effort into how you tell its story.
Resources
- Read: The Elevator Pitch (Harvard Business Review)
- Read: The Three Act structure
- Digest: The QUORA community on the best VC pitch decks and videos
- Watch: TED’s 20 most-watched videos
- Read: What is Pecha Kucha?

Unit 6: Improve Your Strongest Idea

Seek feedback from fellow students, friend and colleagues Improve your strongest idea Consider how y
1. Seek feedback from fellow students, friend and colleagues
2. Improve your strongest idea
3. Consider how you can present the idea - photos, illustrations, videos?
Share your final problem-solving idea with classmates for feedback. Be sure to share how you got the
Share your final problem-solving idea with classmates for feedback. Be sure to share how you got there!

Tina Goyal

Software Project Manager

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