By Lisa Bialecki

Great ideas are the backbone of any successful company. Keeping your business fresh by evolving your strategies is vital to competing with — and hopefully besting — your competitors. Generating wonderful ideas, however, is more difficult than one might imagine. Although it's nice to think that you'll get an "ah-ha" moment in the shower or during your commute to the office, it's more likely that coming up with a great idea will require a bit of work. You might need to arrange a meeting specifically to make time for creative thinking.

If you need to plan a brainstorming session, consider location, tools, and other best practices.

Location, location, location

The head of the marketing department may have come up with some fabulous ideas in conference room B, but everyone else needs to get out of the office and into a fresh environment to develop new and out-of-the-box ideas. Getting away also frees your team from phone calls and e-mail. Hand-held devices and cell phones should be checked at the door, with one person acting as the emergency contact for the entire group.

Budget and personality will determine the kind of environment you choose. To help spark creativity, keep an open mind and look for unusual locations. Think about the personalities of your team members when selecting a property. If they're sports fans, opt for a sports-themed restaurant. The space should be comfortable so that the team focuses on ideas rather than on the temperature or seating arrangement in the room. Here are some options:

• Rent an off-site conference room   Many companies will rent a conference room in a hotel or restaurant to get away from the office. You may also be able to rent a room at a museum or other unique space.
• Stay at a resort   If your company's budget allows it, send the team away for a few days to a resort for team-building and brainstorming. Allot time for entertainment, but be sure that brainstorming time is structured and at a scheduled location.
• Create a space   If your business requires your team to constantly come up with big ideas — for example, if your company is an ad agency — you'll probably want to set aside a location just for brainstorming activities.

Tools

After you find a location and assemble your team, you'll want to provide team members with inspiration, comfort, refreshments, and the tools to collect their ideas.

• Inspiration   Tables should be filled with fun items that will inspire your team. Some planners choose to throw out random toys; others pick a theme. Modeling clay is a staple — you never know what kind of packaging design can be displayed by means of a sculpture.

  It's also a good idea to display your current product along with those of your competitors. Bring along ads, posters, or actual packages.

• Comfort   Pass out fresh socks, and ask everyone to take off their shoes. Free the toes and the mind.
• Refreshments   The room should always have lots of water, soda, and juice, as well as coffee throughout the day. Snack breaks are a welcome diversion and can be fun. Provide a build-your-own-sundae bar or a tray of candy bars to reward your team for hard work.

  Have lunch brought in so that team members don't have to stop their thought processes midday. Make sure to order a variety of items so that all diets and food preferences are accommodated. Again, this allows your team to focus on the work at hand.

• Collecting ideas   Make sure that your team has the tools it needs to keep ideas coming. Use a whiteboard with lots of markers or an easel with sticky paper that can be stuck to walls throughout the room.

  Some thinkers might prefer using a computer with an LCD projector, but others will feel limited by the structure of technology. Know your team members, but also know that they may change their minds. Keep a computer and projector available as backups.

Other best practices

Hiring someone to help lead a brainstorming session is a wonderful way to keep your team motivated and on track. While a bit expensive, a professional is often worth his or her weight in gold. Expect the facilitator to research and understand the purpose of your brainstorming session but not to share his or her own ideas. He or she is there to ask questions, prompt discussions, and keep the group from straying too far off topic.

When planning your session, don't forget to involve employees from different areas of the company. Big thoughts aren't limited to the marketing department. A representative from customer service — someone who talks directly with your customers every day — should always bring valuable perspective to the table.

Cultures within organizations vary, but one thing remains constant: Big ideas make companies successful. Use brainstorming sessions to help birth big ideas.

About the author   Lisa Bialecki is a freelance business travel writer and a full-time online marketing professional. With more than 10 years of experience in corporate communications, including six years of working with interactive marketing initiatives, Lisa is responsible for managing interactive projects and providing senior-level strategic counsel for her clients.