Lotus Blossom is a powerful technique for brainstorming and organizing your ideas. The principle is very elegant. You start with an idea and expand it into various themes by placing them around the original idea. This organization will give you a balanced view of your ideas and their relationships. Each of the subtopics can be further expanded by considering it as a new topic, and the process continues.
The best way to use Lotus Blossom is by placing all your ideas inside a three by three matrix, with the central idea in the center box. You can then expand the idea into various themes and place them in the surrounding boxes. For each central idea, six to eight subtopics would be optimal. Each subtopic can be expanded to eight other ideas. If you complete this exercise, you will have at least 64 ways to improve your original idea.
Let’s say, for example, that you need to find ways to reduce costs for your business. I would write “reduce costs” in the center box. Also, write down any special requirements you should consider when making your decision. Below, find the top eight areas in your organization where you can cut costs. For example, you have selected the following areas: “energy”, “travel costs”, “personnel”, “technology”, “consumables”, “suppliers”, “facilities”, and “operating costs”.
For each area, try to think of eight ways to cut costs. For example, in the “energy” box, list the idea of replacing old, energy-inefficient electronics. Expanding on this idea, he identified several devices that can be replaced. Similarly, in the “technology” box, it is written using a multipurpose device. In this case, you can combine a fax machine, printer, scanner, and copier into one all-in-one printer.
Ideas from different topics can be combined into a single execution plan. For example, you have identified several devices in the “energy” box that can be replaced with a multipurpose device in the “technology” box. Another example is combining the idea of reducing paper consumption in the “consumables” theme with implementing an electronic filing system under the “technology” theme. By organizing his ideas in this way, he has a global view of all his solutions and can easily combine several of them to form an effective execution plan.
Lotus Blossom is a simple yet powerful brainstorming technique. It allows you to focus on one idea at a time, but also provides the flexibility to expand your thoughts. An important aspect of this technique is that it provides an overview of your problem and the relationships and connections between its components. This allows you to combine multiple solutions into a single action plan. Give it a try, I hope you find this technique useful.