Most idea campaigns fail before they even start. Not because people do not have good ideas. Because the question they were asked was either too vague to be useful or too narrow to spark anything new.
This guide gives you a simple framework for writing an Idea Challenge that pulls in high-quality, relevant submissions and keeps people engaged from launch to close.
Why the Question Is Everything
The framing of your Idea Challenge determines the quality of what you receive. A vague prompt like "Share your ideas for improving our processes" tells people nothing about what you actually need. A prompt like "Ideas to reduce changeover time on Line 3 by 15% using existing equipment" is so specific that it excludes half the people who might have something valuable to contribute.
The sweet spot is a focused challenge with room to breathe. You are giving people enough context to know what is useful, without pre-answering the question for them.
The Anatomy of a Good Idea Challenge
Every strong Idea Challenge has five components.
1. The context (why this, why now) People engage more when they understand the stakes. What is the situation you are trying to improve? What is happening in the business that makes this important right now? Two or three sentences is enough. You are not writing an essay. You are giving people a reason to care.
2. The core question One clear sentence. Not three questions bundled together. Not a paragraph with multiple objectives. One question. The more specific and concrete, the better. "How might we reduce the number of customer complaints reaching the support team?" is better than "How can we improve customer satisfaction?"
3. What you are NOT looking for This is the part most people skip, and it costs them a third of their evaluation time. If you already have budget approved for a new system, say so. If you need solutions that can be implemented without IT involvement, say that. Ruling things out upfront saves everyone time and frustration.
4. What good looks like Give people a sense of the range. Are you looking for quick wins that could be tested in a week, or bigger bets that might take a year? Is cost reduction the primary criterion, or is speed? This does not lock people in. It calibrates their thinking.
5. What happens next Tell people what you are going to do with their ideas. Specificity here builds trust. "We will review all submissions by [date] and share the outcome with everyone who participated."
The One Sentence That Doubles Submission Quality
Before you publish, add this sentence somewhere visible in your challenge description:
We will act on ideas that [insert your actual criteria here].
Fill in the blank honestly. "We will act on ideas that can be tested in under 60 days without a budget increase." Forcing yourself to complete that sentence forces you to get clear on what you are actually looking for. And when people see it, they self-select. The person who was going to submit a half-formed thought reads that sentence and either sharpens their idea or decides not to submit yet. Both are good outcomes.
Five Ready-to-Use Challenge Templates
Process Improvement
Context: [Describe the current process and what is not working about it]
Question: How might we reduce [specific problem] in our [process name] without [key constraint]?
Not looking for: [ideas that require new software, ideas we have already tried]
What good looks like: Ideas that can be tested within [timeframe] with [resource constraint]
New Product or Service
Context: [Describe the customer need or market gap you are exploring]
Question: What new [product, service, feature] could we offer to [specific customer segment] to help them [specific job to be done]?
Not looking for: [incremental variations on what we already sell]
What good looks like: Ideas that could reach [rough revenue target] within [timeframe]
Cost Reduction
Context: [Describe the cost pressure and why it matters]
Question: Where could we eliminate [waste, unnecessary steps, redundant spend] in [specific area] without affecting [key outcome]?
Not looking for: [ideas that shift costs elsewhere rather than eliminating them]
What good looks like: Savings of at least [threshold] per year, implementable within [timeframe]
Customer Experience
Context: [Describe the pain point you are hearing about]
Question: How might we make [specific touchpoint] easier, faster, or more satisfying for [user type]?
Not looking for: [solutions that add steps to the process]
What good looks like: Ideas that could be tested with a small group within [timeframe]
Safety or Quality
Context: [Describe the current situation and what you are trying to prevent or improve]
Question: What changes to [process, equipment, behavior] could reduce [incident type, defect type] in [area]?
Not looking for: [ideas already in the current improvement plan]
What good looks like: Ideas with a clear mechanism for preventing recurrence, not just addressing symptoms
Three Warning Signs to Check Before You Publish
The question has more than one and in it. If you are asking two questions, split them into two campaigns. People will answer the one they prefer and ignore the other.
You have not thought about what you will do with the answers. If you cannot describe what happens to submissions in the next 60 seconds, you are not ready to launch. Figure out your process first.
Only senior people would know the answer. The best Idea Challenges are ones where someone on the production floor or the front line knows something leadership does not. If only executives can answer your question, you are not running a campaign. You are running a meeting.
