Always Separate Flaring And Focusing

Here at The Idea Bucket I'm committed to giving you one weekly framework that inspires one act of leadership to bring you one step closer to building a subculture of innovation. I write this to empower my coaching clients, my fellows, and my portfolio of entrepreneurs to create the change they want to see in the world and to build cultures where others can reach their full potential.

When I launched Point C in April, my goal was to "work deeply with 24 leaders as their strategic advisor and coach on their most important strategies, their leadership, and their culture" by my Go/No Go Date of December 31. This would give me a sustainable foundation to continue this work indefinitely.

After the classic startup arc — exciting launch, brief trough of sorrow, then a steady climb fueled by referrals — I’m proud to share that I’ve reached my goal of 24 clients.

Not all are twice-a-month, so I still have 5 slots left to reach my true sustainability goal. And with the next Sulzberger cohort about to add 28 more leaders to my coaching mix, I’m aware my calendar is about to flip from abundance to scarcity.

So: if you’ve been considering 1:1 coaching support, now’s the moment to secure a spot in my calendar. And if you’re a fan of this work, I’d be grateful if you passed this along to a leader you think would benefit. They’ll remember you as the one who unlocked it for them.

Now, on to today's framework:

As a reminder we're aiming to move our subculture to one with both high standards and high psychological safety. We're developing rituals, reinforced by mantras, that will intentionally reinforce this direction. We've already begun to practice the mantras Feedback is a Gift - Not a Demand and One Consultative Decision-Maker Per Lane.

Today, I’m introducing a mantra that will turn a group of individual executors into a team of executing innovators: Always Separate Flaring And Focusing

Innovation Is A Series of Flaring & Focusing

There are many ways to visualize the design innovation process. Some look linear:

Some look messy:

I prefer circular since iteration is such a core component of the process:

All of these are valid. And while they differ in shape, they share a key foundation:

At its core, innovation is the disciplined alternation between two modes:

• Flaring: generating possibilities
• Focusing: selecting, prioritizing, and executing

You don’t do this just once. You do it over and over, cycling through flaring and focusing as many times as you can in your given project timeline.

This results in what I call The Drunken Walk of The Innovator - hypothesizing, testing, learning, and adjusting toward something far more desirable, feasible, and viable than what you would have created through straight-line execution.

The key is knowing what mode your team is in and applying the appropriate norms and mindsets that make that mode work well. It's when your team unintentionally tries to flare and focus at the same time that collaboration crumbles.

That's why this week's mantra is an innovation leader's best friend: Always Separate Flaring And Focusing

What It Means

Always Separate Flaring And Focusing is a cue for your team to be mindful, explicit, and intentional about which mode they’re in — and to follow norms that support that mode.

You’ve likely been in a brainstorm that turned into a debate. That’s what happens when teams mix the two modes. The goal was to be generative, but judgment entered the room too early. Someone — often the most senior person — started shooting down ideas before they had a chance to breathe.

This violates the first rule of brainstorming: Defer Judgment.

Now, I can already hear you high-achieving Type A executors (me included!) groaning: But why are we wasting time on these clearly half-baked ideas? Let's move, people!

Be careful. Most weaknesses are overused strengths and you, Type A executor, are about to derail a perfectly good flare (and waste time in the process.)

Take a breath and remember that this mantra is also for you. Judgment is right around the corner. We just have to defer it first, or we won’t surface the full range of creative possibilities.

Your job as facilitator is to make the transition from flaring to focusing explicit. Literally say:

"We're flaring right now. We'll evaluate these ideas later. For now, our job is to generate as many wild and crazy ideas as possible — so please defer judgment.

Then, when the brainstorming time has expired, say:

"OK. We're now shifting from flaring to focusing. Let’s use our criteria to evaluate and select which ideas to move forward."

And if someone forgets — especially the most powerful voice in the room — you enforce the norm:

"Defer judgment. We are flaring right now."

Beyond Brainstorming

While brainstorming is the clearest example, this mantra applies across the entire design process.

Almost every stage has a flare and a focus:

• You flare when you gather user data.
• You focus when you synthesize insights.
• You flare again in ideation.
• You focus again in prototyping.
• You flare again in user testing.

Over and over — flare, focus, flare, focus — as you practice the drunken walk of the innovator.

When your team internalizes Always Separate Flaring and Focusing, they gain the ability to match the right norms to the right moment. That’s what enables a team to both generate and execute — just not at the same time.

Your Challenge This Week

Let’s create clarity within your culture about flaring and focusing — so your teams can collaborate with intention.

1) Forward this post to your team to set the context.

2) Plan your next team meeting with two distinct modes — a flare followed by a focus

3) Facilitate the flare: "We are flaring. Defer judgement."

4) Name the transition: "We are moving from flaring to focusing."

5) Facilitate the focus: "We are now focusing."

6) Reflect: How did explicitly separating the two modes change the dynamic?

Next Week

We've now learned three foundational mantras for building a subculture of innovation:

• Feedback is a gift - not a demand
• One consultative decision-maker per lane
• Always separate flaring and focusing

But how many mantras should you have? And what categories do they need to cover?

Next week we'll zoom out and map each mantra into The Subculture Coverage Matrix.

About This Newsletter

The Idea Bucket is a weekly newsletter and archive featuring one visual framework, supporting one act of leadership, that brings you one step closer to building a culture of innovation.

It’s written by Corey Ford — executive coach, strategic advisor, and founder of Point C, where he helps founders, CEOs, and executives clarify their visions, lead cultures of innovation, and navigate their next leadership chapters.

Want to explore how strategy and storytelling come together? Check out The Venture Story — my first mini-book and leadership storytelling framework.

Want to give your teams an immersive learning experience on these concepts? Bring me in to run The Point C Training Camp at our company.

Want 1:1 executive coaching on this framework or others?  Book your first coaching session. It's on me.