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"The applause is critical," says Hall, identifying it as one of several reasons for the group reports. "It makes them feel like they've won, and in today's world people don't feel like they've won enough." The group reports also allow for the bulges. Last, the additional volume of ideas shared during the group reports helps "stretch people's minds to help them think of other things going into the next exercise."

When one group's summary lists "Ginseng Magic" and "Ginseng Power" as possible ideas, CEO Siegel interrupts, explaining his desire to take a run at the fast-increasing market for ginseng, a traditional wonder herb harvested as a funny-looking root and long believed to have both energizing and calming powers.

"We have a product called Ginseng Plus, with a Chinese bridge on it, which doesn't mean anything to anybody," he says, rustling up the artwork for the proposed blister-pack display for the product, which is sold in capsules. "We're playing with the concept of Dr. Woo's Ginseng Magic."

For a company its size, Celestial Seasonings does a remarkable amount of ongoing in-house new-product development and daily consumer testing, by tapping the annual stream of more than 60,000 visitors who take its factory and office tour, eat in the Celestial Cafe, and browse in the company's gift shop. So why hire Hall? "Because he and his Trained Brains don't think like we do," explains Siegel. "And it really helps to spend a couple of days out of the office, just thinking."

10:37 A.M.
Tactic: 'Smash association'

The next exercise is called 666. "This is where you smash-associate things together," says Hall, as he remixes the groups and gives each a set of three colored dice and sheets of paper with three six-item lists under the headings red die, white die, and blue die. The items on the lists are categories designed to get people thinking. The gathering closest to the front door rolls a white six ("New Preparation Process" on the 666 sheets), a blue three ("Picnic/Beach"), and a red six ("Spirited"), and tosses those stimuli into the group's mental blenders.

"Smash-associating is a structured way to do lateral thinking, which stretches the mind. It's like a balloon expanded: it never goes back to the same shape. Like a football coach calling plays, I'm setting up for creative exercises to come later. First I'll stretch their thinking from a product standpoint, focusing on occasion, target audience. Then I might hit them with the picture boards, where I'm focusing on getting them to deal with emotions and phrases and language. Now I'm getting the marketing side. It's setting up both the running game and the passing game," says Hall, defining the ground attack (the running game) as the grind-it-out product stuff and the passing game as the big-bang marketing stuff. He's found it's often best to alternate product exercises with marketing exercises. "If you do too many product exercises in a row, people will get an irrational mind-set when they're designing products. If I do too much emotional stuff, I'll have a hard time getting them to deal with reality."

Though largely free-form, the mansion exercises are anything but free-for-alls. They are, in fact, far more choreographed than most clients ever realize. Hall's model is Disneyland, "where things happen invisibly, where the characters just seem to show up." At the mansion, everything's designed to keep the client focused on new ideas. The food seems to be stealth-catered. Clients never see it arriving; their noses tell them it awaits.

While the 666 dice roll and the ideas fly, two artists (more of Hall's on-call virtual company) roam about, sketching on their own or on request. Maybe a package for an intriguing product, or perhaps a character to help pin down a concept, like the ginseng dragon taking shape on one sketch pad. "The sketches allow us to talk in a different dimension," says Hall. "Plus, they give incredible reinforcement to the group. People feel so good to be able to present an idea that way."

Meanwhile, Hall listens with one ear while he types at a computer to the right of the fireplace. Hosting about two dozen clients a year has taught him the importance of staying ahead of the creative avalanche; he's already winnowing through the day's ideas to get a running start on the evening's job of fleshing out the best ones into marketworthy concepts.

11:04 A.M.
Tactic: A picture's worth a thousand words

The next group task plays off visual stimuli. Sandie Glass, vice-president and creative director at the mansion, passes out sheets of poster board featuring a wide assortment of pictures cut from magazines. Below each is printed a ladder of blank lines. Members of the group are instructed to list the words and phrases that come to mind when they look at the pictures. One board shows a picture of a lemon peel. Another, a sports-utility vehicle on a mountain ridge with a waterfall in the background. A third, a pack of Juicy Fruit gum. Hall's instructions: "Think refreshment. And raise your hand when you want a new board." Hall's intention: employ the pictures as a visual thesaurus.

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