25/10 Crowd Sourcing

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Rapidly screen, score, and rank a collection of participant ideas without centralized filtering.

Use it when: Use when a team needs to quickly harvest actionable ideas and identify which ones hold the strongest broad appeal.

Skip it when: Skip when you have fewer than 10 people, where passing cards cannot remain anonymous, or when proposals require technical vetting before scoring.

Group arrangement: Whole group milling in open space, scoring individually each round

Timing: Matches the 30-minute sequence specified in the original Liberating Structures design.

Materials and tools

• One blank 4x6 index card per person
• One pen or pencil per person
• Chime, bell, or audible timer
• Wall space or flip chart stand
• Roll of masking tape or painter's tape

Before participants arrive

1. Clear a central open space so all participants can walk around freely without chairs or tables blocking paths.
2. Place an index card and pen at every seat or distribute them at the door.
3. Designate a section of bare wall or a blank flip chart to post top-ranked cards at the end.

Say this to open

Take an index card and a pen. On the front of your card, answer this prompt: If you were ten times bolder, what big idea would you recommend, and what is the very first step to start it? Write clearly. Do not put your name on the card.

How to run it

1. Write bold ideas and demonstrate the mechanic 5 minutes

   Participants spend 3 minutes writing one bold idea and one concrete first step on the front of their card. During the remaining 2 minutes, the facilitator demonstrates the passing rule: pass cards hand-to-hand while walking, without reading the text, keeping exactly one card in hand at all times.

2. Run five exchange and scoring rounds 15 minutes

   Conduct five rounds of 3 minutes each. In each round: sound the chime to begin milling; participants walk and exchange cards continuously without reading them. After roughly 30 seconds, ring the chime again. Participants stop moving, read the card currently in their hands in silence, decide on a score from 1 (low appeal) to 5 (high appeal), and write that number on the back of the card. Once scored, participants wait quietly for the next chime. Repeat for five complete scoring cycles.

3. Tally scores and conduct countdown 7 minutes

   Ask everyone to stop and add together all scores written on the back of the card they currently hold. The maximum possible total is 25. Run an audible countdown to locate top cards. Call out: 'Who has a 25?' If hands go up, have those holders read the card out loud. Continue calling descending numbers: '24? 23? 22?' until roughly 10 top ideas are read and taped to the display wall.

4. Debrief the results 3 minutes

   Lead a brief whole-room reflection on the resulting cards and the rating process. Take 2 to 3 voluntary observations from the room.

Debrief questions

• What patterns or common themes stand out across the highest-scoring cards?
• Did any bold idea surprise you by scoring near the top?
• What caught your attention about using this rapid scoring process?

Finished output: A wall display of the group's top-rated bold ideas with concrete first steps, scored out of 25 points, ready for prioritization or project planning.

Remote

In a remote setting, running this exact blind-milling mechanic requires specialized breakout automation. Instead, use a shared digital spreadsheet or collaborative whiteboard: each participant enters their idea anonymously in column A. The host sets five sequential 2-minute breakout pairs or shifts columns so participants review and enter a 1 to 5 score in designated anonymous cells across five rounds. Use an automatic sum formula to sort the top ten rows.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended for this specific physical card-passing structure. Run it fully digital for all participants using the remote method so room-based and online participants have identical anonymity and scoring access.

Access and participation choices

• Participants with mobility limitations can remain seated while ambulatory peers walk over to exchange cards with them, or act as the stationary score-keeper.
• Anyone may choose to pass without reading aloud if their card is called during the countdown, simply handing the card to a peer or facilitator to read.

If the session gets stuck

A card ends up with fewer or more than five scores on the back at the end of round five.

Have the holder calculate the mathematical average of the scores present and multiply that average by 5, rounding to the nearest whole number.

Participants start reading cards while walking around during the milling phase.

Remind everyone firmly: 'Pass only, no peeking. Keep cards facedown against your palm until the chime sounds.'

Terms used here

• Milling: Walking casually around the room in unstructured paths while trading cards with passing peers.
• Countdown: Calling scores downward from 25 to locate the cards with the highest collective ratings.