So how can we make the brand development process more agile?  Here are some ideas.

• Start with a straw list of ideas to test
• Dedicate one wall in your office to post these ideas and your competitive landscape
• Use less expensive, faster-to-deploy exploratory research techniques like online focus groups to supplement your traditional customer outreach
• Continuously adapt, test and kill concepts as you acquire data from the market
• Get your team to use Digg or Delicious to share competitive marketing
• Brainstorm frequently to make sure you are innovating and expanding your list
• Share the ideas with your team on a regular basis
• Concept test final idea using email surveys as a sanity check
• And last but not least, trust your gut as this a creative process not a geometric proof

Did I miss anything?  I would welcome your thoughts and experiences.