Over the years, I have seen a lot of innovative tools coming and going.
They introduced them with great fanfare at the meeting. Perhaps a high-
One or two companies are starting to promote the tool.
Case studies are written down and then inevitable books.
This is often where it ends.
The tools are gone.
No more news was heard.
But brainstorming is an exception.
Brainstorming is a tool with lasting ability.
Invented by advertising director Alex Osborn in early 1940, it is arguably more popular than ever before.
Silicon Valley is there.
Start-up companies start doing this.
The walls and desktops of Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon use whiteboards to brainstorm.
Why does brainstorming like to stay alive when so many other tools disappear?
Maybe it's because it makes an idea.
As long as you do it right and follow some fairly simple rules.
Over the years I have held leading thinking sessions for a wide variety of clients and I have identified some guidelines to ensure success.
When you plan on the next idea, here are seven to remember: 1.
Make sure the host sets the right tone.
Without a strong and enthusiastic leader, meetings can easily get off track.
Participants may not be willing to relax and participate in it with a playful feeling.
First of all, the moderator should emphasize the need to be concise when making comments, and simple things like one person speaking at a time, not to analyze another person's thoughts, and the importance of building on other people's ideas.
The job of the host is to build trust.
When I am in this role, I walk around in the participant team and observe body language.
I look at the way the team does the task.
If they get stuck, I go into coaching mode and encourage and even be part of the team for the time being to simulate behavior that encourages risktaking. 2.
Focus the discussion using Challenge issues.
Brainstorming is interesting.
Because we need new solutions to solve difficult problems.
A vague or unclear task creates vague and unclear ideas.
One way to clarify is to use a clearly defined challenge question.
What I like most is how I call it?
"How can we improve employee engagement?
How can we add value to this customer base?
These challenging questions stimulate the brain to find alternative answers, which is all about creativity. 3.
Pursue quantity, not quality.
The technology is the cornerstone of Osborne's tools.
This is a means of dissuading judgment and analysis, designed to present the largest number of original ideas.
Shoot 100 original ideas in 30 minutes and set a time limit to keep the pressure on.
The more ideas, the greater the chance of generating radical and unconventional solutions.
Over the years, my informal study of the thinking ability group has shown that it takes 80 to 100 original ideas to find an idea worthy of further consideration. 4.
Stop judgment and analysis.
The natural human tendency is to analyze and discuss the advantages of ideas, but the purpose of brainstorming is to conceive many ideas and retain judgment in the process.
The more experienced in the group, the higher the education level (i. e.
The more degrees you work)
As a more friendly instructor, you need to be a mediator to get people out of their heads and into the flow.
All criticism of thought must be discouraged.
Effective brainstorming is the funeral.
Instead, participants are encouraged to concentrate on turning their attention to more ideas, onboard other people's ideas, and find additional ideas after they feel "tapped. ”5.
Encourage crazy or even "ridiculous" ideas.
In Einstein's words, "If an idea doesn't sound ridiculous at first, then there is no hope for it.
By encouraging participants to pause their judgment on ideas, participants are free to produce unusual ideas, bold ideas, humorous ideas, and even absurd ideas.
As a host, if you hear bursts of laughter and warm cheers from time to time, someone will play the role of Debbie Downer.
Find her and put a sock in her mouth!
If your team is considered too-
Linear and premature analysis, plan an interesting exercise to start a meeting that has nothing to do with the main brainstorming goals.
Recently, for example, I started doing an exercise where participants designed better shopping carts, coach seats or driverless cars just to get people thinking outside the box. 6.
Make sure everyone's ideas are captured and presented.
This is crucial.
To ensure that both introverts and extroverts feel that their ideas have been accepted, all of them must be captured and eventually presented in some common media.
Sometimes I start the session by showing the challenge issue (
"In what way can we do different X? ”)
On the easel, let participants write down their thoughts on personal notes for a quiet period of time, and then get together as a team to consolidate them (
Ideas to eliminate duplication).
The trick here is to use a generic medium to present ideas, and everyone feels like an equal contributor to the meeting, and no ideas are lost. 7. Use “dot-
Vote "to rank ideas.
After you brainstorm again, you will find that the participants have been eliminated.
At this point, it is important to take a break before starting the analysis and idea selection phase.
One way I often use is the simple tool dot-voting.
This is how it works: Each participant is given five or more sticky points (
Available in office supplies stores)
And instruct them to vote on what they think is most promising.
Participants are free to vote on an idea (
If they think this is particularly compelling
Or spread their opinions to different ideas.
Once the vote is completed, you will have an intuitive representation of the group's thinking.
Rearrange the idea in order to combine the points with the most points and arrange them from most points to the least.
Talk about the idea of getting the most votes and decide what to do next.
Leading these meetings is one of the most fascinating roles I have been invited to lead and I am always learning.
I would love to hear from you, what are some of your favorite tips to get the team to come up with ideas.
I invite you to share them with me, and maybe I will write them down in future Forbes blog posts.