Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Really Great Ideas
Better solutions and better decisions about a particular problem at hand are best done in brainstorming sessions. What is brainstorming you ask? Well, it’s an individual or group problem-solving technique that requires the spontaneous, random, quirky, and sometimes outrageous contribution of ideas from a group…or from yourself.
One is the loneliest number
Individual brainstorming doesn’t always produce a wider range of ideas. On the upside, there are no worries about what other people think or possibly being criticized about an idea so you are completely free to create any way you please. However, in the long run it’s simply not an effective way to develop ideas. It’s one sided, It’s not nearly as fun and what happens when your idea has reached it’s limit and you alone have exhausted all avenues? You don’t have anyone to help you take it to the next level.
It’s A Family Affair
Group brainstorming uses the experience, discipline and creativity of all group members. Ideas are easily developed in more depth and there is more opportunity for expanding ideas in more than one direction. Good sessions come from people who have experience exploring and developing ideas on their own and enjoy the experience of idea making with others. Teams that get the most out of brainstorming are the ones that have the best team culture around ideas and a process for going about finding, refining and harvesting ideas.
Brainstorming 101
Want an effective session? Follow these simple rules:
1. What the heck is our problem?
Understand the project goals before you begin and keep the session focused on those goals. Make sure no one idea or train of thought is followed for too long.
2. Know how to facilitate
A good facilitator knows how to run a session. Not only is it their job to prevent interruptions and fist fights over the last peanut M & M, they also have to be able to: Listen and help people express ideas. Limit the number of ideas so people have a chance to share. Encourage people to develop other people’s ideas or use other ideas to make new ones. Make the sure the brainstorm doesn’t get off track
3. You really ARE more creative with your socks on!
Comfort is the most important way to get great ideas. Work in an atmosphere that isn’t the norm. Coffee shop, meeting room, lobby, someone’s house, restaurant, zoo. Start out with small ideas, encourage the quiet folks to participate, throw out some crazy ideas to lighten the mood and have fun. Great ideas can come from some of the most random thoughts.
4. Establish ground rules
How are you going to run your session? Free for all? Formal hand raising? Freeze tag? Dodgeball? Assign tasks and reward play with positive reactions…or candy.
5. Postpone criticism
This isn’t the time or place to shoot anyone’s ideas down regardless of what you think of them. It not only stifles creativity and interrupts free flow of ideas, but it’s just not nice.
The Aftermath
Great ideas are created, brought to life, invented. So what happens to them after the session is over?
A. You should review and refine the ideas?
B. You should define goal-related criteria to evaluate ideas?
C. You should assign further investigation into potential avenues?
OR
D. You should bail?
The only way to make ideas useful is to refine and narrow them down. Come up with simple criteria for evaluating the ideas and go through them. Pass them around for further feedback if you must but don’t let it sit for another time.
Information brought to you by:
A few other points about brainstorming:
1) Make sure you have someone recording the ideas (ideally not the facilitator)
2) Invite a diverse group of people. The wider the experience, the better the results. Anyone can ask good questions.
3) You can brainstorm by yourself using techniques such as Mind Mapping. But you don’t know what you don’t know. Diversity helps tremendously.
4) Having a facilitator outside the group / organization can be a very good thing. The facilitator shouldn’t be encumbered by organization politics (i.e., asking the boss to stop talking so much).
5) In larger organizations, ensure that there will be support (both time and money) to implement the ideas from the session. If you have a session, and the organization doesn’t support the exploration of the solution, then you have the facade of a creative brainstorming approach.
Other tips are at: http://ManyGoodIdeas.com/CreativeBusinessIdeas/brainstormingTips.htm
Comment by Jay Hamilton-Roth — July 22, 2007 @ 6:06 am
Whether you are with a group or by yourself, there are different online tools you can use for brainstorming and capturing your ideas. Take a look at http://www.brainreactions.net where you can brainstorm for other people or create your own private brainstorming room and generate ideas on a question.
I have a few other suggestions for coming up with ideas.
1. Quantity leads to quality, so don’t judge your ideas while you’re saying them. Wait until after the brainstorming to do that. Judgment-free spaces lead to the best brainstorms.
2. Capture your ideas. Write them on paper when they come into your head, but for official capture use an MP3 recorder, and then have someone transcribe the brainstorm.
3. Good questions are the generators of great ideas. If you are brainstorming for one challenge, try to come up with 10 questions that will generate ideas. For example: “What are ideas for new ways to brainstorm?” and then “What are ideas for tools we can use for brainstorming?” Start with wide or easy questions and funnel down to more specific and difficult questions. If you use this approach you should be able to come up with 100s of ideas.
4. Go Wide. Take your ideas in different directions. What are different attributes of your question/issue? Attributes could be method, message, material, technology, design, etc. We call these different attributes buckets.
5. Go deep. Fill those buckets with as many ideas as possible, and get as specific as possible on certain ideas.
6. Use your surroundings for inspiration. Look at objects, pictures, words, or a combination of the 3 to come up with new ideas.
7. Use metaphors. Some of the most successful innovations came from metaphors. For example, one of the first teeth-whiteners looked like white out for teeth. “13 going on 30″ was “BIG” for girls.
8. Think: “What would ______ say?”
Put in organizations or persons, and see what ideas you come up with. For example, “What would Google do?” or “What would Madonna say?”
9. Think out of this world. Think the impossible and someday it might be probable. In the meantime your impossible ideas can lead to plausible ideas by inspiring you to think outside the box.
Comment by Julia Styles — July 23, 2007 @ 2:00 pm