Brainstorming Methods

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Author:
Steve Gillman

Have you been in a "brainstorming" session where each person just defended their own ideas? Worse is when people don't suggest ideas at all, for fear they'll be attacked. That's no way to brainstorm. Brainstorming is using the power of many minds, and ideas should flow freely and trigger other ideas. How do you make that happen?

The Key To Good Brainstorming

You have to have a good leader to have good brainstorming. The leader isn't there to impose his will, though, but to stop the imposition of anyones will. His role is to stop criticisms, arguments, and even strong opinions, at least in the first part of the session.

A brainstorming session needs to be spontaneous, open and uncritical. "Bad" or "silly" ideas can lead to helpful ones, so suggestions have to be left un-judged at first. To brainstorm effectively, you can't stifle the creative process. The leaders job, then, is to make everyone feel free to suggest any ideas.

An Example Of Good Brainstorming

The scenario: your business needs to cut delivery costs. The group throws out ideas and thoughts. "Let's not deliver," someone suggests, and when another starts to criticize, you remind him of the rules. "Negotiate lower rates," somebody says, "Or just find a company with lower rates," another adds. Ideas like reducing package weight and charging customers more are suggested, and lead to other ideas.

You keep it civil, take notes, and eventually call a halt to this free-for-all part of the session. Now it's time to evaluate and develop the ideas for whatever usefulness they may have.

To keep the creativity flowing in this stage, have participants defend or develop ideas that are not their own. This brings new insight to the idea, and prevents the problem of ego-identification that causes people to get "stuck in a rut" with their own ideas.

For example, ask the man who was critical of the idea of not delivering to work with that idea. "We have to deliver," he might start with. Then he thinks for a second and says, "I suppose we could deliver to central distribution points instead of to the individual customer. The customer could drive a short distance to pick up their order. That might save us on shipping."

Someone else suggests that the customers may like the arrangement. They would be able to return the product immediately if they were dissatisfied, with no need to pack and ship it. You assign a couple people to look into it, and move on to the other ideas.

Good leadership keeps the whole process working. In the last example, you've even used a "bad" idea to come to a possible solution. That's good brainstorming.

About the Author
Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower enhancement, creative problem solving, and related topics for years. You can visit his website, and subscribe to his free Mind Power Course, at: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/mind-power.html

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Brainpower... Brainstorming - Create That Million Dollar Idea There are many ways to stimulate your creative juices, and to get the ideas flowing. Most authors have their favourites which are usually tried and tested and work for them. Maybe the best known is brainstorming. Brainstorming is a powerful technique which can create new ideas and solve problems. It can be done in a group, with a partner, or alone. When used in a group setting, it motivates and develops a team spirit. It often involves group members in bigger management issues and allows the team to work together. When used as part of a team, a flip-chart, allowing all participants to see what is happening, and what is being produced, is essential. On a one to one basis, or alone, it not required. But writing everything down is essential. There are a few simple rules when brainstorming. Firstly, judgement and criticism are suspended during the session. Secondly, there are no right or wrong answers, there are no good or bad ideas. Reviewing the ideas generated comes later. Often the wilder, and stranger the idea, the better. Many times great ideas can come from what initially appears strange or irrelevant. Another concept to bear in mind when brainstorming ideas for your writing, is that quantity and not quality is the most important thing at this stage. Combining ideas is another option, see where one idea leads, then combine it with another. Key to brainstorming is writing ideas down. Don’t just call out ideas, make someone responsible for collecting every single idea mentioned. It is easy to forget what is said, and no writer wants to lose a gem of inspiration for a new book or article. Also, sometimes actually seeing ideas written down, will spur you on to other ideas. If you work alone, or are self-employed, you may wish to brainstorm alone. ...