Secrets Of Effective Brainstorming

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.

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-powe r.html

---

Troubled Waters Require Capable Leaders at the Helm

Canada's lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and... Read More

The Six Sigma Method and Design of Experiments

Six Sigma is becoming a proven approach for businesses and... Read More

The Chief Cause of Business Failure & Success

Business rises and falls on leadership. According to business guru,... Read More

City of Cortez and South Western Colorado Market Survey

We have been spending many hours surveying the market for... Read More

Top 10 Tips to Create A Business Plan! (For People Who Hate Business Plans)

One of the key challenges for any business is to... Read More

Who is Responsible?

While writing an article recently on effective ways to bridge... Read More

The Magic Of Exponential Business Growth

Is there a 'magical' way to exponentially grow your business?It's... Read More

Vendor Relations Strategies Sample Outline

One of the quintessential parts to any business is your... Read More

Benefiting from Strategic Thinking

I recently took an organizational behavior class where my professor... Read More

Consolidation in the Software Industry is Hardly New: Obsess About It or Risk Losing it All

Some analysts credit [Larry] Ellison with anticipating the consolidation in... Read More

8 Ways to Earn More Without Working Harder

Conventional wisdom has it that there are only three ways... Read More

Thinking Like A Farmer

One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age... Read More

SWOT Analysis Is No Magic 8 Ball

Q: A key investor in my business has suggested that... Read More

How To Get More Business During The Winter Months

Business seems to drop, slow or even stop during the... Read More

ERP Role in Selling Your Mid-size Business ? Microsoft Great Plains and CRM Example

If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More

Menu Driven Business Planning

A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will... Read More

The Accountability/Alignment Process: Three Steps to an Accountable Organization

The Accountability/Alignment Process: Three Steps to an Accountable Organization Generating... Read More

Under Construction During the Storm ? A Hurricane Guide for Businesses that are Under Construction

As a business owner, you've likely created a hurricane plan... Read More

Writing Your Business Plan is Actually Storytelling

Storytelling and writing a business plan actually go hand in... Read More

Memo: Sustaining Growth in Your Business

What gets measured gets done.How do you keep your business... Read More

3 Ps of Planning - Prepare, Personalize, Pilot

Here's a really simple way to make sure your plans... Read More

2 Simple Steps Before Starting Your Business

There is so much small business information available today that... Read More

Online Promotion: 10 Ways To Use Focus Groups To Ignite Your Profits

A focus group is a group of employees or current... Read More

Mining Market Data

With a heightened awareness of opportunity, ideas can often be... Read More

Turning On The Lights

Fun From The StartFor those with the will to start... Read More