Brainstorming made Easyandrewhorton.co.za /motivational-speakers-brainstorming

The term brain storming has been around for over 50 years now. It was the brain child of Alex Faickney Osborn. (He isthe “O” in BBDO, the powerhouse advertising agency). He observed that when groups came together to discussconcepts, they were able to come up with far more inventive and creative ideas, than individual employees, were ableto on their own. Alex coined and popularised the term in his 1953 best seller, “Applied Imaginat ion”.

Since then brainstorming has become a common term and common practice, in most organisations. People andorganisations are brainstorming simple things, like what to get their dad for his birthday, all the way through to thestrategic path an organisation should follow, over the next five to ten years. The secret to get the most from abrainstorming session requires far more than just passing a chocolate box around the room.

I would like to share a few ideas in this article, on how you can get the most out of your brain storming sessions.

Keep the sessions short

Many leaders want quick results, so they schedule a half day or full day brain storming session. The challenge with thisis that, people can only sustain their creative efforts for a maximum of 60 minutes. During the first 10 minutes theyregurgitate the same old stuff they have heard before. The second 10 – 20 minutes is probably the most valuablesession, where the most innovative and creative ideas will come out. After this the rush, seems to fade. The best resultsare obtained during sessions of 30 – 45 minutes. As people deliver their best and feel energised and creative for thistime frame

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Excursion Technique

Another great idea, to get the most from these sessions, is to use the excursion technique. After a 30 – 45 minute brainstorming session, allow the participants some time to go to their creative place, where they can digest and think aboutthe session for between 60 minutes to 24 hours. My experience shows 24 hours to be the optimal time for this.

During this time they would go for a walk, a hike or go to any place where they can just allow their mind to explore andwander. This allows the information time to incubate in their subconscious. During this time, incredible new ideas oftenmaterialise. When you give your mind time to wander, that is often the time it generates the best ideas.

Defer Judgement

To get the most from any brain storming session, do not evaluate or judge any ideas as they come up. Try to allow theideas to flow freely. Simply listen and record all the ideas as they come up. Say thank you to anyone who offers anidea, ask if they have anything else to add and then move on to the next person.

Quant ity over Quality

Make everyone feel comfortable to offer ideas. Not every idea will be a grand slam every time. When people are madeto feel that every idea is valuable, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, they will be far more eager tocontribute to the session. Let everyone know that you are after quantity; quality will come when you invest time to unpackall the ideas.

Make the atmosphere fun

Try to keep the proceedings as fun and relaxed as possible. Toss a ball around, encourage people to make jokes.The more fun you can make each session, the better will be the results you will enjoy.

Schedule a crit ique Session

A couple of days after the brainstorming session, schedule a meeting to analyse the results. As you go through the list,focus on all the great ideas, those you really appreciate. Don’t eliminate the really absurd ideas, before you have giventhe team time to analyse them properly. As you dig deeper, you may uncover some really great new innovativeconcepts, which may come from a few really absurd ideas. Sort the ideas, hash them out, discuss them, vote on themand try to uncover the best idea, which as closely as possible, matches the original goal of the brainstorming session.

Brain storming is a really powerful process to support you and your team to come up with new creative or innovativeideas, which is a crucial concept for any organisation in these ever changing and evolving times, we live in.

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