Chances are that at some point in your career, you’ll either participate in brainstorming or be asked to faciliate a brainstorming session.
Whether your company needs to break through a block, chart a cutting edge course, or find new ways to lower costs — brainstorming is a classic technique.
Many people imagine brainstorming as a free-for-all, but there are some basic principles that can help you create the perfect brainstorming session.
- Don’t evaluate or comment on ideas offered. The goal for this type of session is quantity, not quality. Evaluating ideas as they come up cuts off people’s creativity and inhibits participants’ willingness to unconventional ideas. Instead, simply record each idea as it’s offered. There’s no need to ask for an explanation or worry about duplicate ideas.
- Set groundrules. Different factors influence what ground rules will work best for your team. If they have a high level of trust, then the “free-for-all” kind of brainstorming meeting might be perfect. If some members of the team are less comfortable speaking up, then going around the room giving each participant a chance to speak might be more productive.
Everyone on the team should feel like an equal part of the project.