The New Rules of Brainstorming

1. The New Rules of Brainstorming Creative Conspiracy: The New Rules of Brainstorming. (2013). Leigh Thompson. Harvard Business School Press.

2. New Rules • Developed based on research and years of experience. • Alex Osborn in Applied Imagination in 1953 invented word and basic concept of brainstorming. • He got most of it right.

3. Osborn’s Rules • Express ideas openly • Don’t hold back, get crazy, childish • No evaluation/criticism • Focus on quantity • As many ideas as possible • Build on ideas of others (synergy) • Combine ideas

4. Myths Developed • Groups are more creative than individuals. • People are pro-social and team oriented. • Get rid of rules, relax, no tension. • Brainstorm as a group first to get creative juices flowing.

5. Research Busted Myths • Individuals more creative than groups. • Groups need guidelines, structure, and some pressure. • Brainstorm individually first, then in groups. • Individuals (and groups) need priming. • Stimulation of visuals, toys, phrases, props – expand thinking.

6. Research • Brainstorm individually, then exchange ideas – a crucial part of creativity. • Two key elements in creativity • Attention/focus • Develop then exchange a lot of individual ideas before group meets, because a group often fixates on a few ideas and gets groups stuck, slows them down. • Incubation • By developing a lot of ideas individually, exchanging them, then waiting to meet in a group allows for the necessary incubation.

7. Research • Myth • People should work close together in order to generate ideas. • No – privacy is important for initial idea generation (can focus better). • Idea generation works best in solitude … and with lots of priming. • Cave-and-commons workspace is best.

8. Research • Groups can be pro-social, but… • Difficult to be unique or independent in a group. • Tendency to go along to get along. • Need some tension, pressure to keep focused, and to be unique, independent.

9. Groups • Ideal group size is five. • Large groups get confusing, too much duplication, too much free riding. • Experienced facilitator must keep discussion focused, open, spirited. • Passionately attack the problem, but respect the people. • Fair, spirited fighting. • Don’t allow storytelling, explanations, or wallflowers.

10. Groups • Use blackboard, whiteboards, flip charts to write everything down (memorialize ideas). • Take photos on iPad or phone. • Put in a boneyard or repository (Google Doc, wiki, blog) so group members can actively access ideas during, before, and after meetings. • Mood: Consistently positive and upbeat • Facilitator’s responsibility.

11. Groups • Diversity is critical. • Don’t put friends together. • If possible, regularly involve the input of of outsiders who are devil’s advocates. • Conflict is OK – manage it.

12. Group Problems • Going along with the crowd • Riding the bus without paying the fee (free riding) • Team superiority complex • 90% believe they are in the top quartile. • The tyranny of the average • Regress toward the mean – satisficing • Dumbing down (playing it safe to be popular) • Evaluation apprehension

13. Group Problems • Cognitive interruptus (multitasking) • Fewer than 95% of people can multitask effectively (and 90% of people think they are in the 5%) • Takes a person seven minutes on average to recover from an interruption • Focus, focus, focus on generating a lot of ideas. • Being in a group requires a symphony of skills: Listening, speaking, taking turns, taking notes, and summarizing.

14. Group Problems • Production blocking (time wasted while group members queue up and wait to take turns expressing their ideas) • Competing for attention • Simultaneous talking

15. Making Groups Effective (And Avoiding Free Riders) • Don’t make team too big. • Assign roles. • Strengthen team cohesion. • Team T-shirts • Focus on shared goals • Use same lingo • Talk “we.” • Increase diversity – not too much homogeneity.

16. Making Groups Effective • Craft a team charter. • A document written by all team members specifying the team mission and expectations they hold for one another. • People are less likely to renege on an agreement they agreed to in writing.

17. Making Groups Effective • Cyberstorming • Google Docs, etc. • No fighting for attention, no production blocking • Brainwriting • Simultaneously and independently writing down ideas. No eye contact. Silence. Focus attention on idea generation.

18. Making Groups Effective • Raise expectations. • Brainstorm for ten minutes, rest, then double the number of ideas expected. • Separate people from the problem. • Attack the problem, not people. • Disagreement and conflict are OK. • Don’t get defensive. • Don’t be indirect – be direct but respectful. • People like directness. • When stuck, summarize.

19. Making Groups Effective • Neutralize alpha-dominant people. • Aren’t aware they are dominating the discussion, upsetting others, and making others loath to participate (doom loop) and give up. • In group of six, three people do 70% of the talking. In a group of eight, three people do 70% of the talking, etc. • Use forced democracy: • BRAINWRITING • CYBERSTORMING

20. Brainwriting • Simultaneous written generation of ideas. • No guessing • No confessions • All ideas anonymous • No longer than ten minutes in group sessions • Secret ballot (put stickers on favorite ideas) • Flag four-six most popular • Groups who use brainwriting are much more effective, especially when ideas are discussed (attention) and people reflect on them (incubation).

21. Cyberstorming • Electronic brainstorming • Elegantly solve problems of production blocking • Because ideas are displayed for everyone, they can stimulate other ideas (synergy) • No one can talk too much, criticize ideas, or interrupt. • Difficult because people have to both generate and monitor ideas, but still more effective than old-fashioned brainstorming.

22. Rules For Brainstorming • Express ideas openly. • Don’t hold back, get crazy, childish • No evaluation/criticism • Generation first, then judging • Focus on quantity. • As many ideas as possible • Build on ideas of others (synergy). • Combine ideas • Keep groups small (five is ideal). • Keep sessions about 30-40 minutes long. • Individual brainstorming first (brainwriting), then in groups. • Have clear, accepted goals and expectations (structure).

23. Old Rules • Groups benefit most from building and combining ideas (not generating lots of novel ideas). • Groups are better at evaluating and judging ideas, not generating novel ones. • Osborn’s old rules are effective because they are rules and provide structure. • Quantity rule is most important.

24. Facilitator • Set a clear goal. • Keep group focused on the task. • Restrict people from telling stories or explaining ideas. • Wasting time. • When no one is suggesting an idea, restate the problem and encourage ideas. • Encourage those people who are not talking to make a contribution.

25. Facilitator • Focus on process and resist inserting substantive ideas. • Be a good umpire – enforce rules. • Focus on volume and novelty. • Break problems down into small chunks. • Help people get in touch with their child (open, energetic).