The Lost Art of Brainstorming

There’s a lot to unpack in that list, but let’s start with the process.

You haven’t been able to answer whatever your question is in a way that is meaningful to your bottom line. You want answers? You need to get out of your own way.

Brainstorming has rules. Only a few, but they are not up for debate.

Rule 1: No Nos.

This is usually the first rule to get broken in any brainstorm session, because it’s a bad habit that we all learn early. But! It’s the first rule for a reason. Instinctively, we are looking for ways to poke holes in ideas. How will it fail? Why is this better than my idea? How will this inconvenience my life? My ideas don’t matter and aren’t good enough. How much money will this cost? My people will never go for this, etc. Even if it’s just one person, it’s contagious. Which leads to good ideas being silenced or struck down without actual consideration or time to get to the next iteration of that idea.

We should be Yes people in a brainstorm. If you ever took an improv class, there’s a “yes, and” tenant that keeps the improv going. You shoot something down, and it goes nowhere. You say, “yes, and…” and it keeps the ideas flowing.

Before you even get into the brainstorm room, you should exercise this rule. Should we invite Accounting to our brand strategy meeting? Yes. Why? Getting people paid and getting paid are two touch points to the customer experience. You are going to need to know how that looks when you are mapping a customer experience and planning a brand. Accounting knows that best. And not just the Controller, also the person who is doing collection calls or entering data. Yes. And.

Once you’re in the brainstorm room, you have to have a punitive measure for those that break this important rule. It has to be a “punishment” that everyone can enforce, every time. My preferred method is Silly Stringing anyone that No Bombs an idea. Now is not the time for No. Even if it’s the president of the company. (Yes, I’ve Silly Stringed executives in front of their employees for No Bombing.) No one is above this rule.

Rule 2: Order in Chaos

While there is no limitation on the ideas that come from a brainstorm, you must have an agenda, time limits (and stick to them), and clear goals for each question and step in the process. You are bringing together a group of diverse backgrounds, levels of seniority, tenure, and experience; now is the best time to have a rock-solid gameplan. Before you start, give people the lay of the land and let them know exactly what they can expect. Do a warmup exercise to show exactly what they will be doing in breakout groups (for large brainstorms). Give them the permission to say whatever they want without judgement. Which leads to…

Rule 3: Everything Goes on the Paper

I’m still pretty old school when it comes to brainstorms. I love paper. It seems so much more permanent. Which is why, when someone offers an idea, write it down. I don’t care if it’s a joke. Put it on the paper. It can serve as a cue for the imagination to dive deeper into the idea. I know that some of the best ad campaigns came from bad dad jokes. They make us all laugh. Make sure to keep the personality alive. Just write it down.

Real! Live! Example!
I was leading a brainstorm with 35 people. The question was: What do our carriers want from us? Someone says, jokingly, “Get paaaaaiiiidddd, son!” I wrote it just like that and then asked for him to tell me more…after everyone stopped giggling. We ended up having a good conversation about payments, accounting processes, and coming up with some ideas that we tabled for another time. So, if we look at the answer to “What do our carriers want from us?” as “To get paid, son!” How do we, as a company, do that? Just because it’s fun/funny, doesn’t mean it’s not a legit concern.

Rule 4: Everyone’s Opinion Should Be Heard

If you have carefully selected your attendees, then it will be no surprise that you want them to participate. When I was in grad school, I participated, as an INTERN, in a brainstorm session about product diversification and brand awareness at a multi-billion dollar global company. What did I have to contribute? Apparently, something, because I was there with some fairly high up people that I would normally have no business sitting in a room with at that point in my career. I was expected to participate, not just take notes or clean up messes or listen intently, participate. If someone is quiet, ask for their opinion. If they have showed up to this session, they are there to participate. This is not an hour/half-day/day away from the office or opportunity to catch up on emails. Everyone should be actively engaged. Or they can leave. I get that thinking creatively and shirking criticism for a little bit can be uncomfortable for a lot of people. We are trying to get out of our own way and start positive change. Voicing ideas is the least uncomfortable you will probably feel during this entire transformation. 

Rule 5: Share What You Capture

At the end of the brainstorm, follow up with all the attendees with what you collectively came up with. Here’s what we all heard and agreed to, here’s how it answers our questions. Then, ask for feedback. Does it make sense? Does it track outside the brainstorm room? These are answers that will be the basis for the next steps of the organization. If everyone is still on board, you have your foundation to make important business decisions. So, if we decided that paying carriers was their number one concern, how do we make that part of our processes, procedures, marketing, performance evaluation, etc.? The brainstorm isn’t a nebulous black hole where great ideas go to live while your questions fester in perpetuity. It’s the drop that starts the ripple.