Alex F. Osborne invented brainstorming in 1939 with two core rules: defer judgment and go for quantity. The four practical rules are generate lots of ideas, hold back criticism, embrace wild ones, and build on what others say. Done right, group brainstorms produce more and better ideas than individuals working alone.
Chapters
Brainstorming is one of those business terms that's gained a lot of popularity recently. It can be a powerful tool used for coming up with ideas if done the correct way. However, some people are doing it all wrong. So what is true brainstorming and how can your team use it most effectively? Brainstorming is an old advertising term coined by ad exec Alex F. Osborne in 1939. He noticed his employees were having a difficult time coming up with ideas for ad campaigns. Rather than having his team work as solo thinkers, he put them in groups and realized the quantity and quality of ideas significantly improved. But he didn't just sit a group down in a room with a bowl of pretzels and say go. Osbourne claimed in his 1948 book youk Creative Power that two principles are crucial to contribute to ideative efficacy, and that is that everyone must defer judgment and strive for quantity. Alongside these two principles were four general rules of Go for quantity, withhold criticism, welcome wild ideas, and combine and improve ideas. Quantity breeds quality. The greater the number of ideas, the greater the chance of thinking of an effective solution. Withhold criticism in brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put on hold. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas. By suspending judgment, everyone will contribute more ideas. Welcome wild ideas to get a good long list of suggestions. Don't make boundaries to the ideas based on budget or feasibility. Sometimes the craziest ideas become creative solutions to complex problems. Combine and improve ideas. Brainstorming has to address one specific question. Sessions trying to solve for multiple questions can be ineffective. Instead of inserting judgment or criticism, work through ways to build off each other's ideas and solutions. It's important to realize that there is a right and wrong way to brainstorm as a group. If performed correctly, brainstorming can be a huge asset to any team. When solving problems, no matter how small, big or complex the problems seem, a proper group brainstorm session will lead to a creative solution. Sam.
