The 6 Golden Rules of Brainstorming
Two weeks ago where we discussed creating an innovation timeline and last week we then discussed on to take the items from a timeline and do prepare scouting reports for each item.
This week show (Killer Innovations) we are going to take the next step and discuss how to take all of this and generate ideas …
In my experience, most brainstorming sessions fail because they lack an effective plan. Brainstorming is an invaluable and essential tool — when it works.
There are a set of common mistakes that can derail a brainstorming session and severely limit its chances of coming up with a killer idea that will accomplish anything substantial. None of these mistakes are flaws of character, passion, or ability on the part of the participants.
They are simply inherent weaknesses in the way brainstorming have been done in the past.
The Rule of Brainstorming
Here are the 6 golden rules of brainstorming to help you avoid the common mistakes:
- Rule #1: Set a focus. Focus is essential in order to give people a targeted, specific area of investigation.
- Rule #2: Assign homework (Killer Question). It’s critical to ask your group a set of well-written questions that will force them to look beyond the obvious.
- Rule #3: Encourage investigation. Get out in the field and actually investigate.
- Rule #4: Don’t filter. Be aware of the biases that are going to pop up in your head.
- Rule #5: Set a schedule for generating ideas — and stick to it. Don’t tell yourself that you’ll do the idea generation when you have time, because odds are it won’t get done.
- Rule #6: Ranking isn’t a dirty word. Don’t create lists just for the sake of it, because then you lack the focus about which ideas to go after.
I’ve prepared a document that at gives a more complete description of the rules. You can download it by clicking the button below.
DOWNLOAD THE SIX RULES OF BRAINSTORMING
