Brainstorming A group discussion to produce a list of ideas or solutions to a problem.

What is brainstorming?

Brainstorming is a popular ideation technique for generating new ideas. The basic premise is to get a group together and have them share their ideas freely, without judgment.

The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible, regardless of whether they are good or bad. Once the brainstorming session is over, the group can evaluate the ideas and narrow them down to the best ones.

Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate new ideas, especially when the group has diverse perspectives. However, creating a safe and welcoming environment where all voices are heard is essential. Otherwise, the brainstorming session may not be very productive.

Brainstorming techniques

There are many varied brainstorming techniques.

To strictly qualify as a brainstorming process, the technique should only generate and capture many ideas without evaluating them. The list of ideas generated is then later assessed by a separate process.

The term is sometimes used to describe both the generative and evaluation process.

Frequently, brainstorming is conflated with ideation and is used to describe any technique that generates and evaluates ideas regardless of the process.

Brainstorming versus Knowledge Café

I am often asked in what way Knowledge Café is different from brainstorming.

It should be readily apparent that the original brainstorming method described in 1941 by Alex Osborn, its creator, does not resemble the Knowledge Café.

The outcome of a brainstorming session is a list of ideas and maybe one promising idea that has been selected to move forward with. The typical outcomes of a Knowledge Café are “what people take away in their heads,” such as:

• A deeper understanding of an issue.
• A deeper insight into other people’s perspectives on an issue.
• A better appreciation of one’s point of view on an issue.

However, in recent years, as I have remarked above, brainstorming is often used to describe any ideation process.

Ideation Café

The Café process can be easily adapted as a form of brainstorming (ideation). You might call it an Ideation Café to distinguish it from a Knowledge Café. Strictly speaking, however, it would not be a traditional brainstorming session or a Knowledge Café.

The brainstorming myth

In recent years, the effectiveness of Alex Osborn’s original brainstorming method has been questioned.

The underlying assumption of brainstorming is that if people are scared of saying the wrong thing, they’ll end up saying nothing at all. The appeal of this idea is obvious: it’s always nice to be saturated in positive feedback.

Typically, participants leave a brainstorming session proud of their contribution. The whiteboard has been filled with free associations.

Brainstorming seems like an ideal technique, a feel-good way to boost productivity. But there is a problem with brainstorming. It doesn’t work.

Our findings show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas but, rather, stimulate them relative to every other condition.

Osborn thought that imagination is inhibited by the merest hint of criticism, but Nemeth’s work and a number of other studies have demonstrated that it can thrive on conflict.

According to Nemeth, dissent stimulates new ideas because it encourages us to engage more fully with the work of others and to reassess our viewpoints.

“There’s this Pollyannaish notion that the most important thing to do when working together is stay positive and get along, to not hurt anyone’s feelings,” she says. “Well, that’s just wrong.

Maybe debate is going to be less pleasant, but it will always be more productive. True creativity requires some trade-offs.

Credit: Groupthink: The brainstor ming myth by Jonah Lehrer, The New Yorker

Resources

• Groupthink: The brainstorming myth by Jonah Lehrer, The New Yorker
• We need more conversation and less brainstorming by Andrew Armour