The Four Ignored Laws of Brainstorming
Guest blog by Pete Mockaitis
Ahhh, campus is buzzing again! You’ve roped in new members and the organization is teeming with fresh meat raring to make things happen. But, what exactly are you going to make happen?
If the answer is “TOO MUCH!!” check out T.J.’s post on prioritizing that bloated calendar of events “we’ve always done” via the F-I-R-E approach. But if you’re light on events or need some fresh sizzle, try hosting a brainstorming session with the guidelines below.
Most groups think they know how to brainstorm, but you might be missing out on the full force of your group’s awesome creativity.
1. Get them in the mood
Some people hear “brainstorming” and roll their eyes. But, if you start off by making it fun, it can loosen folks up. This can mean just waking them up by asking that they shake hands and chat with their neighbors. Maybe execute a goofy ice breaker. Or, try a Super Soaker. If energy-enhancing is not enough, make people literally “put on their thinking-caps.” One of the great thinkers on thinking, Edward De Bono, suggests, “If you playact being a thinker, you will become one.” Encourage your membership to put their chins on their fists or stroke their invisible goatees. You can spice it up a little and don a thinking crash-helmet or thinking-mullet. These little silly actions can actually really loosen people up to get things going smoothly.
2. Rapidly fire out ideas
As soon as you ask the question (e.g. “What events should we host this year?), encourage the members to keep the ideas coming, one after another. Anything goes … anything! If the ideas are slow in coming, try asking for a few ideas that are clearly ridiculous. Have a few people say something that obviously won’t work. Let people take a couple of cracks at suggesting something counter-productive, goofy, illegal, or frightening. That should get people going and embolden them to provide some real ideas later. As a leader, you also have the responsibility to keep people talking and prevent them from violating these four brainstorming laws.
3. Let ideas build on each other
Crazy ideas become less crazy with small modifications. Even an illegal idea can be turned into something worthwhile with a small change. “We should have a kegger on the quad” can turn into “dance party on the quad” can turn into “dance contest,” can turn into “Dancing with the Campus Stars fundraiser,” etc. You’re doing it right when people are laughing and having fun while ideas explode off each other. Let the electricity and magic build as people roll with it. Laughter is the lubricant of brainstorming. (Please, quote me on that one.)
4. Suspend judgment and assignment
Suspending judgment is the whole key to the brainstorming process. Don’t judge the ideas at first. It’s just like writing. You don’t want to edit yourself as you write your initial draft. Rather, you just want thoughts—any thoughts—to flow out of you; you edit at a later stage. Suspending judgment is extremely hard for most people. We just can’t stand to have a poor idea out there. We have a great fear that if this horrible idea doesn’t get squashed IMMEDIATELY, it will happen. The mere thought of it materializing terrifies us—so we must destroy it ASAP! Unfortunately, this judgment short-circuits much of the amazing benefits and idea-building brainstorming produces in the first place.
As a leader, you also convey judgment by your subtle actions and word choice. Don’t say that certain ideas are “good” without affirming all ideas. If you gently praise one idea but not another, you implicitly state that the other idea is bad. You’ve subtly alienated that idea-giver, who is less apt to talk. He’ll be thinking, “Oh, so my idea wasn’t as good as Tina’s. I see how it is.”
Additionally, watch your tone of voice and facial expression. Bring a poker face or a genuinely enthusiastic “That’s great!” to every idea right away. People have a tendency to feel exposed or stupid in a brainstorming session, so be sensitive to those emotions.
Finally, if you immediately assign responsibility to the idea-giver, (e.g. “Yeah, great idea Mike, go do that!”) people quickly figure out that being creative equals work… so they stop being creative. Restrain yourself! You don’t have to assign tasks out on ideas that are minutes old.
Applying these laws to your next brainstorming session should help keep the ideas flowing and the meetings fresh.
* * *
Pete Mockaitis is an awesome CAMPUSPEAK speaker who has really big hands and a sexy Chicago accent. You should check out his book, “The Student Leader’s Field Guide,” and think about having him to campus for your next leadership development event or club presidents training. Find him on Twitter at twitter.com/optimal_pete.
One Response to “The Four Ignored Laws of Brainstorming”
Leave a Reply
Great post! I find the suspending judgement law to be very helpful.