hbr.org: About 20 years ago I was leading a brainstorming session in one of my MBA classes, and it was like wading through oatmeal. We were talking about something that many organizations struggle with: how to build a culture of equality in a male-dominated environment. Though it was an issue the students cared about, they clearly felt uninspired by the ideas they were generating. After a lot of discussion, the energy level in the room was approaching nil. Glancing at the clock, I resolved to at least give us a starting point for the next session.
3 comments:
I have to admit, I am not the best at brainstorming and when I first approached this article, I thought it was going to be another lame “this is how you win at life” article. Turns out, I was wrong. This is a great article. I never thought about brainstorming for questions before. Interesting. I am going to have to try that one next time I am in one of those situations. Don’t answer something but rather ask deeper questions that may not have an answer in the first place. I also like the idea of going on a quest during the brainstorming session. Find a new path to get to the same answer, one that hasn’t been tried before but that could lead to exciting challenges and opportunities for personal and professional growth and expansion. Making things a habit is also a good one. They say it takes 21 days of doing something to make it a habit or part of a routine. I need to try that one with the gym. I’ve had success with doing something simple like cutting soda intake and while that’s not directly related to brainstorming of sorts, it does coincide with the creating a habit routine. I’m going to bookmark this one for further study.
I love seeing articles on here focused on the more meta parts of the creative process, before the physical side of production and craft takes over. After all, if an idea isn't good to begin with, no amount of production value or budget can change that. These skills are proving to be more important to me now than ever before due to the upcoming arcade project, in which we have to collaborate with a team of five to reach one creative and complex idea we all agree upon. Brainstorming is the first, and vital step in this process, so being able to pick up useful pointers to help guide brainstorming is a really great resource. I feel like gaining strategies to assist in the creative process really helps me to overcome my possible nerves or self consciousness in a group setting, as it helps to ensure that group discussions stay focused on a central goal.
It makes sense that questions would be a better gage of Brainstorming rather than just pulling out ideas. Having just gone through the process with Arcade, when asked to come up with a central question for our piece it immediately focused the group and we looked at our trend and came to a consensus. But I think the problem still stands on how to effectively brainstorm, particularly in artistic situations that are inherently subjective. Posing questions helped with centering what we wanted the root of our arcade to be, but I don’t think posing questions can work in all situations. It only works when you are facing a challenge. I actually think, even if you are not in a meeting and trying to troubleshoot, I still think that the question approach could be really helpful. The question approach focuses your thinking and it helps look for causes rather than just pulling solutions out of thin air.
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