The Idea Factory
Brainstorming
The starting point of any entrepreneurial venture, social or otherwise, is the idea. In many ways, the quality of your idea determines the success of your venture. So how do you come up with a good one? One way to jumpstart your mind and get thinking creatively is by brainstorming.
Brainstorming is probably the best-known creative tool. When you brainstorm, you focus on a particular problem and try to come up with many solutions, pushing the outer limits of what is possible. When brainstorming, it’s essential for the critics in your group (or in your head) to keep quiet. They can speak up later.
Rules for group brainstorming
Assuming that you’re working as part of a team, we start you off here with a how-to guide on brainstorming together. Sit down with your group, follow these rules and see if you come up with a couple of ideas worth pursuing.
Brainstorming has its limitations: it should only be used for generating new ideas and solutions, not for decision-making. It should be targeted to a specific “probortunity” (problem/opportunity). Don’t bother brainstorming if you already have several solutions to the problem and are just trying to choose between them.
Creating the right environment for brainstorming
Most of us have hundreds of good ideas waiting to come out. The challenge is creating an environment where those ideas can come out without fear of making mistakes. This requires the group to actively decide not to judge what anyone puts forward. Here, making “mistakes” and putting forward ideas that don’t work is not only acceptable but encouraged. Your ideas are never criticized because they can be used either as a solution or a stimulus for other ideas.
Brainstorming should remove, or at least reduce, the fear of making mistakes. The professionalism and attitude of the participants is the key to how much inhibitions are reduced. Sticking to the rules is vital to the success of the session.
More tools
Brainstorming isn’t the only way to get those juices flowing. Creative thinking guru Edward de Bono offers a myriad of creative “attention-directing tools.” A few of them include:
The PMI Working intensely for two or three minutes, examine the Pluses (good points), Minuses (bad points) and Interesting points of a given option. Don’t evaluate the options, but scan them objectively, challenging your initial reactions.
The CAF For this exercise, Consider All the Factors in a given situation, without evaluating them. For example, when buying a used car, consider price, previous history, previous owner, condition of the car, mileage, resale value, gas consumption, serviceability, etc.
Mind-mapping This is a technique in which you begin with a central word or concept. Write it on a piece of paper, and around it draw the five to ten main ideas that relate. From each of those, again draw five to ten ideas that relate.
Don’t fall for the first good-lookin’ idea
that comes along
The success or failure of your project does not depend on your team generating the perfect solution on the first try. On the contrary, falling in love with your first idea can get you into big trouble and cause you to miss out on the seemingly dumb idea that might follow immediately in its path.
Edward de Bono writes that it’s important to explore alternatives, because alternatives prevent the mind from settling too quickly on a solution. Working with alternatives certainly doesn’t simplify the creative process. Rather, having a lot of alternatives creates confusion and opens the door for brilliant things to happen.