Eight Ways to Generate More Ideas in Group
Do you need to encourage some inspiration from you team? Help is at hand..
The scene is repeated in meeting rooms around the
world every day. A problem has been identified and a group has gathered to
solve the problem. When ideas are needed, the group decides to brainstorm.
And all too often this exercise leads to a short list of not-that-creative
ideas.
We know that if we generate more ideas we have a better chance of finding
better ideas. This leads us to the logical conclusion that if we can find
techniques to create more ideas, we will find better ones. No one technique
however will guarantee the perfect solution. Instead your goals should be to
have a variety of approaches to help stimulate idea creation in your
repertoire. By doing this you will improve the overall quality of ideas by
virtue of having more to choose from.
Whether you are unhappy with the current creativity of your group or are
having good success with brainstorming sessions, but would like them to be
even better, any of the eight suggestions below can help.
Look at problems in different ways. Get the group to change their
perspective on the problem. Once people “lock into” one way of looking at
things the idea flow will slow to a tickle. Have people take a new persona.
Ask them to look at the issue from the perspective of another group –
accounting, HR, or sales for example. Ask them to think about how their
Grandmother or an 8 year old would solve the problem. These are simple ways
to force people into a new perspective and the new perspectives will
generate more ideas.
Make novel combinations. The ideas that land on the flip chart or whiteboard
in a brainstorming session are typically considered individually. Have the
group look at the initial list and look for ways to combine the ideas into
new ones.
Force relationships. Once a group is finished with their initial list,
provide them with words, pictures or objects. The objects can be random
items, the words can come from a randomly generated list or from pictures in
magazines or newspapers. When people have their random word, picture or
item, have them create connections between the problem and their item. Use
questions like, “How could this item solve our problem?” What attributes of
this item could help us solve our problem?”
Make their thoughts visible. Have people draw! Too often the brainstorming
session has everyone sitting except the person capturing the ideas. Let
people doodle and draw and you never know what ideas may be spurred.
Think in opposites. Rather than asking your direct problem question, ask the
opposite. “How could we ensure no one bought this new product?” could be one
example. Capturing the ideas on “the opposite,” will illuminate ideas for
solving the actual problem.
Think metaphorically. This approach is similar to forcing relationships (and
is another way to use your words, pictures or items). Pick a random
idea/item and ask the group, “How is this item like our problem?” Metaphors
can be a very powerful way to create new ideas where none existed before.
Prepare. Too often people are asked to brainstorm a problem with no previous
thinking time. If people have time to think about a topic, and let their
brains work on it for awhile, they will create more and better ideas. Allow
people to be better prepared mentally by sharing the challenges you will be
brainstorming some time before the meeting whenever possible.
Set a Goal. Research shows and my experience definitely confirms that the
simple act of giving people a quantity goal before starting the
brainstorming session will lead to a longer list of ideas to consider. Set
your goal at least a little higher than you think you can get – and higher
than this group typically achieves. Set the goal and watch the group reach
it!
While these suggestions have all been written from the perspective of a
group generating ideas, they all work very well for individuals too. The
next time you need to solve a problem by yourself, use these techniques and
you will be astounded by the quantity of ideas you will generate!
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