I’m suddenly interrupted by my outlook pop up reminder:
“Brainstorm for (client that shall remain nameless),
1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.”
A slight feeling of panic rushes through my veins as I click on the box to launch the full meeting notice. Of course, the memory of first receiving this notice a week ago is a haze in the borage of kick-offs, client calls, meetings about up-coming client calls, regroup meetings covering what wasn’t on those calls, rescheduled client calls, and production status meetings for the work that I should have been doing while I was in meetings.
My panic quickly turns to relief, however, when I notice that there is absolutely nothing written in the body of the meeting notice. Of course, this feeling of relief dissipates while I spend the next 15 minutes sifting through emails to
see if there was something I missed that might explain what this brainstorm could be about.
Nothing.
Efforts abandoned, I refill my cup of water, grab my Sharpie, pull out the crinkled-up notepad that I suspect will not be written in, and head to the conference room.
This brainstorm, like most, ended with some very good ideas generated and some solid objectives put into place. But I have to wonder: Was it as productive and successful as it could have been? What if that 15-minute explanation of why we were all there had actually been applied to brainstorming?
Sound familiar?
I recently attended a conference of some industry creatives, where a major topic of discussion was entitled: “THE PERFECT BRAINSTORM: Avoiding those bang-your-head-against-the-wall moments.” It turned out to be a very productive discussion and was a great opportunity for me to use my empty note pad. The following suggestions are the result of what we discussed and later distilled, once we returned back to the agency. I hope they help. And who knows, there could be an ADDY in it for you. Or better yet, an improved process that allows your team to generate better ideas and solutions for your clients.
Why are we here?
Better understanding the objective/problem going in allows the group to hit the ground running once they are together. Nothing kicks off a brainstorm session better than a group of people looking at each other, clueless, while they are expected to turn on magic upon first hearing the goal. You might be better served rescheduling the meeting until the facilitator has had a chance to bring everyone up to speed and you’ve all had a chance to begin thinking about the objective(s).
Good facilitators can help a great deal in:
- Driving the conversation to the desired outcome.
- Prevent derailments and time-wasting chatter.
- Massaging ideas out of individuals and the group as a whole.
NO FEAR!
Fear and apprehension are brainstorm killers. Seriously, there really are no bad ideas (among a well-informed group of creative minds, at least).
Have a process.
Whether it’s for yourself or for your company/team or both, having a process saves time under extreme deadline duress and can strengthen your brainstorming muscle overall.
Keep the group to 5 or less people.
“The more the merrier” isn’t always the best solution when you need to come up with some great ideas. You might think about pulling together the 3–5 people that are the most plugged in to that particular project or the most intimate with what direction you’re needing to go creatively.
Reboot!
If you’re hitting a roadblock that just can’t be climbed over, walk away and come back to it later. Even if it’s only for a short period of time. Our brains aren’t unlike an operating system that gets cluttered and fragmented with junk. A Starbucks run just may be the cure.
Bring in the “new guy.”
Fresh perspectives can often spark a wildfire of ideas and may rip off those ugly blinders that keep us from exploring less obvious and more fun detours of thinking.
Have you been applying a similar process to your brainstorming sessions? How is it working? Do you have any other suggestions to add to this list? Post your thoughts below. We’d love to hear any new ideas.
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