This Quartz post on brainstorming reminds us of its history. In particular how the concept was formalized and “popularized in the 1940s by an American advertising executive, Alex Osborn, the “O” in the much lauded advertising agency BBDO“
Finding the right method for creativity and lateral thinking has always been an issue and a challenge. Many methods have been proposed, from using drugs to structured approaches. The Quartz post mentions a few used by famous people: Steve Jobs took walks, Google uses a 3-step approach (“1) Know the user 2) Think 10x 3) Prototype“), Amazon practices silence while studying memos, etc.
Brainstorming is obviously a classic but not always well applied. “People groan because brainstorming is well disseminated but poorly applied“.
I like the post-it version of it in a safe environment with enough time available, and a few iterations to go deeper into the less obvious outputs. What is really important, I find, is to be non judgmental. It is a tough position to have in particular in some cultures like France where ‘critical thinking’ is so much valued. It often requires a lot of effort from the facilitator to maintain such a spirit.
What is your brainstorming routine? How could it be improved?
