From CONVENTIONAL TO CREATIVE
“The things we fear most in organizations -- fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances -- are the primary sources of creativity.” Margaret J. Wheatley
Purpose:
To provide the opportunity to practice creative questioning through brainstorming.
Background:
Many people have talked themselves into believing they are not creative. Pablo Picasso said it this way, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” The truth is that whenever we open our minds to a different process, perspective, or idea, we are unleashing our creativity.
One way to explore our creativity is to approach any given situation by asking unique questions in a unique way. This process will provide a model for asking questions that will produce fresh perspectives and powerful root-cause solutions. When a person looks beyond his/her own point of view and becomes curious about other possibilities, s/he can effectively respond to a more accurate reality and produce significant outcomes.
This process will also combine creative questioning with brainstorming. Most challenges in life and in business are not solved automatically by the first idea that comes to mind. To achieve the best solution, it is important to consider many possible solutions. A method of doing this is through brainstorming, “a technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc. by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion." * Brainstorming is a powerful approach to looking at situations both in business and in life differently. Throughout the world, man has formulated incredible ideas and inventions through creative questioning and brainstorming.
Process:
This four-step process requires one piece of notebook paper per person, pens/pencils, markers, and flip-chart paper. Click here to read and download the entire four-step process.
Effective Brainstorming Tips:
To run a group brainstorming session effectively, do the following:
1) Define the problem you want solved clearly, and lay out any pre- determined objectives.
2) Keep the session focused on the situation.
3) Ensure that no one criticizes or evaluates ideas during the session. Criticism introduces an element of risk for group members who put ideas forward. Fear of criticism stifles creativity and cripples the free flow of ideas.
4) Encourage an enthusiastic, uncritical attitude among group members. Get everyone to contribute and develop ideas, even the quietest group members.
5) Create a fun brainstorming environment. Encourage group(s) to produce as many ideas as possible, from the solidly practical to the wildly impractical. Welcome creativity! Consider throwing candy to the person with the most creative, outlandish(s).
6) Ensure that no single train of thought continues too long.
7) Encourage group members to develop other people's ideas or to use other ideas to create new ones.
8) Appoint one person to write down ideas generated from the session. A good way of doing this is to use a flip-chart. This information is then available for study and evaluation after the session.
Who is involved? How long? Where?
Conducted in your conference room, or at an offsite location, these sessions involve about 12 to 20 people. Invite participants from all levels of the organization and diverse specialties such as marketing, advertising, sales, research, public relations, and communications. A session may take as little time as one hour. The longer it continues, however, the greater the number of ideas. As Nobel-Prize-winner Dr. Linus Pauling said, “The best way to get a good idea—is to get a lot of ideas.”
Conclusion:
Group brainstorming can be very effective as it uses the experience and creativity of all group members. When individual members reach their limit on an idea, another member's creativity and experience can take that idea to the next level.
Brainstorming in a group can be risky for some individuals. Valuable but strange suggestions may appear odd at first. The most powerful brainstorming sessions encourage these “strange” ideas, for they spur organizations and individuals into new ways of thinking, which is the beginning of change. Encourage yourself and your organization to accept different questions, new perspectives, and answers to never-before-asked questions.
Exercise your organization’s creativity as well as your own. Be a child again. Have fun!
“Inspect every piece of pseudo-science and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold. What have we to offer in exchange? Uncertainty! Insecurity!”
Isaac Asimov
*Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006
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