Here's a quick brainstorming and idea-generating session for your work group or team. Managers should come up with a topic or problem that needs to be addressed in some way. It can be directly work-related or not. Divide folks into groups of 6-8 people. Each group can have its own topic or a different topic to tackle. Then ask them to do the following:
Phase 1:
Group members generate ideas about their assigned topic. Be aware of three important issues:
- ensure that everyone in the group has an equal opportunity to put ideas forward;
- nobody in the group should criticize ideas put forward or attempt to evaluate them in any way; and
- all the ideas put forward should be part of a record everyone can see.
(Use post-its and paper provided for individual brainstorming, then combine like ideas on flip chart. Individuals can present ideas in a round-robin fashion, one at a time.)
Phase 2:
Group members bring all their ideas together, and sift and sort until they can agree on 2-3 primary/similar ideas/themes. Analyze and rank these ideas according to priority, promise, or acceptability. Appoint a spokesperson who will present your ideas (in 3-5 minutes) at a later time.
This exercise provides a jumping-off point for finding new and unique solutions to old problems, or to simply encourage different perspectives. The critical piece for this exercise is the second bullet point in Phase 1 - do not stop to criticize or evaluate ideas. This often bogs down the creative process. There are no bad ideas in this particular exercise - due diligence can be practiced later on, assuming such ideas make it past this point.
Good luck and happy ideating!
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