You know, I am not a great fan of brainstorming ... it can and does waste a great deal of time and the benefits are questionable.I'd like to draw Gavin out a bit more on the details around this. I suspect he could be referring to badly-done brainstorming - which is probably 95% of the brainstorming that goes on in the world. Brainstorming can waste time if:
- Participants haven't prepared. A lot of brainstorming is done "cold". People come into a room and they are expected to come up with creative ideas. Brains are a bit like cars or ovens - they take a while to warm up.
- This warming-up process will take much, much longer if participants don't already know & trust each other. In fact, it probably won't happen. You don't want to say anything stupid in front of strangers. And if someone doesn't say something stupid during an exercise like brainstorming then you're not doing it right.
- The facilitation is weak. Brainstorming requires a strong yet subtle facilitator. Otherwise people start arguing the merits of the ideas presented - rather than building on them and offering new ones.
Gavin then makes the following comment:
As a workshop technique, it can however, be a very good way of creating consensus amongst a disparate group.
Which I have also observed though I'd like Gavin to add a bit more detail here. The point should be made that brainstorming in its original form is not something that would work well with disparate groups without a lot of preparation. You are interested in wild, divergent thinking and you need people around you that you trust. However a technique like brainstorming can allow a group to develop a common yet multi-faceted view of a problem and then feel a sense of ownership around the outputs.
Anyone out there want to share their experiences with brainstorming?
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11 comments:
I find brainstorming to be a necessity with any new design ideas. My team and I often come up with a new idea and then setup a 'brainstorming' session to further explore the possibilities. Without these I feel our creativity would be grossly stifled.
That being said... I don't like the style of this post. I realize that you're probably making use of the Make a Reader Famous post by Pro Blogger and that's all fine and dandy, However I think its a bit much.
It might be a good idea to reference a comment (by user and quote) but then ask your whole audience what they think rather than singling out the one reader/commenter. Singling them out might alienate that person and it might turn away other new commenters.
Sorry if i seemed harsh, just trying to give you some constructive feedback.
I think you have been told Matt ;)
To be honest, I don't believe I have ever been in a productive brainstorming session. When I first started working I was surprised at its widespread use in the corporate world -- especially considering that there are so many other creative thinking techniques available. It is like the conservative approach to ideation.
But if you are going to do some brainstorming, then I think you are right that it does require strong facilitation ... but that leaves the whole process open to manipulation. Sure there may be some good ideas generated, but you will, no doubt, be guided towards some outcome all the while feeling like you "participated".
Ultimately brainstorming is just one approach -- and it all depends one your reasons for running the workshop.
Oh, and thanks for making me famous.
Randy,
1. Brainstorming: Randy - interested to hear that you use brainstorming. What have you found works well? What would you avoid in brainstorming?
2. Post style: I take your point but Gavin is a better known blogger than me and I know that he is not shy of the spotlight. I was trying to engage in a conversation. Given that he was the only commentator on the previous post, it would be hard to "single" him out. If you prefer, I will not be singling you out but I would like to keep the conversation going in some way. We can keep this going in the comments if you prefer.
Gavin,
Brainstorming: Fair enough. I'd love to know what tools you prefer.
Making you famous: Anytime. Send me the usual fee once you have recovered from the forced exposure.
Oh dear, I'm finding myself writing a rambling, slightly grumpy comment. Perhaps I should affect a French accent and smoke a cigarette significantly to make it seem more profound and interesting?
Kirkegaard said life can only be understood backwards but must be lived forwards. What's worked in the past in one context may well not work in the future in another.
I don't think ultimately there's any magic formula.
Creativity does not run to a schedule. An apparently useless irritating brainstorm might provoke one person to do something in a fit of pique that may turn out to be fabulously creative.
I'm not hugely interested in writing rules to control other people's behaviour and that's what debates like this often become. Maybe everyone should be prepared better, but what if the culture is one where everyones just too damn careful and overprepared? Maybe you need a subtle facilitator, but what if people are stymied by correctness and a really good rant would loosen things up?
On the other hand, a set of stupid and largely erroneous rules might be just the thing to provoke a burst of creativity...
Johnnie,
I agree that creativity doesn't run to schedule and nor am I a fan of giving people a million rules in order to force people to be "imaginative".
Speaking selfishly, I want to get something useful out of these conversations beyond "brainstorming sucks" or "rules suck". So perhaps if you could tell me about a workshop you had recently where attendees seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves and why you think they did...
BTW Happy birthday. Hope the vacation is going well...
Thanks Matt!
If you put a gun to my head and asked for a formula, I'd probably talk about the power of invitation. Set everything up as voluntary; avoid insisting people attend, frame it all as an invitation. So if I ever do a warm up game, I always say one way to play is just to sit out and observe (funnily enough, it seems that then more people are willing to join in).
Generally, it seems more fun to work with volunteers and I'm not particularly big on the idea that certain stakeholders "must" be there. If the invitation is right, they'd want to be. And if they don't want to be there, I'm happy to make what progress I can with those who do.
Then as you slip off the safety lock, I'd probably splutter about Harrison Owen's motto of "one less thing" if you're facilitating. See how little you need to do to guide the group, organise less, and practice sitting with "awkward silences". We tend to associate creativity with adrenalin and inspiration with stimulation. In one of the most satisfying groups I worked with recently, we had lots of natural pauses for reflection, as well as long breaks. Those pauses are often punctuated by someone with something really interesting to say - usually much better than any facilitatory effort I might make.
As I hear your finger twitching on the trigger, I'd say it's good to pulsate between whole group work and smaller groups - and also risk suggesting some time for working alone (eg on a sunny day, go for a walk alone to reflect). In a brainstorming context, if there's time, maybe get people to do writing activity alone. I think introverts tend to get excluded by loud, frantic workstyles and if we give them a more reflective approach, it's more inclusive.
Just before that little red flag pops out saying "BANG", I'd probably invoke the improv principle of Yes, And. I try to Yes, And as much as I can when facilitating. Most "disruptions" can be welcomed.
My default response in difficult situations is "Can you say more about that?" Not infallible, but very nearly. Genuine curiosity works wonders, especially when applied instead of eg "That's not relevant to this discussion!"
Finally, I suppose I'd invoke Gandhi on being the change you want to see in the world, and being aware and present to what the group is doing, reflecting some of that awareness back to the group; tending to avoid setting myself up as the deliverer of outcomes so the group shares responsibility for what happens.
(Associated to that, I almost never make myself the person who writes down ideas. In fact, I think the ritual of writing every idea on a flip chart is a bit tiresome and misleading. If someone hits on an actionable idea, they'll probably take responsibility for recording it. I might set up a space for people to do that and if stays empty, it stays empty.)
Excellent stuff Johnnie!!! I will cogitate upon this and possibly write about it in a forthcoming blog post - if that's alright.
You probably know that Johnnie's Open Space approaches are far more interesting than traditional brainstorming, collaboration or creativity techniques.
Chris Corrigan also has some great insight into this process and the challenges of facilitation:
http://chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/?cat=29
Matt,
I wouldn't say we use any particular methods. In fact Our brainstorming material is often thrown away. We often have a second meeting in which we hash out real possibilities.
We mostly use the brainstorming sessions as information gathering and thought provoking so we know what initial ideas are out there and where everyone's mind is.
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