How do you stimulate new idea thinking?
Perhaps you lay back and chill out with a brew? Do you meditate and consult the inner you? Let me know your perferred methods.
In the meantime let me give you one approach - Brainstorming and its derivatives.
Dr. Brian Monger
Brainstorming and brainstorming-type techniques
Brainstorming is a procedure whereby groups of individuals focus on an issue —idea generation — and use their brains to show the problem. It is a method used to foster intuitive thinking, where individuals are encouraged to use others' ideas to trigger and develop their own. Potentially, brainstorming can be used for a number of purposes; however, our concern is for its value in generating new product ideas. It is founded on a number of principles which are set to encourage creativity.
Deferral of judgement.
The atmosphere to be encouraged in brainstorming is that of free-wheeling thoughts, where rejection of ideas is eschewed in favour of producing a large number of ideas, as quickly as possible.
Group idea building.
As it is a technique based on intuition, associations of ideas are to be encouraged. This means that all the group members must be able and willing to listen to one another.
Multi-disciplinary composition.
In order to encourage new perspectives and cross-fertilisation of ideas, the group should be composed of individuals from several functions within the organisation. Where the group is composed of consumers, as well as or instead of employees, they should come from different consumer segments.
It is suggested that a group should consist of a leader, an associate leader who performs the role of scribe, about five regular 'core' members and five guest members. Research has shown that four to seven members may achieve best results (Schlicksupp, 1977) but, there is no magic number, and the leader should choose a group sise that is comfortable to work with.
Seniority
A final point in relation to group composition relates to seniority: it is important not to include individuals ranked significantly 'higher' than other members, as this can hinder the latter's freedom to contribute, since an element of judgement may be inferred.
Quantity is the main aim.
The more ideas produced, the greater the probability that a really original idea will emerge. This condition reinforces 'deferred judgement'. Ideas are not described in detail at this stage.
Duration.
There is no ideal time limit to be set. After a ten minute warm-up, the session should last between 30 and 45 minutes with If after 20 minutes of brainstorming proper, fewer than 10 ideas have emerged, it is time to restart, beginning with a further warm-up.
Topics need to be well defined and have to be focused on problems or opportunities which can be resolved or exploited in numerous ways. Typically, in brainstorming, the activity is focused on one question only. It is important, therefore, that this question is the right one, and that its wording is interpreted in the same way by all participants. The question should not require expertise of a technical nature which is outside the experience of the group members.
Brainstorming derivatives.
Negative brainstorming.
Carried out in two sessions, the first collects all the negative aspects of a new product idea or ideas and the second focuses on improvements to the weakest issues.
Brainwriting.
Also based on association, participants do not communicate orally, but write their ideas down on paper, which is then circulated. The idea is to avoid the influence of dominant personalities in the group, but the technique may hinder the associative richness produced by verbal discussion.
Method 6X5.
Six persons brainstorm to produce three ideas in five minutes. The ideas are written down and passed to the next group, where association will be developed. This technique focuses discussion on a smaller number of ideas and maximises variations on the basic themes.
Brainwriting pool.
Participants write down four ideas on a sheet of paper which is placed in a central pool. They then pick from the pool, adding ideas to the bottom of the list until they run out of ideas, when they exchange sheets of paper. Other techniques which are based on this principle include 'card circulating' and the gallery method. In the former, each participant writes down one idea on a card and passes it on to his or her neighbour who can use it for further stimulation. With the latter method, it is the participants who walk from one card to the next.
Collective notebook method.
A group of 8-10 participants are asked to put down ideas in a notebook, writing down at least one idea per day. After a week or so, notebooks are exchanged, allowing the associations to begin. This process continues for about four weeks.
So what are your suggestions?
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