Workplace Advice:Brainstorm to get several ideas

Brainstorming means a group of individuals thinking collectively to generate better and faster solutions to problems. The leader of the group sets a thinking pattern , involves the participants in the process and controls the discussion. The participants adopt a pratical approach to the problem.

Brainstorming is especially useful when there isa need to break away from an established pattern of thinking. The ideas of thinking will trigger better ideas in others. The discussion between the group members will offer them new prespectives of looking at the problem. The knowledge, experience and creativity of all thes epeople are well utilised. Misconceptions on the subject, if any are cleared during the process. The probabilty of commiting mistakes and failures is thus reduced. Thus, the outcome is better than thenpeople thinking individually. This technique is also an effective tool team for team building.

Alex Faickney Osborn, an advertising manager and the author of a book called Applied Imagination was the one who introduced the concept of brainstorming. The process is well assimilated into the business culture but the term is often misused for anything that is related to creativity. The four key principles of brainstorming are discussed below:

Focus on quantity: The idea of brainstorming is to genrate as many ideas as possible. The quality of idaes will improve eventually. The participants will be airing their ideas and as the discussion progresses effective solutions are generated.

Prevent criticism: Criticism is absoulutely forbidden in brainstorming sessions because it kills creativity. Any bad idea must be improved or added to but not confronted or mocked at. Evaluation of an idea can be done at a later stage while making a decision. An enviornment free of criticism is necessary to involve the participants and make them feel free to express their ideas.

Deliberate unusual ideas: Unusual ideas aare usually the best solutions or are ways to best solutions. The very purpose of brainstorming is to think differently and generate new solutions, products, processes and policies. So, this practice must be encouraged.

Encourage colaboration: During brainstorming individuals must work collectively towards a single target. Even a single participant will reduce the number of ideas and their qualiity drastically. A brainstorming session needs a leader to track the flow and enforce standards. The leader must ensure taht the spirit of participation is maintained till the end and in all paricipants. The process must be fun. It is good idea to record all ideas as they are generated so no idea is missed out. It also helps to track the process. No one should be allowed to monopolise the discussion.

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Workplace Advice:Brainstorm to get several ideas

Workplace Advice:Brainstorm to get several ideas

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