Collective-Brainstorming

I have always been an advocate of brainstorming, ever-since I tasted the power it has. Now brainstorming has usually been associated with Creativity and hence its usage is limited in the many meetings, corporate have. The fact is Brainstorming is a:

Great equalizer – it fades the hierarchical boundaries and accepts each and every idea or thought as an equal possibility

Creative-idea-generator – it helps open-up unseen dimensions and directions in each topic of discussion.

Big and small pictures – it helps one to see the big-picture and also go deeper into the many puzzles that make-up each idea

Brainstorming is an activity that we use in our Discover session before we start to design Visual Presentations. Recently, I met a client who had to create a presentation for a conference. Now she had made a lot of effort, to collect a whole lot of data and compile them into a cohesive one. The challenge we faced was to understand those huge chunks of data and give it visual meaning. After we managed to put-up a presentation, we had this wonderful opportunity to actually demonstrate the presentation to not just her, but to a small team of peers, seniors and even the head of the organization.

At this juncture I need to pause…because the aftermath of this demonstration was a great blessing – suddenly many minds began to open-up with ideas and perceptions and possibilities. Soon the conference room became a place where collective-brainstorming began to take place. And it was wonderful! I as an outsider could see the wealth of ideas that were pouring forth and in that short span of time – I understood more about the presentation than the 5hrs I spent creating it. That is the power of collective-brainstorming.

Why do I call it collective-brainstorming?

It is a term that I use to portray different groups of people, from various departments of an organization, who meet to discuss a certain topic. The key word is ‘different’. Normally brainstorming is done within departments and so ideas are limited to the combined understanding of that group. In contrast, here we see different perceptions, and ideas expressed from a collective gathering of individuals who represent the whole company. The result: A wealth of ideas and possibilities which can only come-out of such a collective brainstorming.

So what are you waiting for?

Find ways to have collective-brainstorming sessions in your organization when it comes to finding solutions for the consumer. You can even take it one step further – involve your partners and if possible some of the customers. You will be surprised by the wealth of ideas you will generate.