MIND - What is Brainstorming?

Brainstorming :

Produce an idea or way of solving a problem by holding a spontaneous group 

discussion: "a brainstorming session".


Brainstorming is the name given to a situation when a group of people meet to generate new ideas around a specific area of interest. Using rules which remove inhibitions, people are able to think more freely and move into new areas of thought and so create numerous new ideas and solutions. The participants shout out ideas as they occur to them and then build on the ideas raised by others. All the ideas are noted down and are not criticized. Only when the brainstorming session is over are the ideas evaluated.

This is the traditional way brainstorming is done. The aim of this website is to train you in the methods of traditional brainstorming and then to move on and discover a series of advanced techniques available to you.

Some other definitions:

• Brainstorming is a process for generating new ideas

• Brainstorming is "a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members" - Alex Osborn

• To brainstorm is to use a set of specific rules and techniques which encourage and spark off new ideas which would never have happened under normal circumstances.

Brainstorming is "a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members" (Alex Osborn)

Brainstorming is a process designed to obtain the maximum number of ideas relating to a specific area of interest.

Brainstorming is a technique that maximizes the ability to generate new ideas.

Brainstorming is where a group of people put social inhibitions and rules aside with the aim of generating new ideas and solutions.

Brainstorming is a time dedicated to generating a large number of ideas regardless of their initial worth.

Brainstorming is a part of problem solving which involves the creation of new ideas by suspending judgment.

Brainstorming is the creation of an optimal state of mind for generating new ideas.

Brainstorming is the free association of different ideas to form new ideas and concepts.

Dictionary definitions of 'Brainstorm'

• A sudden inspiration
• A bright idea
• A severe outburst of excitement, often as a result of a transitory disturbance of cerebral activity
• A sudden mental aberration

Traditional Brainstorming

The normal view of brainstorming is where a group of people sit in a room and shout out ideas as they occur to them. They are told to lose their inhibitions and that no ideas will be judged so that people are free to shout out any ideas at all without feeling uncomfortable. People should build on the ideas called out by other participants. The purpose of this is to gain as many ideas as possible for later analysis. Out of the many ideas suggested there will be some of great value. Because of the free-thinking environment, the session will help promote radical new ideas which break free from normal ways of thinking.

Advanced Brainstorming

The model we propose is an extension of the traditional brainstorming scenario and makes the whole process easier and more effective. Advanced brainstorming builds on the current methods of brainstorming to produce more original ideas in a more efficient way. Specialized techniques, better processes and better awareness, combined with new technologies, make traditional brainstorming a less frustrating process. Most of the problems associated with traditional brainstorming disappear as a more effective process is used. Keep on reading for more details of how you can do advanced brainstorming for great profit to you and your organization.

Advanced brainstorming uses:

• new processes and new training to reduce inhibitions
• creative and lateral thinking techniques
• brainstorming software (computer-aided creativity). Try a 30 day trial of our brainstorming software (Brainstorming Toolbox).
• new materials for stimulation and recording ideas
• materials from this website. While we provide free training at this site, if you or your organisation want to use this information on your own PC or network or as in-house training then we require you to purchase a licence for it. This money will be used to fund expansion of this website and the training you will be receiving.

The birth of brainstorming

In 1941 Alex Osborn, an advertising executive, found that conventional business meetings were inhibiting the creation of new ideas and proposed some rules designed to help stimulate them. He was looking for rules which would give people the freedom of mind and action to spark off and reveal new ideas. To "think up" was originally the term he used to describe the process he developed, and that in turn came to be known as "brainstorming". He described brainstorming as "a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members". The rules he came up with are the following:

• No criticism of ideas
• Go for large quantities of ideas
• Build on each others ideas
• Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas

He found that when these rules were followed, a lot more ideas were created and that a greater quantity of original ideas gave rise to a greater quantity of useful ideas. Quantity produced quality.

Using these new rules, people's natural inhibitions were reduced, inhibitions which prevented them putting forward ideas which they felt might be considered "wrong" or "stupid". Osborn also found that generating "silly" ideas could spark off very useful ideas because they changed the way people thought.

As you will discover, the development of this original technique was revolutionary and has since changed our world. With increasing refinement of the process, and the introduction of creative thinking techniques, the world of easy idea generation is yours for the taking. You need never be stuck for a new idea, whether you are in a group or working by yourself.

You can read Alex Osborn's original approach in his book "Applied Imagination".

The wildfire spread of brainstorming

Since its birth in 1941, brainstorming has spread throughout the world. The technique is known to most educated managers but, sadly, is often applied ineffectually because of poor training and lack of access to quality training material. Nevertheless, it is used by nearly all of the world's largest companies and across a wide range of departments. Charities, government organizations and commercial companies all shout its praises. And this is without them knowing the advanced techniques available to them! Using the simple rules developed over 50 years ago, people are discovering new solutions to their problems and creating new opportunities to advance their companies and their own careers. It is one of the most exciting things ever to be the inventor of a world-changing product and to become the creator of the world you want to live in. Brainstorming promises you this and more.

Every single day there is a brainstorming session being run somewhere in the world. New ideas are flooding out of these sessions and society is changing because of it. Join in with the progress and make your ideas heard. With Advanced Brainstorming you don't even need a group of people to do it.

What is brainstorming used for?

Brainstorming has been used to develop the following (and this is an open-ended list!):

• Advertising campaigns
• Marketing strategy and methods
• Research and Development procedures
• Research techniques
• Patents
• Physical products
• Written documents and articles
• Services
• Processes
• Engineering components
• Government policies
• Consumer research
• Factories
• Management methods
• Company structure and policy
• Investment decisions
• New industries
• Better insurance policies
• New and better ... whatever you want!

Benefits of brainstorming

Brainstorming has numerous benefits to both you and your organization. You can profit from it by improving the products and services you provide and you can benefit your personal career by being the originator of good ideas and solutions to existing problems. Obviously, if the company's profits and market share increase because of you then you will get salary increases and will be promoted quicker than people who do not contribute in such a positive way.

If you are a manager of a group then it is in your interests to promote better creativity and cooperation within your group and you will not only be praised for your successes by your own manager, but your subordinates will like you all the better too. A group which can operate in a more participatory way and which has the opportunity to put their ideas forward is a happier and more successful group. A better environment can be obtained just by holding regular brainstorming sessions because the freedom of thought expressed in these sessions filters through to the normal working environment.

Let's have a look and see if you can benefit from the following:

• What if you developed new ways of saving money?
• What if you spotted a new opportunity in the market?
• What if you developed a new product which became the market leader?
• What if you could double your productivity?
• What if you could cut down paperwork and bureaucracy?

All of these have been done through brainstorming techniques. If you perform them too then you will benefit directly from the rewards given to you by others. You will also benefit by being happier about yourself and the contribution you are making to society.

Remember: even though traditional brainstorming can bring benefits to the whole group, it can sometimes reduce individual recognition. But you can still be recognized as (1) being good at brainstorming, (2) for being responsible for introducing better brainstorming techniques and (3) you can even use Advanced Brainstorming by yourself and create new solutions which are accredited to you alone.

Better brainstorming means better ideas leading to:

• More money
• Faster promotion
• Increased creativity
• Better society
• More pleasant working environment
• Better employee relations
• A more responsive company
• Taking advantages of gaps in the market
• Creating new markets
• New products and services
• Better products and services
• Better management
• Less conflicts and arguments
• Improvements in productivity and reliability

So, overall, what harm can there be in learning how to solve problems more easily and in determining the ideas which will take you into the future? Traditional brainstorming is a good place to start but advanced brainstorming is an even easier and more acceptable way of improving the techniques for both yourself and your colleagues.

Of course, there are some "watch outs" for brainstorming (especially traditional brainstorming) and these are pointed out in the next page. You will have guessed that we believe the overall benefits outweigh the risks because otherwise we wouldn't have produced a whole web site dedicated to it. Nevertheless, please move to the next page to become aware of the risks involved in brainstorming. After that, we will summarize and move on to the training material on how to perform successful brainstorming.

Risks from brainstorming and how to overcome them

Brainstorming has numerous benefits to both you and your organization. And yet, not unlike most good things in life, it still has costs and risks involved. We expect these to be worth taking but you should be aware of them so that you can look out for them and readily counter any objections or problems if they occur.

The risk of losing your faith in brainstorming because of a lack of knowledge

Problems normally occur if you only use traditional brainstorming techniques. Many people think they know how to do brainstorming and they often expect enormous successes using only the basic brainstorming rules. Sometimes they just have a go at brainstorming and don't even know the rules. Then they wonder why it doesn't work!

Please don't try brainstorming without full knowledge of how to do it. It would be like trying to play chess when neither person knows the rules. You may get a result but you won't get the best result you could. EVEN WORSE, you could decide that it doesn't work and that you won't try again!

Bad brainstorming is worse than no brainstorming because you could destroy your faith in the technique altogether. That's why we are giving you free training on brainstorming. Brainstorming works if you know how to do it. Learn here for free and give us feedback on how you get on and what problems you have so that we can address them.

Solution to guard against the risk: Read all the web pages in this site by following both the Yellow and Green tours - in that order. Then get the rest of the group, department or company to do the same. This will train everyone for FREE. Alternatively, you can get a specialized brainstorming trainer or facilitator to train and host your initial sessions.

The risk of having a bad session

If you only have one go at brainstorming then it is possible that you could have a bad time. For some people, they blame the process and say that it doesn't work. This is simply not true. It does work but sometimes if the whole group of people are learning at the same time then it can be very difficult to work effectively.

If you follow the rules described in this website and use the techniques and brainstorming software it suggests then you should greatly reduce the likelihood of setting off badly. But you should know the risks so that you can still realize the potential even if you did it poorly for the first time.

If you have a bad session initially you run the risk of:

• Making the staff believe that they are not creative because they did not come up with any radical ideas.
• Destroying your faith in brainstorming and creativity. This could ruin any future chances of making the organization creative.
• Making staff scared to voice their ideas because they were criticized in the session.
• Alienating staff if their managers pressure them into participating in a poorly supervised session without a friendly, critical-free environment.
• Making brainstorming sessions a time to be dreaded if focus is on individual performance.

In short, if you aren't careful you could destroy the hopes of brainstorming in your organization for a long time to come. However, you and I now know that you will be careful and will read the rest of this free web-based training manual so that you know how to introduce and run positive, professional brainstorming sessions, and that you will know how to prepare people in advance so that they know what to expect and know the techniques which will bring you all success.