Running Creative Brainstorms: A Collection of 'Non-method' Methods

Recently I was yet again faced with the prospect of running a series of brainstorms to generate new product concepts. This time, with a team of people I had never met before. Aside from being a slightly daunting prospect, it got me thinking about the role of the catalyst in such situations - what is it that brings out the best in us and stimulates parts of our accumulated knowledge and insights and turns it into great ideas we felt we had all along, but struggled to articulate.

At the start of the day I was asked what methods I was intending to use and must say I struggled to name specific methods. Having worked in the same concept team for about 5 years and occasionally also with other teams, I've come to the conclusion that one needs to pick the good bits from a range of different methods and use them where appropriate. Sometimes it is about combining them to create a totally new method. Ultimately the discussion about methods can be very distracting though, because methods can be restrictive - they can disrupt the flow of a conversation, because it doesn't quite follow 'the method' one is intending to use. Methods can also be coercive in terms of making a team feel insecure about contributing, particularly if some team members are more familiar with the method being used and others less so - and the best brainstorms in my experience are sessions where discussions flow freely, one sticks loosely to the topic, but there is laughter, the atmosphere is relaxed and ultimately it feels more like play than work.

Find a Safe Haven
Brainstorms are seldom productive in stuffy office environments. I must say I have very seldom come across an office environment where all the chairs, tables and computers don't mount up to creating an oppressive atmosphere - even if you are blessed with beautiful interiors, designer chairs and a goldfish in a bowl. Ultimately I don't blame office environments, but more what offices do to us psychologically. Offices remind us of work, which reminds us of our positions and internal hierarchies and also sometimes about competitiveness within teams and departments. None of these are conducive to creativity and being open, wacky and wild. Brainstorming is very much like playing and kids are picky about the places they like to play. We are the same, even if we are grown up.

Awaken the Child Within
Creativity goes hand in hand with the ability to feel comfortable playing and listening to our inner child. As we grow up, we often lose touch with our inner children because of the pressures at work, responsibilities, hierarchies, mortgages, you name it - but if you have a passion whether it is steam trains, cars, motor bikes, cycling, flying remote controlled planes or whatever - whenever faced with something that reminds you of this passion your eyes light up, a big smile stretches over your face and your heart races just a little bit - this is the kid inside waking up. This kid is also the one who will be the most helpful in a brainstorm, but he needs to feel comfortable and accepted.

Play, according to Arthur Koestler, is about an ability to bisociate - which means you are able to perceive a situation or idea in two self-consistent, but habitually incompatible frames of reference. For a kid it means he can be in his bedroom and simultaneously be Batman hiding in his Batcave. These are two (to adult minds) incompatible frames of reference, but to the child - it is just play as normal. When kids play they collectively engage in this activity and negotiate among themselves what the rules are to the imaginary world and props they have invented - trust is at the heart of it all and everyone plays their part, much like in improvisational theatre.

Brainstorms, when successful are much the same - to engage our imagination it is important to sometimes part with reality, the politics and hindrances that are in our way and simply boldly dare to imagine, express thoughts and ideas - however wild, to in turn awaken new ideas in our colleagues. Many people feel awkward about saying crazy things, but it's often less about the crazy ideas than the effect they have on loosening up our imagination, and the thoughts they spur in others, when listening openly and without judgement. When brainstorming we need to create an atmosphere where saying even the craziest thought will be accepted, so our inner kids gradually can get coaxed out of hiding.

Think of the Ingredients before cooking the big dish
Often great ideas don't simply appear in a puff of smoke, but are in fact made up of an ideal balance and mix of the right ingredients. Brainstorms can easily grind to a halt if the topic picked is simply too enormous. For instance, we have frequently found it difficult to think of the greatest new toy concept in one sitting, ideas often don't work like that - instead it is about thinking about the ingredients to what make something great. Trying to pick apart things we like, why we like them, what was fun about them, what made them work really well.. you end up with ingredients, much like what you start with when making a dish. The ingredients on their own aren't necessarily as tasty as when they are brought together in the right amounts and applied in the right sequence. Concepts, I find, are often the same and brainstorming to me is an effort to find the constituent components and constructing concepts that are bigger than the sum of their parts from that balance of ingredients and their sequence.

Re-Creations (Re-Purpose, Re-Configure, Re-Assemble)
Going back to the Play analogy - sometimes it is about taking known things and playing with them, turning them on their head, using them for something completely different. Kids have an amazing capacity to use objects in ways not even imagined by adults - a wheelbarrow can become the roof of a lair, steel bars for safety become a climbing frame etc. Being relaxed and free in our imagination allows us to look at familiar objects in new ways, reconfigure their use and purpose and again, create something completely new.

Displacements (Pretend, Project, Time Travel)
Pretending to be someone else for a moment is also a useful excercise, whether it is being a kid, disabled person, your boss, member of the management team, your customer etc. Flexing your point of view allows for new things to be seen and discussed - again familiar elements in children's play, but an ability we use less and less when we get older.

Time alone, Time Together
Sometimes you just need to collect your thoughts - many things have surfaced in discussions and ideas are brewing - you can feel it, but struggle to articulate them in a group. This is a good time to take a few ingredients, or a topic and find yourself a private spot where you can sit, undisturbed and simply organise all the thoughts flying to your mind into ideas that make sense. Initially it will feel confusing and quite difficult and your mind can easily start wandering off, but as you persist - things will begin taking shape in your mind. Come together after 20 Min's or an hour and share your thoughts, this will again spark more ideas in the minds of others and ultimately move the conversation on much further than just sitting in a group all the time.

 

And now for something completely different
Breaks are as important when brainstorming as is the brainstorming itself - don't attempt to do more than hour and half maximum at a time - people get tired, discussions run in circles - allow people to stretch their legs and move about, have a break and come back. A pause helps everyone gather their thoughts and also move away from ideas they might have got stuck on. Sometimes things still get stuck and that's where the Monty Python-esque 'Now for Something Completely Different' comes in - find a fun activity, whether it is playing with some toys, bouncing on a trampoline, whatever - but preferably a little physical at least - do it for half and hour to an hour just to break up the day, make people get rid of some nervous energy and encourage them to laugh and have fun. Laughter relaxes us and doing something completely different jolts our brains from whatever groove we got stuck in and helps us think more openly and freely again when we get back into a brainstorm.

So there we go - my list of important 'non-method' things to do to get people's creative juices flowing - and remember, if you have to think of fun concepts - it is impossible if you are not having fun yourself!