A Bit about Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a technique that should be in the toolbox of any team based activity in business.  It can be a critical part of both the innovation and problem solving process.

There were two articles on brainstorming that came to our attention today.  The first was in the New York Times and titled The First Rule of Brainstorming: Suspend Disbelief.  The second was in The New Yorker:  GROUPTHINK The brainstorming myth.  The New Yorker article is by far the better and more detailed article on the subject.  Reading the articles motivated this blog topic.

We were unaware of the origin of brainstorming.  It was the work of one Alex F. Osborn (1888 - 1966) who the co-founder of the advertising firm BBDO.  Osborn was very interested in the creative process and worked on methods in which ad campaigns were developed.  He believed that people working in a team could come up with better ideas in less time than people working individually.  He was passionate about the subject and eventually wrote and published a book, Your Creative Power, on the subject in 1948 and another, Applied Imagination, in 1953.  

The brainstorming process is essentially unchanged from that provided by Osborn.  Here is an excerpt from Applied Imagination:

1. Focus on quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.
   
   
2. Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, participants will feel free to generate unusual ideas.
   
   
3. Welcome unusual ideas: To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions. These new ways of thinking may provide better solutions.
   
   
4. Combine and improve ideas: Good ideas may be combined to form a single better good idea, as suggested by the slogan "1+1=3". It is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association.

Brainstorming is a cornerstone of both Total Quality Management and Six Sigma.  It is not, however, foolproof.  Brainstorming does not always guarantee the best solution.  The New Yorker article questions a long held business belief that brainstorming is the best way to go:

Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, has summarized the science: “Decades of research have consistently shown that brainstorming groups think of far fewer ideas than the same number of people who work alone and later pool their ideas."

First, Professor Sawyer is probably right.  So why not do both when it applies.  Have people ponder the problem before the brainstorming event for a complex, significant, or for a long standing  particularly bothersome issue will no doubt help the ideation process.  

Second, brainstorming is a waste of time if a subject matter expert (SME) actually has experiential or scientific knowledge of how to solve a problem at hand.  There is no need to waste anytime brainstorming when the answer is clear.  As Walt Disney once said, “It is always good to have at least one person on the team that knows what the heck they are doing.”  Teams must guard against following the strict process of something like Six Sigma if there is an SME that can diagnose and solve a problem immediately.  

Lastly, let us not forget why we use the Osborn brainstorming process in the first place.  We use it to make sure that the dominant type-A leader does not simply force his or her preconceived solution on the group.  We also use brainstorming when we are trying to think out of the box.  Sometimes, the exact opposite of an SME might come up with a great idea or trigger a great idea from an SME.  Lots of ideas, suspending judgement, and encouraging unusual ideas can lead to better ideas and breakthroughs.

To us at CR Supply Chain Consulting, a skilled and experienced facilitator can help tailor the right ideation method for the problem at hand.

What are your experiences with brainstorming both positive and negative?  Please share them in the comments.