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Brainstorming
in Organizations
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The term brainstorming has become a common word in the English language, a generic term to design creative thinking, unchained.
Online
Course: Knowledge Management in Organizations |
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Brainstorming works by focusing on a
problem, and then deliberately coming up - without a predefined order - with
as many original solutions as possible, pushing ideas to the limit.
Knowledge Master
is the ideal system for
brainstorming.
Brainstorming is universal method for the
stimulation
of creativity and innovation.
The basis of
brainstorming
is generating ideas, individually or in a group, based on the principle
of suspending judgment: a principle which scientific research has proved to
be highly productive in individual effort as well as in group effort.
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The whole idea of group brainstorming is that other
people's remarks would act to stimulate your own ideas in a sort of chain reaction
of ideas.
Certainly, groups are not indispensable to
stimulate creative thinking. Individually we can brainstorm. Furthermore,
in a group we must listen to others and maybe spend time repeating our own ideas to get
sufficient attention from the others.
Another interesting and productive approach is to individually generate the central
idea, and afterwards have it developed by others in more directions. Usually we get more
than what could be obtained by the originator.
It is always possible to newly analyze the output of a brainstorming
session in a second group (more reduced or more specialized than the first one), to try to
improve solutions even with other tools - even more conventional.
It is essential
that the ideas generation phase is separated from the judgment phase of thinking.
The
judgment phase is not less important. The resulting idea map will be studied and
processed, annotating every element, connecting local or network information, and
classifying nodes until a state considered acceptable will be
reached, suitable to extract the
necessary conclusions.
Some people are intuitive and flexible, others are rigid
and logical. The creative thinker may be more productive in the initial phase of
brainstorming, and the critical thinker in evaluating the real possibilities of
concreteness.
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Anyway, the
ideal working environment for the cognitive activity is first of all a knowledge
processing environment, at its best when it is computer based.
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Knowledge Master is a global system facility for brainstorming,
ideal for brainstorming because it enables creating and managing knowledge
resources simply and directly:
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A brainstorming session with Knowledge Master is very simple: it enables simply and
effortlessly to insert the brainstorming cognitive elements in the map, and connect them
directly to data, because information is always available. |
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It is very simple to insert new cognitive elements, individually or in a group. |
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With Knowledge Master already during brainstorming, it is possible to associate
metadata (information categories), search and retrieval of whatever kind of information in
the system, and even directly access WWW resources.
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In the judgment and evaluation phase it is possible to create structures
similar to those of semantic networks, usable as work tools in the successive phases.
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It is possible to identify text sequences even in large files, using them as elements of
our cognitive system. |
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The possibility of stratifying maps in layers (or dimensions) enables considering as
unlimited the available graphical representation space.
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What really
renders useful the brainstorming activity is getting to understand and harmonize the
elements that respond to the classical questions:
Who, What, Why,
When, Where, How, How much. |
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Individual or group brainstorming?
Brainstorming can either be carried out efficiently by individuals, groups
or both:
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The most convenient map type for the
brainstorming initial phase is the mind map; you can start the mind
map from scratch or select the mind map template, ready made in Knowledge Master. Just replace the conventional default names and complete.
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Individual
brainstorming tends to produce a wider range of ideas
than group brainstorming, but tends not to develop the ideas as effectively, perhaps as
individuals on their own run up against problems they cannot solve. Individuals are free
to explore ideas in their own time without any fear of criticism, and without being
dominated by other group members. |
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Group
brainstorming develops ideas more deeply and effectively, as when difficulties in
the development of an idea by one person are reached, another person's creativity and
experience can be used to break them down. Group brainstorming tends to produce fewer
ideas (as time is spent developing ideas in depth) and can lead to the suppression of
creative but quiet people by loud and uncreative ones.
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Individual and group
brainstorming can be mixed, perhaps by defining a problem
individually, and then letting team members initially come up with a wide range of
possibly shallow solutions. These solutions could then be enhanced and developed by group
brainstorming. |
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A few simple rules to successful group brainstorming:
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A leader should take control of the session, initially defining the problem to be solved
with any criteria that must be met, and then keeping the session on course. The leader
should try to keep the brainstorming on subject, and should try to steer it towards the
development of some practical solutions. Often, this function is
entrusted to an external consultant.
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The brainstorming leader
recodes contributions and guides the session. |
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He or she should
encourage an enthusiastic, uncritical attitude among participants
and encourage participation by all members of the team. The session should be announced as
lasting a fixed length of time, and the leader should ensure that no train of thought is
followed for too long.
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Participants in the brainstorming process should come from as wide a range of
disciplines with as broad a range of experience as possible. This brings many more
creative ideas to the session.
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Participants should be encouraged to have fun brainstorming, coming up with as many
ideas as possible, from solidly practical ones to wildly impractical ones in an
environment where creativity is welcomed. All ideas will be accepted and inserted.
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Ideas must not be criticized or evaluated during the brainstorming session. Criticism
introduces an element of risk for a group member in putting forward an idea. This stifles
creativity and cripples the free running nature of a good brainstorming session, blocking
the smooth running of brainstorming. It's a lot easier to discard the less important ideas
at the end than having more. (But isn't it a time loss? No,
if these ideas apparently unrealizable or strange, stimulate other original or innovative
ideas in other group members
).
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Participants must be encouraged to build on other peoples' ideas, and try combinations,
enhancements and improvements.
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Participants should not only come up with new ideas in a brainstorming session, but
should also 'spark off' from associations with other people's ideas and develop other
people's ideas. |
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Another approach is making a group develop on a central idea
generated by an individual, in several directions, more than what the original author
could have done. |
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At the end, the task of effectively and efficiently organizing information, corresponds individually to almost
everyone in an organization that intensively manages information.
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That's why it is important to adopt the more efficient and productive
tools and techniques.
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Everyone agrees that computer
aided brainstorming (group or individual) is the more productive. |
Using
Knowledge Master is the modern and efficient solution, because it is technically
powerful, intuitive and simple to use
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Purposes of Brainstorming:
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To focus participants' attention on a particular topic at the time. |
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To generate a quantity of ideas.
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The integration of collective thinking
with mental models.
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To encourage participants to take risks in sharing their ideas and opinions. |
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To introduce the practice of idea collection prior to beginning tasks |
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To stimulate creativity expanding ideas
by building on each other's contributions.
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Procedure:
It is advisable to start a Knowledge Master mind map (even from the template).
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Introduce the topic or pose a question. |
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Ask participants to take turns sharing ideas and possible answers. |
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Encourage all participants to participate. |
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Write the proposals or words or phrases in the
map
scheme. |
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Acknowledge the richness of ideas and
solutions. |
Advice:
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Establish a warm, supportive environment. |
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Emphasize that a quantity of ideas is the goal. |
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Discourage evaluative or critical comments from peers. |
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Encourage and provide opportunity for all to participate. |
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Initially emphasize the importance of listening to expressed ideas. |
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Update constantly the map that contains
the group's work, and at the end print the map for all participants. |
Adaptations and applications:
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Eventually, use KM check lists as
reference or stimulator. |
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Use already processed maps from previous
brainstorming sessions. |
Some rules and advice for
best brainstorming in organizations:
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Speak for all ("to the center"), not to
specific people. |
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Listen! |
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Postpone opinions. |
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Suspend certainties. |
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Get insight about assumptions. |
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Listen to yourself (when you speak and
when you think). |
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Ponder doubts about the others (open mind)
and certainties about your own opinions. |
Brainstorming, generative
thinking and mental models:
Generative thinking is real,
original thinking, it requires a discontinuity of our own thinking. De
Bono calls it lateral thinking, as opposed to vertical (or linear)
thinking. Generative thinking is not about problem solving but
about trying to bracket the problem to be solved, to focus on what is
important. Recognizing what is important is equivalent to 50% of the
solution. Another aspect to
consider also in brainstorming sessions, is that organizations are political systems in
which people (individually or in groups)
try to acquire and keep control of resources to reach their own goals or
guarantee their own interests.
One of the outcomes of brainstorming is the integration
of collective thinking and mental models*.
Mental model. The concept the
individual has of himself, about the others, of his environment and
about the things he interacts with. More than objective analysis, the
mental model is an interpretation. Language, for example, has a role in
the active generation of meaning by the receiver, that passes through an
objective translation, a filter between objective reality and cognition.
Mental models are, consequently, individual interpretations; more
than objective representations are analogies. Mental models evolve with
learning, experience and training.
* From the book "Concept maps. Knowledge
management in education". Hernandez Forte, Alfaomega, Mexico. 2005
and 2007. (in Spanish: Mapas conceptuales. La gestión del conocimiento
en la didáctica).
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Consulting
on Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence
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