Brainstorming: Take the Chance
Brainstorming. The term is hated because it feels like a buzz word. It is over used in conversation and not actually put in practice as much as it is talked about. A real shame.
Brainstorming is lightening in a bottle. Even if it isn’t structured with a fire pit, guitar, and white board. I often find myself pulling someone aside to kick some ideas around. They may not go anywhere right now, but you never know until you get some of your thoughts out. The process if freeing. You can size up an idea or concept very quickly with the right people. (Note the caveat)
Quality of ideas matter, but so does who you bring them to and for what reason. Seeking out the right people to talk to is the good goo that lubricates the process. If you tell narrow minded people big ideas bullet holes fill them. If you tell wide minded people detail specific technical info they check out. Running an idea by the wrong audience is almost as bad as keeping the idea silent. Pick your ears wisely.
Find some good people who want to let ideas fly and here’s what may happen.
Random Acts of Initiative by Seth Godin
As a young first-year student at the Stanford MBA program (most of the other 300 students had wasted a few years working at a bank, but he came straight from undergrad) Chip Conley picked out four other students--strangers to him and to each other--and invited them to a weekly brainstorming session. He explained to us that once a week we'd meet for four hours and brainstorm business plans and entrepreneurial ventures.
A year later, we had compiled more than 500 great ideas, countless lousy ones and had figured out how to think about the structure of a business. I think the five of us would all agree we learned more in that room in the anthropology department than we did in the classes we were paying for.
The extraordinary thing about Chip's little bit of initiative in setting up the group is how rare it is. Successful people have this in common. It's not the giant breakthroughs, it's the willingness to take little chances.
Brainstorming is lightening in a bottle. Even if it isn’t structured with a fire pit, guitar, and white board. I often find myself pulling someone aside to kick some ideas around. They may not go anywhere right now, but you never know until you get some of your thoughts out. The process if freeing. You can size up an idea or concept very quickly with the right people. (Note the caveat)
Quality of ideas matter, but so does who you bring them to and for what reason. Seeking out the right people to talk to is the good goo that lubricates the process. If you tell narrow minded people big ideas bullet holes fill them. If you tell wide minded people detail specific technical info they check out. Running an idea by the wrong audience is almost as bad as keeping the idea silent. Pick your ears wisely.
Find some good people who want to let ideas fly and here’s what may happen.
Random Acts of Initiative by Seth Godin
As a young first-year student at the Stanford MBA program (most of the other 300 students had wasted a few years working at a bank, but he came straight from undergrad) Chip Conley picked out four other students--strangers to him and to each other--and invited them to a weekly brainstorming session. He explained to us that once a week we'd meet for four hours and brainstorm business plans and entrepreneurial ventures.
A year later, we had compiled more than 500 great ideas, countless lousy ones and had figured out how to think about the structure of a business. I think the five of us would all agree we learned more in that room in the anthropology department than we did in the classes we were paying for.
The extraordinary thing about Chip's little bit of initiative in setting up the group is how rare it is. Successful people have this in common. It's not the giant breakthroughs, it's the willingness to take little chances.
"TEAM OF RIVALS" - Many moons ago I worked in Tucson at KRQ. Clarke Ingram was PD and his style was very unique; an off-air PD, he stayed home and listened to the market in general & the station in particular. He would come in for staff meetings and brainstorming sessions. Clarke did something very interesting - he went out of his way to surround himself with people who disagreed with him, in small and large degree. These brainstorming sessions were fascinating from several standpoints, especially that of watching people who disagree with Clarke (and oftentimes w/one another as well) finally establish a consensus, with remarkably little bloodshed.
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Hey, that was interesting,
I think brainstorming is a great session that should take place at least weekly, it helps people become more enthusiastic about the way the companny is running,
Thanks for bringing this up
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