Brainstorming

Brainstorming can be explained as ‘racking one’s brain’.

It is an instrument used to easily produce a great number of ideas, on a given topic, in pleasant circumstances. It is mainly a group activity in which people propose plenty of new ideas so that they can reach an agreement about a possible problem.

For a successful session of brainstorming, the participants are encouraged to state every idea, irrespective of how varied or diversified they are. There is no boundation on the number of ideas one can suggest.  During the session of brainstorming all the analogies, variants and oppositions are duly noted by the group. It is important not to comment, criticize or censure any of the ideas presented by any of the participants. If any out of the box or wild idea is presented by any participant, they shouldn’t be forced to defend it. Such an act defeats the purpose of brainstorming. Thus, it can be safely said that all ideas are welcomed in a brainstorming session. If two or more ideas can be consolidated to improve any idea for better chances of solving the problem, it should be done so. Towards the end of session, the ideas are prioritized and follow-up action is taken.

How to conduct a brainstorming session in an organization?

There are basically three steps for a Brainstorming session:

• Preparation – As the session is a group activity it needs a leader to lead the group. Thus, a trained trainer is made the leader who explains the all rules to the participants before the session starts. Sometimes a disagreement may arise due to difference in opinions in the group. This could be harmful as it causes participants to hold back their ideas in order to prevent any kind of conflict or feeling of embarrassment due to it. Here, a trained trainer would be able handle the situation by applying the rules which motivates every participant to come forward with their ideas.   
• Production - Editing the ideas on paperboard or post-its. Write down all the ideas on paper board so everyone can see can have a better insight. This helps in staying focused and being visual about the topic.
• Use -After production do reformulation, elimination, classification and selection of ideas - Preparing a PDCA action plan

This method is used in the training course: Structural Methods of Problem Solving.