Hints to Improve Brainstorming Sessions

From one of my favourite blogs, The Heart of Innovation:

26 Reasons Why Most Brainstorming Sessions Suck (& what to do about it)

“1. Poor facilitation
2. Wrong (or poorly articulated) topic
3. Unmotivated participants
4. No transition from “business as usual”
5. Insufficient diversity of participants
6. Inadequate orientation
7. Lack of clear ground rules
8. Sterile meeting space
9. Hidden (or competing) agendas
10. Lack of robust participation
11. Insufficient listening
12. Habitual idea killing behavior
13. Attachment to pet ideas
14. Discomfort with ambiguity
15. Hyper-seriousness (not enough fun)
16. Endless interruptions
17. PDA addiction (Crackberries)
18. Impatience (premature adoption of the first “right idea”)
19. Group think
20. Hierarchy and/or competing sub-groups
21. Imbalance of divergent and convergent thinking
22. No tools and techniques to spark the imagination
23. Inelegant ways of capturing new ideas
24. No time for personal reflection
25. Pre-mature evaluation
26. No follow-up plan”

Check out the full post it see what to do about it. Although, I think the best solution is that you only invite people who are fully armed to brainstorming sessions.

I’ve been involved in a lot of brainstorming sessions that ranged from summer sun showers to hurricanes. Each one had value but all could have been better. This post’s lists are good ones to ponder.

Stephen