Brainstorming Basics
- Pick a topic
- Set a time limit (3-5 minutes)
- Throw out suggestions – no critiquing allowed
- Decide which suggestions work best
Easy – right? WRONG! The key to successful brainstorming is getting people to suspend judgement but is easier said than done. Why? Because it is our nature to weigh and judge things, especially in a team setting. But you can do it, and when it works, it’s powerful.
The Exercise
For the past five semesters I have volunteered as a Leadership Coach for the Braven Career Accelerator at San Jose State University. One of the skills we teach them is effective brainstorming and during one class, I was coaching how it worked. The group was tasked with reinventing the resume and it was hard going at first. Not only did I have to discourage judgement, I had to spark creativity. It finally dawned on me that I had to get them to stop thinking of the resume as a piece of paper. I crossed out the word “resume” on the whiteboard and replaced it with “this incredible cool thing that you need to invent”. It was a mouthful, but I continued to use the phrase all evening.
Eventually, they caught on when one student came up with the idea of pop-up greeting card like the ones they make for birthdays. At that moment, something incredible happened. The floodgates opened, the atmosphere lightened, there was a lot of laughter and they were having fun. The ideas came pouring out fast and furious and I got to sit back and watch the magic. At one point, someone suggested a pillowcase. One student chimed in “so you can sleep on it” and the room erupted in laughter. When the semester ended, I met with my students one last time and they presented me with this.
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