Brainstorm, says Baldev Singh (pictured). There really is no such thing as a bad idea.
While brainstorming has long been viewed as a tool for spurring creativity in business meetings, many professionals are not yet exploring its full potential. In an interview with Entrepreneur Magazine, Richard Branson said: “Brainstorming is a great way to harness your staff’s collective knowledge in order to come up with innovative solutions.”
How then can your company achieve business strategy brilliance through the power of brainstorming?
1. Choose a creative environment for the session
Enjoy a change of scenery before you start a brainstorming session. Doing so will help reignite creativity among your employees. Remember to take regular breaks, such as playing games, exercising or listening to music, as this will help everyone relax and go back to work feeling refreshed.
2. Start with a well-honed statement
While encouraging creativity is important during a brainstorming session, there should be a clear goal and purpose to the gathering, otherwise progress may be hindered. If the session seems to go off topic, remind everyone of the goal they are trying to reach.
3. There’s no such thing as a bad idea
All ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem at the time, should be encouraged and recorded without comment or criticism from the group. The general goal of brainstorming is to collect as many ideas as possible, making quantity much more important than quality at this initial stage.
4. Keep the ideas fresh
Rather than just surrounding yourself within the same people at every brainstorming session, invite employees, if possible, from other parts of your company to join in. You might just find that employees elsewhere in your business have great ideas, too.
5. Make the best ideas reality
Make sure you say yes to ideas that have potential and make sure you follow this promise through. You might make an occasional mistake, but if you take a risk, you’re more likely to find success. When a session comes to an end, and before the group disperses, ensure that you plan out how you’re going to follow up these ideas.
6. Take note or all will be forgotten
Any ideas that come up during your sessions should be recorded appropriately. The good suggestions aren’t going be very helpful if they’re forgotten. Top entrepreneurs, such as Richard Branson, suggest the importance of carrying a notebook in order to jot down any important ideas that may pop into your head.
7. Write your ideas down
Each member of a session should be given a pack of notes to record their ideas. Using Post-it notes allows the facilitator to easily pull together all the ideas after a meeting, arranging them to show a particular thought process or plan of action. They’re a great business tool for spurring creative innovation and collaboration.
Brainstorming successfully will help to get your company’s creative juices flowing. Greater business potential can be spurred as a direct result of a productive brainstorming session. Markedly notice an increase in ideas, contributions and collaboration throughout your business, which, in the long term, will lead to greater profits.
Baldev Singh is the creator of NoteShel.
