“We have to weave our imagination hither, thither and yon, uphill and downhill; and almost always into blind alleys.”
—Alex F. Osborne
Alex Osborne—the O in BBDO, one of the world’s largest and most well-known advertising agencies—was the first to champion the idea that creativity isn’t just a gift reserved for a select few. By brainstorming the right way, he believed anyone could tap into their divergent brain and become an idea machine.
Since the success of your branding effort depends, in good part, on your team’s ability to generate original ideas, it will make a world of difference for you to know and apply the four basic principles for profitable group brainstorming during the branding exercises:
No judging
Resisting the urge to debate each idea as it is suggested is hard. Even harder it is not to criticize your own ideas before they even come out of your mouth. In fact, when I facilitate brainstorming sessions, I spend most of the time trying to prevent people from arguing with themselves.
Let’s take a lesson from improv. You may have heard about the “yes, and…” rule. An improv actor says something, the next actor accepts it with a “yes, and…” keeps the scene going. Although there’s some controversy about its usefulness in improv, this is exactly the kind of approach you want to foster in your brainstorming group.
There will be a time in each session to evaluate, refine, combine, prioritize, or discard ideas, but when the goal of a specific exercise is generating ideas, you want everyone, yourself included, to feel free to contribute no matter how weird or irrelevant those ideas may initially seem.
Remember: I must not criticize. Criticism is the mind killer—and it kills the mood too.
Reach for quantity
We’re used to thinking of creativity as something you either have or don’t. However, research has consistently shown that individuals who are more prolific in their work tend to be recognized as more eminent or influential. The more work a person produces over the course of their career, the higher their chance of creating something exceptional.
Michael Jordan missed more than 9,000 shots, Edison found 10,000 ways a light bulb wouldn’t work, and Van Gogh painted 2000 paintings even though he only sold one during his lifetime.
This is good news. It means that the more ideas you and your team generate, the more likely it is that one of them will be a breakthrough. However, generating many ideas—even if just for twenty minutes—takes stamina, patience, and tolerance to ambiguity. The first ideas you’ll generate will likely be vanilla, then you’ll notice the rate of idea generation drop off almost to a standstill—it’ll be uncomfortable but that’s when the real work begins.
All ideas welcome
Don’t censor yourself, don’t waste time editing your ideas inside your own brain. Ideas are a delicate and fickle thing. Get them out and onto the whiteboard as fast as you can, no matter how wild they might seem. Remember rule number 1: no judging. Let go of your ego, plant a seed.
Piggyback
You’re free and encouraged to build on the ideas of others, use them as a crutch or as a springboard, combine them into something new, break them down or build them up, turn them upside down and inside out, connect the dots, riff, jam, improvise. These are all effective ways to reveal new angles, inspire new associations, sharpen your thinking, and get to the truth.
Guidelines for facilitators
Wait a minute! Hasn’t science repeatedly shown that brainstorming individually (in what’s called a ‘nominal group’) is more productive and effective than brainstorming within a group setting? Thank you! Yes, it has. However, live group brainstorming is way more fun and comes with unparalleled culture-building potential. Luckily, science has also proven that by following the few simple guidelines below, a facilitator can help your team bridge the productivity gap and even exceed the creativity output of nominal group brainstorming.
Allow the discussion to start naturally with whoever speaks first.
Politely redirect if needed: There will come a time when it will be necessary to interrupt someone so that the session can keep flowing. Have a line ready for those instances. Say something like, “Excuse me, I don’t mean to cut in, but let’s stay on task.”
Focus on sharing ideas only: Avoid letting members debate, tell stories, or justify ideas. If someone begins with “because,” politely interrupt to keep the flow moving, as justifications can slow down the process and limit others’ input.
Encourage further contributions during pauses by restating the problem, prompting more ideas, or reminding the group of an earlier idea to restart the conversation.
Engage quieter participants. You never know where the best idea might come from, and when someone goes silent, the entire team loses. A simple nudge like: “[Name], what would you like to add?” can go a long way.
If someone criticizes another member or a debate ensues, remind the group of these guidelines: stay focused, avoid storytelling or explanations, keep the conversation moving, encourage everyone’s input, and defer judgment.
Don’t forget to have fun
Here’s one last rule—my personal addition. From my experience as a workshop facilitator, I’ve found that when participants are relaxed and having fun, when they feel free to laugh and enjoy the process, they’re more connected and engaged. In the long term, this strengthens your team’s bond. In the moment, it makes you more likely to generate original ideas and connect disparate thoughts. Don’t forget to have fun. You will surprise even yourself.