There’s nothing better than a good brain storm. You get your team around a whiteboard, and throw ideas around until inspiration strikes. It’s a fantastic way to organise your thoughts, and visualise your ideas. You get new tips from other team members, and visualise a problem from a completely new angle. However, it can also become a complete mess! Over the years, we’ve come up with a few simple tricks that keep your brainstorming sessions creative, but structured.
No Idea is a Bad Idea
The core ethos at the heart of brainstorming is that no idea is a bad idea. We’re often most guarded about the ideas we like best. We’re scared that others will knock it down, so we keep them inside. For an effective brainstorming session, you’ve got to have zero inhibitions. There must be freedom to say anything and everything. That’s why we impose a rule of ‘no idea is a bad idea’. It helps get the conversation going, because you instinctively throw out a few terrible ideas first!
Everyone’s the writer
When it comes to brainstorming, there is no-one in charge. Because that person inevitably asserts their own opinions. They filter suggestions, and the whiteboard becomes one-sided. For an effective, balanced set of ideas, everyone has the ability to write on the wall. It can get chaotic, but - at the same time - everyone knows they’ll get a turn.
Don’t schedule creativity
Scheduling a brainstorming session can have the effect of killing creativity. Can you turn on your creativity at 10am on a Wednesday morning? No, and neither can most people. The best brainstorming sessions are impulsive, spontaneous, and in-the-moment. That’s why a whiteboard is essential. It’s always there, waiting to be used when needed.
Use it Boringly
There’s often a lot of pressure on the whiteboard to come up with all the answers! However, it doesn’t have to produce a revolutionary idea every single time. Sometimes, a whiteboard is great just to jot down the boring stuff. Write a team to-do list or a regular calendar of events. It’s the small things that will trigger a great idea. Use the whiteboard boringly, and the creative ideas will spark.If it’s not messy, you’re doing it wrong
No-one in your business team is Picasso, so let’s tone down the artistic drawings shall we? The whiteboard exists to spur ideas. It should be impulse and quick. When you spend ages making your diagrams look perfect, you’re focusing on the wrong thing. Keep your mind on the job, and scrawl those ideas down. The whiteboard should look messy. If it doesn’t, you’re doing it wrong!
Don’t forget to save it
The only problem with a whiteboard is that someone can rub it out at any moment. It could be a simple accident, or another team might need some space. Use your smartphone to take pictures of the important stuff!Use these tricks, and you’ll unlock tons of creativity and inspiration. It’s a fantastic way to spark new ideas, and bring the team together.
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