Quality Brainstorming--It's All About Quantity

A knock-your-socks-off brainstorming session requires three things: candy, caffeine and courage.

Brainstorming is an incredibly vulnerable creative activity. It's also a big undertaking--generating as many ideas as possible within a given time frame is quite the task. Whether we've convened in a group in front of a white board or sit alone staring at a blank screen, the very act of brainstorming requires us to blurt out every idea that leaps out of our gray matter. That seems easy enough in theory. The hard part is refusing to pass judgment on those ideas.

Ironically, quality brainstorming is, first and foremost, about quantity. It's hard not to judge the ideas as they come to you. If you're working in a group, the pressure to filter out the "bad" ideas can be immense (especially depending on who's in the room with you). Even alone, you'll be tempted to edit out the "corny," "silly" or "stupid" ideas to preserve your sense of self. But judging your (or others') creativity at this delicate juncture damages the creative flow and bring ideas (good and not-so-good) to a halt.

In a perfect world (i.e., if we weren't human), we would honor each and every idea as valid. But I've been in brainstorms where I've uttered a headline and the room goes silent while an account executive dutifully records the idea without looking me in the eye. Let's be frank--it's hard to honor the crap. But brainstorming's like panning for gold--you collect everything in the pan first, then you shake it out to find the good stuff. The great thing with brainstorming is that often the crap leads to great ideas (unlike panning for gold where dirt is just dirt).

Remember the big truth of brainstorming: your ideas aren't necessarily a full reflection of your creativity. In many cases, it might be a truer reflection of your grace under fire, your wicked sense of humor or your uncanny ability for free-association. So withhold your judgment at all costs until it's called for. Think of it like pulling socks out of your dryer: at first, you're just identifying what's a sock and what's not. Later, you'll figure out which ones go together, which ones don't have a mate, and which ones are ready for the rag bag.

If you find yourself facilitating a group brainstorm, cultivate an open environment, keep things fairly fast-paced, and encourage people to riff off each other's ideas. You'd be surprised what kind of alchemy occurs when a stone of an idea is transformed into gold with a terrific team dynamic.

Regardless, a quality brainstorm session relies on quantity first. Only after you have a pan full of ideas can you shake out the nuggets.