Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a structured method for generating a broad set of ideas before evaluating them. It can be used by an individual or a group.

When to use it

• Use it to generate scenarios for Profiling the ideal player: how might the market and key success factors change, what could a competitor do and how would the firm respond?
• Use it to create options for Strategic repositioning and shaping profit growth options. Involving managers at different levels can improve both the range of ideas and commitment to execution.

Origins

Advertising executive Alex F. Osborn developed group brainstorming at BBDO, described it in How to Think Up (nineteen forty-two) and popularised it through Your Creative Power (nineteen forty-eight) and Applied Imagination (nineteen fifty-three). His method separated idea generation from evaluation and established four core rules.

What it is

The method creates a protected divergent phase in which participants seek quantity, defer judgement, welcome unusual contributions and combine ideas. Only after that phase does the group converge by organising and evaluating the options.

How to use it