StartUp teams come up with the best ideas when they have productive brainstorming sessions. Some are more productive than others but only because there are parameters set up first. Also, organizations and companies that are aware of the tips and tricks to a successful brainstorming session will always come out on top.
Hubspot Agency assembled an awesome list of 7 brainstorming ideas to help people shatter creativity blocks and come up with the best ideas:
1. Come up with bad ideas first.
The best brainstorming sessions come when everyone in the room feels comfortable throwing out all of their ideas, regardless of whether or not they’re gold. But some members on your team might be worried they’ll sound stupid or uninformed if they pitch ideas that aren’t well thought-out. Studies have shown people are especially apprehensive when people in positions of power are present — this apprehension can lead to major productivity loss in brainstorming groups.
One way to loosen people up and get the ideas flowing? Start out brainstorming sessions by spending 10 minutes coming up with a bunch of bad ideas first. You might throw one out yourself first to show them what you mean. This will help you set a much more open and playful tone than a formal atmosphere would. Gerry Graf of Barton F. Graf 9000 has his team come up with 4,000 bad ideas before coming up with good ones.
Once you’ve spent some time sharing throwaway ideas and having a few laughs, you can refocus on brainstorming ideas that could work. And who knows: An idea that isn’t so great on its own could spark some really ingenous ones that inform the direction of the rest of the meeting.
2. Break and build ideas.
One way to turn a few ideas into many is by breaking them down or building them up. If you’re starting with a really general theme, try breaking it down into parts and details and seeing if other ideas branch from it. Or, you can do the opposite, and build up a more specific idea to have it cover a broader perspective.
One way to break down or build up ideas is to have each person in the room jot down two or three ideas on their own pieces of paper. Then, have them trade papers with other members of their team and build off their coworkers’ ideas. You can rotate papers several times, and start a discussion based off the new ideas that emerge.
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