Getting the Most From Your Group Brainstorm

Group brainstorms are a great way to get a list of innovative ideas together. But they only work if you’re receptive to the way other people think. 

Often, people who aren’t close to your project will suggest a number of bad ideas that don’t help you solve your problems at all. But that’s not the point. Brainstorms are less about the specific ideas that emerge, and more about finding a new way to think about the problem. 

If you’re only focused on hard and fast ideas, then getting people in the room who think a lot like you makes the most short-term sense. But if you’re focused on long-term solutions and innovative thinking, getting people who don’t think a lot like you is the best strategy. If you can really listen to people, and find out how they think, new strategies and solutions will fall in your lap.

Good luck out there.