Brainstorming

for fun and profit

Alexei Kapterev
Q: What is brainstorming
anyway?

A: I have no idea… Let’s

brainstorm this!
 Agenda

➊ What is a brainstorm?

➋ Why brainstorm?

➌ How to brainstorm?
What is a brainstorm?

Brainstorms at INDEX by Jacob Bøtter

How do you get new ideas?
«
The way to get good ideas is
to get lots of ideas and
throw the bad ones away.
— Linus Pauling,
Nobel Prize winner

Frozen Brainstorm by Steve Jurvetson

 brainstorm [breɪnstɔːm]
A spontaneous group discussion to
produce ideas and ways of solving
problems.

Oxford American Dictionaries

Invented by Alex Osborn
around 1938
What did he mean?

or

Storm Storm
Why brainstorm?

Brainstorms at INDEX by Jacob Bøtter

It helps to innovate

➊ Gather the data

➋ Brainstorm
➌ Criticise
➍ Implement
 It’s a great way
to get new ideas
It makes work more fun
«
Brainstorming is ... what
the clients really buy.

— Ethan Rasiel,
The McKinsey Way
How to brainstorm?

Brainstorms at INDEX by Jacob Bøtter

➊ The brief
➋ The people
➌ The set
➍ The process
➎ The follow-up
 Step 1:
The brief
« The cardinal rule of
brainstorming is that you
cannot do it successfully
in a vacuum.
— Ethan Rasiel,
The McKinsey Way
Before starting:

➊ Prepare the fact sheet

➋ Formulate the question
«
Brief is everything.

— Steve Schildwachter,
FCB Global
 Step 2:
The people
Not “experts only”
Invite different people
 Remember:
you need new ideas
 Present them
the information
(and better not just in a written form)
The IDEO experiment

Task: design a new toy

3 brainstorming groups:

Written brief No brief Went to a toy

shop

Which did the best?

3 brainstorming groups:

Written brief No brief Went to a toy

shop

Of course.
Step 3:
The set
Something to write
Something to eat
Something unusual*

* You know, for the atmosphere!

 Step 4:
The process
«
The problem is never to get
new ideas in, the problem
is to get the old ideas out.
— Dee Hock,
Visa International
«
The point of brainstorming
is the generation of new
ideas. So start with tabula
rasa — a clean slate.
— Ethan Rasiel,
The McKinsey Way
Start with a clean slate
 Let’s stretch by Raj Taneja

Start with a warmup

There are lots of them
 Next, announce:

?  
Problem Target amount Time Rules
of ideas
 The rules are:

➊ Go for the quantity, not quality

➋ Absolutely no criticism
➌ Weird ideas are welcome
➍ Transform others’ ideas
Yes, but...

Yes, and...
Avoid moderation!
Moderator by Konstantin Voschanov
 Remember:
you need new ideas
 
But be strict
with the rules.
Write whatever they say,
exactly as they say!
 Got a stupid idea?
Say it out loud.
Just to get rid of it.
Stuck? Use creativity aids.
Go with the flow!
  
The amount
Time’s up?
reached?
Now filter what you’ve got.
 Good?

Bad?

The criteria should be

clear from the brief.
And if you are lucky...

Yes, this is gold.

What’s ahead? Decide
on your next steps.
 Step 5:
The follow-up
 Tell the team about the results.
This is a great opportunity to say...
And... this is it.

Brainstorms at INDEX by Jacob Bøtter

Recommended books:

The McKinsey Way The Art of Innovation

by Ethan M. Rasiel by Tom Kelley
 Questions?
Alexei Kapterev
ak@realtimestrategy.ru
www.realtimestrategy.ru