Brainstorming
In my previous blog Improvements in Processes and be competitive, we discussed briefly about improving the processes. In the course of improving the processes, we take up the challenge of solving a complex problem or a much needed innovation in the process/product.
At shop floor (manufacturing/service environment such as bank or so on), there are several challenges. In day-to-day work, many such challenges accepted subconsciously as routine and they do not give the same pain compare to when it occurred first time.
While preparing an organization for implementing improvements and transforming it towards becoming competitive, one of the manager asked the question – there are always so many challenges? How do we know the one to work upon?
The question is very much genuine and expected. The resources are limited, and we can not work upon solving all the problems at same time. We need to find ways to come down to real pains in current time and prioritize them.
In usual case of working, generally, we reach at threshold of ideas/solutions and so such challenges remain unresolved. We need to have a fresh look at the problem and find some solution from uncharted territory.
‘Brainstorming’ is a perfect tool for this purpose.
Brainstorming is about using brains of stakeholders in a group setting to find out potential solutions. The ‘storming’ word indicates that all the involved brains are stimulated enough to be effective.
Brainstorming is done by the persons who are familiar with the challenge to be resolved, but at the same time such participants are also selected who are totally unaware about the challenge or have no direct experience with the problem. Preferably, their views are very different from the main stakeholders.
This gives the benefit of getting unbiased views and help us to reach to uncharted territory of solutions. You may think that great ideas comes from smartest of the mind or from exceptional creative minds. Perhaps that is not the case. As Tom Kelley writes in his book “Creative confidence”, that Creativity is not in born and can be acquired.
You may think how the brainstorming session will work differently than usual typical discussions on the problems.
Stimulation of Ideas – as we experience sometimes, we do not know the solution of a problem, we hear some other idea from a person, and it quickly triggers a fresh idea in our mind. Although the said two person might be at a different cognitive thinking levels but one must needed other idea’s trigger to reach at a very different level of thinking.
I tried to search a phrase for this kind of trigger and found some interesting phrases at https://english.stackexchange.com like ‘Cascading the ideas over one another’ or stimulate one’s mind by another or “allows one person to spark ideas in another“.
Start of the session – we give a brief of the problem and the goal. It is discouraged to state what solutions work and what does not work because that will limit the stakeholders brain to look for the solutions in a narrow window which in fact were tested and did not work. If there was already a solution available, then there was no need of such a brain storming session.
There are some ground rules, which needs to clarify to all the stakeholders before we start the session:
1. Explain the problem in brief with some background in a limited time (say 2 min or so). It should be kind of high level so as not to constrain the thinking of participants with already tested solutions
2. Participants are selected from the business process where the problem is related and few from other business process with no experience of that specific problem.
3. Typically 5-15 are the number of participants, but its just as flexible.
4. The Idea generation session is limited in time, e.g. 15 minutes are allotted and as many ideas collected.
5. Participants in sequential manner suggest solutions; means each participant can offer a solution only when his turn comes.
6. At a time, only single solution can be given.
7. No justification should be given or asked for with all these solutions. During session, no deep discussion on particular solution should start.
8. Users are encouraged to keep empathy with others when they speak up. As you can see such session, must have a responsible person who conducts the session and keep things in control, to make session effective. Sometimes, some participant shall start justifying the problems and so on, but the session convenor may indicate bellow saying from American writer Mark Twain “It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you know for sure that ain’t so.”
I usually preferred so far asking for solutions or ideas, but recently come across Harward business review article ‘Better Brainstorming’ by Hal Gregersen. It emphasizes that asking questions is even more effective than asking for solutions. You may find the article cited in references in the end of this blog.
I expect that depending on the complexity of the challenge, you may prefer to use any of the approach either asking for solutions/ideas or questions, but a well-conducted brainstorming session should definitely help you to find the perfect solutions or at least provide unique insights.
Once the session is over, ideas needs to arrange in relevant order and are ranked under a ranking mechanism, such as devising suitability, feasibility, and cost and so on. Accordingly, further decision making is possible.
Such ideas can be further arranged in an affinity diagram.
Benefits
There are mixed personalities among participants and in usual course of discussions, introverts sometimes cannot express their thinking clearly. As explained above, in brainstorming session, each participant have equal right to express his or her opinion.
As we discussed above, many times some challenges accepted in routine work if kept unresolved or unattended for long and thus status quo situation formed. With such sessions, all such challenges come out in public domain and discussed openly for solutions.
Positive and open-minded environment, encourage all ideas without judgment, and build on each other’s contributions.
Terms: Empathy means challenging your preconceived ideas and setting aside your sense of what you think is true in order to learn what actually is true.
References: 1. Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley and David Kelley 2. Phrase for one idea causing another – https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/375290/phrase-for-one-idea-causing-another 3. Article ‘Better Brainstorming’ at Harward Business Review
https://hbr.org/2018/03/better-brainstorming
Author : M K Jain
