INSPIRATION
‘It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.’
GILBERT K. CHESTERTON
Now you’ve got the tools you need. But how will you put them into practice? In Part III we’ll look at how to run your sessions to give yourself the best chance of success. We’ll also explore how to get your ideas implemented.
After all, how many times have you been part of a great brainstorm but:
- you’ve known in your heart of hearts that nothing was going to come of it;
- you’ve believed any bold ideas you came up with were going to be diluted beyond recognition before they got implemented;
- you’ve looked back a few days later at what you came up with and actually been a bit disappointed, because it wasn’t as strong as you’d remembered?
And, perhaps most common of all, how many times have you been in a brainstorm and it’s given you a headache rather than a headrush?
To run a strong session, there are four key areas we should explore:
I’ll look at these four areas while making a big assumption: that you’re running a group session.
That may not always be the case of course; you may want (or need) to crack a problem/find an opportunity by yourself. Or with just one other person. And you might be sitting on the sofa or at a desk or in the car rather than in a gleaming, well-appointed board room (or other, more stimulating environment).
And that’s absolutely fine. When you find yourself with an available hour or so and you decide to look at a troubling issue, or start exploring an opportunity, really all you need to get going are the creative thinking tools in Part II. There are, of course, plenty of examples throughout history of one person working alone and thinking up something quite wonderful without the need for colleagues or a flipchart.
What’s more, in the Preparation section that follows, I’ll explain why some individual brainstorming is vital even as part of a group session.
But, when it’s a big business issue with potentially significant gains, you will – usually – benefit from putting together a group of people. In the right room. With the right timeframe to hatch and nurture your breakthroughs.