Brainstorming Your Way to New Ideas

by Marcy Kozar
ISES DC Director of Students

Stumped for ideas? Many people feel that when they are out of ideas, it’s probably time to put on their “thinking cap”. But, in order to find those ideas, one must realize there is a difference between the type of thinking we are taught in school – analytical thinking, and true creative thinking.

What is creativity? A simple definition is that creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new. But it is extraordinarily difficult to create something out of nothing (unless you have divine powers), so the focus of creativity for us mortals should be harnessing our ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas.

While some might argue that you cannot learn to be creative, you can certainly learn how to produce creative results. Here are several classic creative methods to consider.

Evolution. This is the method of incremental improvement – making something a little better here, a little better there, gradually makes it something a lot better, or even something entirely different from the original. Old enough to remember the typewriter? Let me know by sending me a message on your Blackberry. That’s evolution.

Reapplication. Look at something old in a new way, remove your prejudices, expectations, and assumptions and discover how something can be reapplied. The transformation of spandex fabric into sculpture is a great example of how something was reapplied in a creative, new and exciting way.

Synthesis. When two or more existing ideas are combined into a third, new idea you have synthesis. In 1931 inventor and musician George Beauchamp teamed up with engineer Adolph Rickenbacker to synthesize two very different ideas, and created the first electric guitar.

Many new ideas happen when two or more ideas are accidentally or deliberately merged when they have never been merged before. A classic technique for providing a method to deliberately combine ideas in ways you would not normally think about is brainstorming.

The term brainstorming has become a commonly used word to describe creative thinking. The term was invented by Alex Osborn and described in his book “Applied Imagination”. The basis of brainstorming is generating ideas in a group situation based on the principle of suspending judgment. The key to successful brainstorming is to remember that the idea generation phase is separate from the evaluation (judgment) phase. All ideas are accepted, including way-out and odd ideas, and the more ideas the better. Whether these new ideas are of value is not a concern at this stage.

Try it. Gather a group together for a brainstorming session. The stimulus you receive from other members of the group is a critical component of the process. Since their ideas serve as the prompt to think in different ways, try to assemble a group with diverse perspectives, attitudes and experiences. Have a well-defined objective or clearly stated “problem”. Give yourself a time limit – around 25 minutes is common, but experience will show how much time is required. Assign someone to write down all the ideas as they occur (a big flip chart is great for this) and remember to follow these guidelines.

Keep the environment relaxed – participants should just shout out ideas and laughing is encouraged. There should be absolutely no criticizing of ideas - every idea - no matter how impossible, how crazy, or how off the wall - is to be accepted and recorded. Encourage people to build on the ideas of others. Ideas that at first seem silly may prove to be very good or may lead to other ideas that are very good. Once the time is up, select the ideas you like best. You probably won’t “solve the problem” or come up with the one big idea that will make your product or your event spectacular or memorable or visually stunning. In fact, don’t expect a solution or new idea to be the immediate result of your brainstorming session, but rather an expanded framework of possibilities from which you can build.

In reality, holding a brainstorming session is simply a way to give yourself permission to free your mind and begin thinking creatively - exploring ideas, generating possibilities, and looking for many correct answers rather than just one, remember? Allow the process to lead you down a new path where you will experience lots of ideas, and a new world of creative thinking.

By Dave Edwards, CSEP, Dave Edwards Events! Inc.
ISES DC Director of Strategic Alliances

How do you come up with ideas when your creative well is tapped dry? Here are 7 ways I do it.

Use an idea file:
Place helpful articles, cool photos and interesting samples in an idea file. Take a look at it when you need to spark your creativity. A lot of ideas are recycled, so see if you can put a new twist on something that has already been done.

Google™ It:
Everything is on the Internet these days. Just type in a few key words and you will get more than enough information on any topic. Don’t just stop at one search, but try using similar search words to uncover even more resources.

Call a Friend:
Check with friends in the industry and outside the industry for their ideas. Talk with folks from various walks of life for a unique point of view.

Sleep On It:
Mull your idea over in your mind just before you go to bed and you might have your answer by the time you wake up. There is nothing like letting your subconscious mind help you.

Keep Your Eyes Open:
Get ideas from events you attend, see on TV, or read about in magazines. Think about what you liked and could expand on? What would you change to make it better?

Chocolate Fixes Everything:
Nothing gets the creative juices flowing better than a good slice of triple fudge cake. Chocolate releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that signal well-being and happiness. When you’re relaxed and in a good mood, you’re bound to think better.

Have a Brainstorming Session:
Gather two to four people together for a focus group, have lots of chocolate first, and just brainstorm. Write all of the ideas on a whiteboard that everyone can see. Don’t throw out any ideas because a seemingly bad idea could morph into a good one.

Out of Ideas, or Up the Creek Without a Paddle

By Ray Bialek, Bialek’s Music
ISES DC Director of Finance and Membership

I'm working very hard and all of a sudden I have a request that stumps me. If it is at the end of the day, I procrastinate until tomorrow; go home, get a beer and refocus. Back in the office the next day, I consult with the staff, looking for any angle. A group lunch is the best time to do this, since you can ignore phones and concentrate.

Starting my 27th year in business, I may weigh some factors a new company may not, such as:

Passing on an impossible task shows honesty and may request the client altering their requests to simplify the solution. However, those of you that work for greedy bosses may not have the luxury of telling a client to go away. I've earned the right. One client should not make or break your day and you can put otherwise wasted resources into something you will excel in and make you "No Money."