Colorful post-its. Wacky visuals. Funky rooms. What technique of innovation is better known than brainstorming? What word solicits more eyerolls in the real world?

Brainstorms are frequently unproductive. There are two main reasons why, and they’re related:
● People evaluate others’ ideas (“Neat, so how much would that cost?”).
● People evaluate their own ideas before they’ve even shared them. They censor out the most unusual ones for fear of being judged as silly or dumb.

Analysis and evaluation are critical skills. We’re rewarded for quickly evaluating situations, diagnosing errors, and finding practical solutions in nearly every aspect of our lives. Rightly so.

|Brainstorming is harder than it looks because it requires us to temporarily suspend these instincts.

The purpose of a brainstorm is to come up with as many different options as possible to delight our users. The greater the number and variety of options, the higher the odds of a valuable idea.

A properly run group brainstorm is your most useful tool to generate game changing ideas. It requires skill and preparation to be effective. Here’s what we think are the most impactful steps you can take to make your next brainstorm as productive as it can be.