Brainstorming is a technique widely used in the business world, also known to us miners as: "brainstorming". We've already talked about how Dr. House uses this technique, and although it's widely used and widespread in the day-to-day life of companies, it's very common to see people talking about brainstorming when in fact what they're doing is just exchanging ideas about the same subject with other people. That's why I listed some points that are usually forgotten when applying the technique, and that I always mention in the Six Green-belt certification.
But first it is worth asking what is Brainstorming? Brainstorming is a technique created by Alex Osborn in 1942, when he wrote How To Think Up. His main objective was to stimulate the creativity of a group of people, in order to create a safe environment where ideas could flow freely.
Mistake number 1- No time to think
It is very common that during the technique people explain the problem, and then immediately put their ideas to the group. This mistake does not allow the necessary time to adapt to the problem, and almost always puts unconscious pressure on the participants, and the "gone blank" takes over the room.
It is very important to give everyone time to think about the problem, about 2 to 5 minutes to reflect introspectively on the problem. Every time a new topic is indicated, these points should be recalled.
Mistake number 2 - "Everyone acts equally during the process".
Another common mistake is to do brainstorming without a facilitator, who observes the process from the outside. The technique cites a few basic roles: a leader, a scribe, and the group members. We talk about roles, not roles, because roles can be shared, (e.g. everyone can act as a scribe for his or her own idea, especially when working remotely).
In addition, it may be necessary to separate bosses from their workers (depending on the company's hierarchy model), because many subordinates feel intimidated and do not participate when their bosses are present.
Mistake number 3 - "All knowledge is welcome".
A very common mistake is to call people to a brainstorming session who have no knowledge of the subject, just to "hear their opinion", even when they barely understand the subject. This is detrimental to the exercise, because those who are participating and understand the subject may feel demotivated when a member who has no knowledge of the subject begins to offer inputs that are unrealistic or unrelated to the subject.
Mistake number 4 - Criticizing the idea
It is very common during brainstorming for the moment when one member mentions an idea, another one rebuts it, giving feedback as to why it could not possibly work. The technique actually suggests the opposite: every idea will be considered the best possible, and comments should be made with this principle in mind. In fact one of the basic rules is that improvement is necessary, and for this you can use improvisation techniques like "what if" when talking about an idea.
Keeping your team focused and not making these four mistakes will make your brainstorming much more productive, and is sure to generate interesting ideas for the problems you analyze.