mykimchi.NET Blog

Brainstormers

IDEO is unique in its way of using brainstorming. and we are constantly evolving our technique.This section is a collection of ideas that came out of Alex Kazak’s Muse project and informal session with Denny, Rickson, and Brendan.

Know the five rules:

• Defer judgmentThis is the hardest rule to follow, in part because our cultural values usually steer us the other way – to make a quick judgment: “Will this fly or not?” The tendency to judge and prejudge tends to block our own flow of ideas. It also dampens the spirit of the session, making other people uncertain about bringing out an idea. Be open, for the duration of the brainstormer, to an attitude of unhesitating expression.
  
  
• Build on ideas of othersOne thing we learn after just a few brainstormers is that you don’t really need a whole idea to keep things going. Half an idea will work just fine, because someone else will pick up on what they thought you meant and turn it into something else.The secret of this rule is to be generous (even reckless, wanton, profligate) with your own ideas during the brainstormer and not be shy about picking up on half-baked – or even fully baked – ideas from someone else.
  
  
• One conversation at a timeYou can tell when somebody’s got an idea steaming in their head: they start squirming in their chair and can’t wait to get it out on the table. It’s exciting when this starts happening with more than one person. At this point the facilitator reminds everyone else to let the first one get their idea out before going on to the next one.This way nobody feels frustrated that they didn’t get heard and the energy keeps flowing. Write down a “headliner” and then sketch your idea while waiting.
  
  
• Stay focused on topicThe thrill of the chase can often lead far from the topic – the design problem at hand. Don’t hold back on an idea just because it seems off the topic (defer judgment about it!). Just be agile and turn it around into something that relates.These unplanned force-fits can be a surprise.
  
  
• Encourage wild ideasGet radical, improbable, unrealistic, impractical, dangerous, even primitive in your thinking.Wild ideas open up new avenues of thinking in a way nothing else can.They expose new territories where the seeds of invention wait to grab the shaggy mane of the traveller.