10 steps to creative bliss

How to run a good brainstorm

Creativity – why bother?

• Keeps our ideas fresh

• Keeps us fresh

• Helps us communicate better

• Changing context of communications– Leadership– Consultancy– Creativity

1. Get the basics right

• The right time – how long?– As much as you can afford – at least an

hour!

• The right place – where?– Anywhere but the office!

• The right people – who?– Different grades, different disciplines– Policy input – ideally external too– Six to eight people is perfect (or divided

into groups that size)

• The right ingredients – what?– Flip charts– Pens, pencils and Post-its– Other creative stimuli (incl. haribo)– A clear brief …and some creative minds

2. Do your homework

• Know the subject– Can you pithily express the creative challenge

in 10 words?– Can you describe the audiences and channels?– Are you able to provide useful background?

• Prepare the group– One pager for background – Key stats and messages– Issues / audience insights

• Event choreography– Structure – Timing

• Question the brief– Is this the best way of achieving the objective?

3. Set the tone – what?

• SUN …– Suspend judgement– Understand people’s point of view– Nurture the idea

• not RAIN …– React critically– Assume you know what people mean– INsist on giving them your opinion

“If at first an idea is not absurd then there is no hope for it.” – Albert Einstein

3. Set the tone – how?

• Ban certain phrases …– ‘Yes but …’– ‘We’ve tried this before and …’– ‘That won’t work because …’

• Inject humour and fun …– Warm-up games– Welcoming atmosphere– Encouragement and motivation

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn. It can be stabbed to death by a joke, or worried to death by a frown on the right person’s brow.”

4. Warming people up

• Creative puzzles …– Quick quiz …– What ifs …

– Imagine you’re a …

… anything to get people relaxed, shaken out of ‘office mode’ and ready to be creative!

… loads of suggestions online if you’re stuck!

5. Introduce the challenge• Be clear about objectives

– To raise awareness about a new service.– To change people’s minds about a policy.– To get people doing something differently.

• Tell people what we know about the challenge

– Recap on facts and figures– Any audience insights– Any limitations– Any key insights

• Be specific (?)– If you’re only interested in certain ideas or if

there are limitations, then make that clear …– But be 100% sure as you don’t want to rule out

other options if they could fulfil the same objectives!

6. Structure the session

• Who / What / How?• De Bono’s Six Hats• Divide and conquer

– By audience– By issue– By subject

• Setting artificial rules– Eg describe the NHS only

using nature metaphors“Rules are for people who aren’t willing to invent their own.” – Chuck Yeager (first man to break the sound barrier)

7. Be a good host – what?• Don’t be afraid of silence

– it often means people are thinking!– listen don’t lecture!

• Bring people into the conversation– don’t allow one person to dominate– be alert to people’s sensitivities

• Give ideas time to grow – invite people to build on a thought rather than

swamping it with new ones

“An idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate on it, it becomes transformed by thought.” – Pablo Picasso

7. Be a good host – how?• Be in tune with the merits of the idea and

discussions– A facilitator should be silently steering people to the

most fruitful areas of discussion.– You need to use your instincts about whether to

build or move on – and then send out the right signals

• ‘Building’ signals – open questions, drawing others in, like …?

– “What I like about this is … but could we turn this into a print / broadcast / local story / online content, do you think?”

– “I love it – so is there a celebrity angle or a calendar hook we could attach to this?”

– “Yes, let’s stick with that thought – could we create an event or hook this to a speech?”

• ‘Moving on’ signals – do it nicely, like …?– “That’s a really good point – let’s come back to it,

but I want to take us back to what X said.”– “This is interesting but I’m conscious of time – how

about we move on to Y.”

8. Jazz it up• Re-expression

– different words – brainstorm different meanings of key words in the brief (eg does health mean what we really think it does?);

– different senses (eg could you draw the NHS reforms in a picture?);

– different perspectives (eg how would you explain a Foundation Trust to an alien?);

• Random word generator– Ask people to make connections with the creative

challenge– Invite rest of the group to build on them– Give me five ideas to promote Change4Life linked to

the word ‘daffodil’ …

• Related worlds– ‘Creative looting’ by looking at how other industries have

addressed similar problems?– What could we learn from change in the insurance sector;

crisis comms in the oil industry etc?

8. Jazz it up

• Make it real– Invite people to piece together what

the finished product could look like– Create your dream headlines for a

brief or mock up a leaflet using magazine cuttings

– You could even act out what a media interview or event could look like

– Use this to scrutinise and strengthen the best ideas

“What I hear I forget, what I see I remember, what I do I know” – Chinese proverb

9. Refine your ideas

• Key considerations?– Time– Resource

– Effectiveness

– Risk

• Use the group to screen ideas– Come up with top three ideas

– Brainstorm next steps?

10. Make it happen• Share the results

– Ideally within 24 hours

• Persuasion– Prepare the ground with other colleagues– Listen and involve them, don’t just bounce them into actions

• Plan the next steps– Get a team together – within a week ideally– Make a timeline with clear delivery dates– Start a status report.

• Account for progress– Make sure people know when it worked!– Share the credit …

A few suggestions

• *** Sticky Wisdom: how to start a creative revolution at work – ?WhatIf ***

• Six Thinking Hats – Edward de Bono

• Lateral Thinking – Edward de Bono

Questions / Thoughts?