so you think you know how to brainstorm? - alison duffy & sue whittle, perspectiv

Welcome

So You Think You Know How To

Brainstorm?

© Perspectiv LLP

About Us

• Alison Duffy & Sue Whittle

• Partners of Perspectiv - a consulting and training

company with expertise in leadership and team

development, creative problem solving, strategy and

change management

• Graduates of the Masters in Innovation, Creativity

and Leadership, City University London

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About You

• The 10 second introduction…

• Tell everyone your first name

• Describe in one word a personal brainstorming

experience – positive or negative

Think about the people, the process, the atmosphere

and the outcome

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Brainstorming – Some Myths

• the only way of generating ideas and being creative

• the new panacea

• executive entertainment

• a waste of time

• old fashioned and passé

• a way of generating lots of options that then have to

be rejected

• a way to get together and have a casual discussion in

order to come up with a few ideas

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Brainstorming – Some Facts

• Introduced by Alex Osborn in 1939

• Purpose is to avoid evaluative judgement

• It’s not just about generating ideas and is just one

element in a much wider, problem solving process

• Osborn worked with Sidney Parnes in the 1950s to

develop CPS and CPSI

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Brainstorming – More Facts

Perspectiv’s founding partners

were taught by Scott Isaksen

and Brian Dorval who have

both worked with Sid Parnes,

who worked with Alex Osborn!

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The Descriptive CPS v6.1™

Preparing for

Action

Understanding

the Challenge

Generating

Ideas

Planning Your

Approach

Constructing

Opportunities

Framing

Problems

Exploring

Data

Generating

Ideas

Developing

Solutions

Building

Acceptance

Appraising

Tasks

Designing

Process

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The Importance of Role Clarity

Change Process

SPONSOR (Ownership of Problem

Space)

FACILITATOR (Process)

RESOURCE-GROUP (Options, Content)

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Why Use a Trained Facilitator?

• Extended effort

• Brainstorming enhancers

• Studies show trained facilitators help groups to

generate more ideas over time

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Preparation

• Carefully prepared problem statement or task

• Invitation and background information to those

attending (2 weeks in advance)

• Opportunity for individual ideation in advance

• Coaching the problem owner

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The 4Ps System: Focusing on People

Press Physical, Psychological,

Resources, Place,

Situation, Climate,

Culture, Context

Environment

Product Objective, Task, Need,

Problem, Opportunity,

Challenge, Issue,

Product, Result

Outcome, Output

Goal, Vision

Process Methods, Operations,

Tools, Systems

Model used with permission. © Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

Resource

Group Client or

Sponsor

Facilitator

People

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The Two-Stage “heartbeat” – The Core of the

Problem Solving (Innovation) Process

DEFERRED JUDGEMENT

AFFIRMATIVE JUDGEMENT

Generating Options

Creative Thinking

Divergent Thinking

Focusing Options

Critical Thinking

Convergent Thinking

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Generating Focusing

At the Heart of CPS is a Dynamic Balance

Between Two Kinds of Thinking

newness usefulness

Model used with permission. © Creative Problem Solving Group Inc. © Perspectiv LLP

Our Task - Ideas for Re-Using Tin Cans

Background

To conserve natural resources, the government is

encouraging recycling of household items. Many tin

cans are currently melted down and reprocessed,

but it would be even more environmentally friendly if

they could be re-used without having to be melted

down.

Your Task

Generate a range of new and useful ideas for how to re-

use tin cans.

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Guidelines for Generating Options

DEFER JUDGMENT STRIVE FOR QUANTITY

FREEWHEEL SEEK COMBINATIONS

© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

Your Task – a reminder

Generate a range of new and useful ideas for

how to re-use tin cans.

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Brainstorming with Post-its®

© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

Brainstorming with Post-Its®

• Done it before?

• Let’s use it to capture your initial ideas – the first flush

• First, here are some guidelines…

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Guidelines for Using Post-Its®

• Readable - Write them clearly, legibly and large enough to be seen

• Concise - Keep them brief, use “telegraphic” form • Specific - Share the essence, one option per Post-it®

Make Your Responses…

© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

Brainwriting – How it Works

• A4 sheets or flipcharts

• Silent activity

• Read an idea on one of the flipcharts. Use it as a

springboard for a new idea. Write your new idea in

the box underneath and move on to the next flipchart.

Repeat the process.

• Co-located, synchronous team working

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Now What?

• What would you usually do?

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Guidelines for Focusing Options

USE AFFIRMATIVE JUDGMENT BE DELIBERATE

CONSIDER NOVELTY STAY ON COURSE

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Focusing Tools

• Highlighting – to focus large numbers

• Selecting Hits – to focus further

• ALUo – to focus when a handful of options

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ALUo

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The CPS 6.1 Toolbox

GUIDELINES FOR GENERATING OPTIONS

GUIDELINES FOR FOCUSING OPTIONS

1. BRAINSTORMING WITH POST-ITS®

2. BRAINWRITING

3. BRAINSTORMING ENHANCERS

4. LADDER OF ABSTRACTION

5. VIR (Visually Identifying Relationships)

6. IMAGERY TREK

7. MORPHOLOGICAL MATRIX

8. BRAINSTORMING

1. ALUo (Advantages, Limitations, Unique qualities, overcome Limitations)

2. EVALUATION MATRIX

3. HIGHLIGHTING

4. PCA (Paired Comparison Analysis)

5. SELECTING HITS

6. SML (Short, Medium, Long)

7. MUSTS/WANTS

8. CRITERIA

CHOOSING TOOLS FOR FOCUSING OPTIONS CHOOSING TOOLS FOR GENERATING OPTIONS

© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

What Next?

• Iterate the process, if necessary, to continue the

process of focussing

• The client/sponsor makes the final decisions

• Preparing for action…

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Do You Think You Know How to Brainstorm?

• Reflect on the words you shared at the beginning

about your past experiences with brainstorming

• Observations/Reflections on the workshop?

• Anyone wish to sum up their brainstorming

experience today in a word?

• Questions?

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Thank you

Handouts available

alison@perspectiv.co.uk

sue@perspectiv.co.uk

www.perspectiv.co.uk

© Perspectiv LLP