During which stage of the the decision-making process is brainstorming used?

In this article we’ll cover brainstorming in-depth, including its definition, some examples of how it’s done, and techniques on how you can brainstorm like a pro.

Have a difficult decision to make, and not sure what to do? Brainstorming ideas will show you the best path forward.

Brainstorming is a must-have decision making skill that enables you to come up with great solutions for even the hairiest of problems.

Without further ado, let’s get to it!

Contents

1. What is brainstorming?
2. Brainstorming example: making art less scary
3. Brainstorming techniques
   • Step-by-step guide: brainstorming by yourself
   • Step-by-step guide: brainstorming in a group
4. Brainstorming is great for decision making
5. Other decision making skills

What is brainstorming?

Brainstorming definition: a creative process for generating ideas that encourages quantity over quality and discourages criticism and evaluation. A key ingredient for success is allowing ideas to build on each other.

Brainstorming is a very important decision making skill, because it’s so effective at generating ideas to solve your problem.

Brainstorming is effective at generating ideas for two reasons:

1. It generates a large quantity of ideas.
2. It generates a large variety of ideas addressing different aspects of the problem.

Brainstorming example: making art less scary

At the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., a group of museum staff joined together to come up with strategies to create better connections with visitors.

One of the biggest issues was making people feel confident about interacting with the art. Visitors often felt like fishes out of water around the museum and even apologized for not being “art people”.

How to make people feel confident and comfortable? The group decided a brainstorm was in order.

For 8 minutes participants sketched out possible solutions on sheets of paper. Then they each presented their sketches to the group.

After the presentations, another 8 minute round of sketching began. Staffers could further explore the issue now armed with all the ideas shared by the group.

One of the ideas presented after the first sketching session was to require all visitors to attend lectures about the museum and its art before heading to the galleries.

These lectures could provide the needed context to make people feel confident navigating the collection.

The problem was that this idea was too prescriptive. What if a visitor didn’t want to attend the lecture?

It would also be difficult to maintain. A whole new set of staff would be needed around the clock to deliver the lectures.

But from this seed idea came another in the second round of sketching.

The museum could provide short, on-demand videos in the atrium before the galleries. The videos would develop skills and confidence around interacting with art.

Now this was an idea everyone could get behind!

Once installed, art enthusiasts and novices alike loved the new videos. They felt much more at ease in the galleries, able to connect with the art.

There is a lot of advice out there on different brainstorming techniques, and no two techniques seem to match. That’s ok, because the spirit of how to conduct a brainstorm matters more than the particulars.

The techniques I offer to conduct both individual and group brainstorms follow the spirit of much of the advice out there.

On top of that, I’ve found the following two techniques to be very effective at helping me make decisions. I’ve trained teams to use them with much success, both at large public companies and fast growing tech startups.

Technique #1: brainstorming by yourself (step-by-step guide)

Mind mapping is a powerful brainstorming exercise when you’re by yourself. It’s so simple and easy that anyone can do it with 5-10 minutes of work.

Contrary to popular belief, brainstorming on your own can be an extremely effective path to coming up with great ideas.

I usually recommend that each member of my team does their own mind mapping exercise before entering a group brainstorming session. I find that the group brainstorm is a lot more productive that way.

The Mind Mapping Technique:

1. Write down your question or problem in the center of a blank piece of paper.
   • Example: Where should we get married?
2. Write down your ideas as branches from the center.
   • Example: Las Vegas, relative’s backyard, my mom’s church, etc.
3. Do some word association with the ideas in the main branches, and write these related thoughts as sub-branches created out from the main branches.
   • Example: “relative’s backyard” may make you think of flowers, and the outdoors 
4. Write down more ideas as branches from the center, this time keeping in mind the word associations you just had.
   • Example: “flowers” and “the outdoors” may inspire you to add “the Botanical Gardens”
5. Repeat word association and jotting down new ideas as needed until you’re satisfied.

Tips for Mind Mapping Success:

Mind Mapping works best when you let yourself free associate words. Try not to criticize or evaluate your thoughts. Just get them on the page. This strategy will ensure that you get the volume and variety of ideas you need to make the best decision.

Use word association to come up with new ideas. A good brainstorming session allows ideas to build on each other. You may discover that word association unlocks values and constraints for your decision you hadn’t thought of before. Use these insights to develop your list of ideas even further.

Set a five minute time limit and only use words or short phrases. It’s worth emphasizing: this method works best when you bypass your inner critic. Setting a time limit can help create the urgency needed to do that. Keeping the phrases short also helps you get into the flow of generating lots of ideas instead of getting stuck going deep on one.

Technique #2: brainstorming with a group (step-by-step guide)

Want to harness the power of several minds to generate amazing ideas and solutions? If so, a group brainstorming session is in order.

In an individual brainstorming session, you are responsible for organizing the exercise and for coming up with the ideas.

In a group brainstorming session, your role as organizer and facilitator may prevent you from fully participating in idea creation.

If you don’t see yourself as creative, or the “idea” person in the room, then facilitating a group brainstorming session is a wonderful opportunity.

You walk away with tons of actionable ideas, but it’s your friends or colleagues who end up doing the “hard” work of generating potential solutions.

Now let’s go through the step-by-step guide on facilitating a group brainstorming session.

Step #1: Set a time, place, and invite list

Whom you invite is very important.

Include a broad spectrum of people, so you have diverse perspectives in the room.

For example, if you want ideas on how to increase learning outcomes at schools, invite teachers and curriculum advisors.

Also, try to make sure everyone is familiar with the decision you’re trying to make, and it affects everyone’s life in some way.

If you do those things, then the attendees will come up with a wide range of creative ideas, and will be invested in doing their best. 

A sweet spot for the number of participants is 6-10.

Any less and you start to have fewer ideas with less variety. Any more and it starts getting out of hand, and difficult to facilitate.

When you set a time, keep in mind how long the session should last. For 6-10 participants, I like to make the brainstorming session a minimum of 30 minutes.

If people are still coming up with great ideas by the end of the 30 minute mark, I do everything I can to keep them going. 

If the group seems stalled before the 30 minute mark, I stand my ground and get the group to continue. Sometimes there are lulls, but usually the group becomes inspired once again.

If there are fewer than 6 participants, or more than 10, feel free to dial up or dial down the length of your brainstorming session accordingly.

Lastly, make sure you give people plenty of notice, because they should have prep work to do.

Step #2: Give participants homework to do before the brainstorming session

Often overlooked, this point is super important. Don’t let participants come to your meeting unprepared.

I think you’ll agree when you compare the quality of ideas you get from people don’t have context about the problem vs. people who do.

Don’t waste time at the beginning of your brainstorming session getting everyone up to speed.

That is precious idea generation time.

Don’t waste those special moments where everyone you need is actually sitting together, ready to help you.

There are two types of homework I like to give.

Sometimes I ask participants to perform a mind mapping exercise on their own.

This gets their mind turning on the problem at hand, and it also seeds the brainstorming session with a bunch of ideas. No more slow awkward beginning to a brainstorm.

Other times I ask participants to read up on the decision we’re trying to make. Usually I will provide qualitative and quantitative data about the problem.

If I’m trying to come up with ideas on how to improve customer satisfaction, I might share the most recent customer reviews with the group. In addition I might send average product ratings by category.

By sharing relevant data, I ensure that the group is grounded in facts pertaining to the issue.

Step #3: Hold the session in a fun, relaxing environment

Boxing people up in an environment they’re used to will not get them thinking out of the box, for a couple of reasons.

First, brainstorming requires people to forget the context they were in, and immerse themselves in a new creative space. Unless the space they enter is different, people will bring their stress, fixations, and worries with them.

Second, brainstorming is best when people are inspired to think differently and boldly. A space they’re used to is much less likely to spark inspiration because it feels ordinary and boring.

Fortunately, you can create a fun and relaxing environment without spending money booking a cool space or wasting time traveling outside the building.

I find that a bit of redecoration goes a long way.

Is your living room the best place to invite your friends to a brainstorming session on your next career move? Consider rearranging the furniture to spice up the space. 

In a work setting, perhaps the best place to hold a brainstorming session is the same conference room you use for every other meeting. Consider bringing a bunch of stuffed animals to the room. 

Not only do they visually add something that creates a new feel for the space, participants may find that interacting with them helps to relax and get those creative juices flowing.

Step #4: Start the session by grounding people in the facts

A brainstorming session is a group conversation, so spending a little time at the beginning getting people on the same page is really helpful.

Why is it helpful? Your participants all left something they were focusing on and are now with you. 

They are likely still thinking about the other thing, instead of your thing. Sharing qualitative and quantitative data at the beginning of the session gets them thinking about your thing.

Sharing data gets them thinking about your thing in the right way. With a grasp on the reality of the situation, they are more likely to come up with ideas that would actually be helpful.

Data-driven brainstorming and decision making is better than only using your intuition. But don’t overthink what it means to be data-driven.

Qualitative data is just as important as quantitative data, and it includes things like conversations, comments, trends, and opinions. 

Data is just another word for information, and information can take many forms. Don’t be afraid to think creatively here.

Step #5: Set the rules for the brainstorming session

Make sure people understand that criticizing is not allowed. Encourage that all voices be heard. 

Outlawing criticism is critical for the success of your brainstorming session. It cannot be overstated: criticizing ideas during the brainstorm will kill the creativity in the room!

If a participant censors someone’s idea, it encourages the part of everyone’s brain that evaluates ideas before they’re spoken. No one wants to be criticized in a group setting.

Usually this part of the brain is awesome. It ensures you don’t put your foot in your mouth.

But during a brainstorming session, it’s lethal.

Remember, with a brainstorm, the goal is volume and variety of ideas. Censorship hurts both volume and variety.

You might argue that criticism encourages quality over quantity.

After all, you don’t just want ideas. You want good ideas that lead to good decision making. 

The problem with that logic has to do with a core part of what makes brainstorming effective. Namely, that brainstorming works because people build ideas on top of each other.

Many times, one person’s bad idea mentioned in haste inspires someone else to come up with an awesome idea.

Remember the staff at the National Gallery of Art in D.C.?

In their brainstorming session, someone offered a not so great idea of making lectures mandatory for visitors. That inspired someone else to offer the idea of optional instructional videos on-demand.

Save the evaluation for after the brainstorm. You or a group can filter through the ideas and save the promising ones for the next stage of the decision making process.

Encouraging all voices to be heard is also important.

Sometimes the quietest people have the best ideas, because they are really soaking everything in and making those all important connections to churn out something brilliant.

I’ll say more about this in the next section, but when setting the rules, simply encouraging people to give each other the space to talk can go a long way.

Step #6: Facilitate the brainstorming session

Write ideas out on a whiteboard or easel pad as they come. Or, get someone else to do it so you can more easily contribute ideas.

It’s important to write the ideas down so they are visible. The visual aid helps people build ideas on top of each other.

You could write down ideas on your phone instead, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’ll stifle creativity.

The facilitator will also need to enforce the rules stated above. No criticizing, and all voices should be heard.

Sometimes people who tend to be quiet feel intimidated by brainstorms. I usually ask people just to shout out their ideas, and while this method encourages volume it also rewards the loudest and most extroverted personalities. 

You could instead ask people to raise their hands, and call on them one at a time. It slows down the flow a bit, but it will allow quieter people to jump in more easily.

What I like to do is reserve some time at the end to call out people who have not shared anything yet. This move empowers those who might have been too shy to offer their suggestions.

Naturally, during the course of the brainstorming session, questions or comments will come up that are not necessarily ideas to be written on the board. Do not stifle these, thinking they are distractions.

Rather, these contributions are probably helpful to many of the participants.

They might clarify something that is unclear. They might add a perspective which sets off a chain of thinking that becomes really valuable.

Keep these side conversations bounded, and make sure people come back to the brainstorm after a short time. But don’t feel the need to stop them from happening.

Step #7: After the brainstorming session, the evaluation process can begin

Take a picture of the ideas, then filter and organize them.

Once you’ve taken the picture, rewrite the ideas into a word doc or onto a piece of paper.

Organizing the ideas into categories as you rewrite them can be helpful for a couple of reasons.

First, you start understanding the possible strategies to solve your problem.

Second, you automatically pool similar ideas together. This will help you synthesize these ideas into one, or allow you to easily choose the one that is the best.

Brainstorming is great for decision making

Let’s briefly look at the decision making process so we understand how brainstorming helps with great decision making.

The decision making process

1. Describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity.
2. Create a set of potential solutions or responses.
3. Collect data.
4. Evaluate each option.
5. Choose a solution or response.
6. Take action.
7. Evaluate the impact of your decision and course correct if needed.

Brainstorming is a skill needed for Step #2 of the decision making process.

Other decision making skills

This article is part of a series on must have decision making skills.

Here are links to the other skills:

• Root Cause Analysis
• Data Collection

Now it’s your turn

I’ve said a bunch, now I’d like to hear from you!

How useful was this article? How could I do better?

What has been your experience with brainstorming?

What do you want help with?

Upskill Nation is a community, so make your voice heard by leaving a comment below.

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