The art of the brainstorming session

This sounds far removed from the brainstorming session as we know it. But is it really that different? After all that elusive great idea often arrives with an impact that is not that different from somebody losing their mind.

Those eureka moments do not happen in "brainstorming sessions" that are tightly controlled and policed. This all sounds really obvious but many companies and agencies still have strict agendas and warnings about wasting the company time. In other words don't suggest anything that is not already going to make money.

People that control brainstorming sessions like they would a board meeting are in dire need of that comfort zone that surrounds conformity. However, innovation and creativity are not spawned in that comfort zone.

The definition of a brainstorming session according to The Concise Oxford Dictionary is, "a concerted intellectual treatment of a problem by discussing spontaneous ideas about it."

The key word here is "spontaneous", which is the kind of behaviour that is discouraged in meetings where the agenda is more important than inventive solutions to a problem.

A problem that can occur is the delegating of a brainstorming session to an employee who is either not keen to do it or has little or no experience at this kind of facilitation.

This is where the outsider comes in. The professional brainstormer that can act as a catalyst and not only start the ball rolling, but also keep it moving. Continuity can mean lateral or backward movement in order to go forward again.

IDEO Product Development has sparked some of the most innovative products including the Apple mouse and the Polaroid I-Zone Pocket Camera. In an article on the Fast Company website Tom Kelley, general manager, talked about the dangers of too much expertise.

When it comes to generating truly innovative ideas, deep expertise in a field can actually be a drawback. "In a brainstorm, we're looking for breadth," Kelley says.

Outsourcing the creative process is paradoxical because any company is going to be concerned about accountability as well as delivery regarding targets that they set.

These are however, soluble problems and when weighed and measured against the potential for an exponential increase in creativity and innovation they can pale into insignificance.

The bottom line is that constricted ideas leverage off each other just as effectively as innovative ones do.