Brainstorming Under Attack

Brainstorming under attack: 8 errors in the WSJ. The WSJ has there content behind a wall so their content is not part of the web and so I have not seen their article.

The blog post makes good points about mistaken impressions of brainstorming:

People do better on their own than they do in brainstorming sessions. This is really daft. I like to think of myself as a pretty creative guy, but I am never more creative than when I am a small piece loosely joined with other small pieces in the generative circumstances of a brain storming group.

I think both have their place. You pretty much can come up with your own ideas all day long (though it is true we often are too busy doing something to take any time to think but that is a time management choice). Brainstorming is about creating an opportunity to bring new ideas the forefront.

There are other useful tools such as the affinity diagram which can serve as another option (or can serve as a tool to work with the results of brainstorming).

And Edward DeBono has excellent creativity tools, like his 6 thinking hats. Brainstorming is a useful tool when applied properly but it is only one tool and other tools should be used.

• Managing Innovation
  
• TRIZ - Managing Creativity
  
• Managing for Creativity