Why do brainstorming sessions fail to generate innovative or creative ideas?

Why is it that the majority of brainstorming sessions typically result in the same old ideas being dreamt up with little in the way of innovative or creative ideas - which are supposedly the exact purpose of the session in the first place?

First, we consider why this is the case and then set out two simple yet effective mind-tools you can start using immediately to help you and your teams generate creative and innovative ideas to keep your business ahead of the competition.
Why does brainstorming fail?

Before we can grasp this issue, we need to understand how the mind works in generating new ideas and concepts.

This is best explained by a simple example - say I ask you to draw a cat, then - assuming you are not a skilled artist - you would most likely sketch a fairly poor representation of Garfield or similar. Harsh but true!

Aside from a general lack of practice and therefore less developed hand-to-eye co-ordination, there is another more fundamental reason for this child-like effort of a drawing - all will become clear in a moment.

Now, say I was to ask you to draw something more obscure like a fire salamander (not any old salamander but a “Fire Salamander” specifically) then you are likely to pause for thought. Most would ask for a picture or photograph to copy as they would be unsure what such a creature looks like.

However, chances are that your drawing of the lesser known fire salamander (copied from a photograph) will actually be far better a representation than your drawing of an every-day cat, the image of which will have been familiar to you for most of your life.

It doesn’t take Einstein to see a causal link here (i.e. that the better drawing was copied from a photograph whilst the poor representation of the cat was recalled from memory) but the link goes deeper and impacts directly upon people’s ability to generate ideas in a business context. How?

River Thinking

In broad terms, your mind is made up of millions and millions of connectors which allow you to think, identify and basically operate. These connectors are best considered as a series of “rivers” that cover your brain.

So, in the cat example, your mind conjured up an approximation of a cat’s appearance and you proceeded to sketch it - your mind’s relatively poor model of a cat as a basis for your drawing is as much to blame as your amateur drawing skills or abilities!

This is a result of “river thinking”. It is a mechanism which basically prevents us from having to re-learn everything each time we see it (but this advantage has its downfalls when it comes to creativity).

In essence, your mind can only manifest rough approximations of earthly objects and life as it is impossible for it to be able to store all the information e.g. every hair and whisker of a cat that can be seen in real life (or close to in a photograph) is pretty much absent in the mind’s eye for these reasons. So your mind flows you down that “cat river” of thought. This contrasts with the vivid photograph of the fire salamander in the second example for which your mind had no approximation (and therefore river) - so you were able to draw exactly what was in front of you without the distractions of familiarity and apply an objective, open-minded approach.

How does this apply in a business context?

Impact of River Thinking on brainstorming

So picture the scene - a mixture management grades sat in a boardroom brainstorming a new approach to a long-standing business issue or problem.

They spout ideas which appear productive on the face of it - but there is a problem.

Many of the participants have worked in the organisation or sector for many years and therefore have pre-existing “rivers” in connection with the particular business issue. In fact, the more senior the participant (and bad news here - as they are typically the most influential!), the “deeper the river”.

So in effect the same old ideas can’t help but rear their ugly heads again and again. The participants are not to blame - if they have any degree of experience in this area then they will inevitably have “rivers” - only the depth will vary according to seniority. So what’s the solution?

River Bridging

We help our clients achieve “river bridging” in many different ways, however, there are two simple mind tools that can be implemented immediately:

1. 20 Ideas Mindstorming - this is great for its simplicity yet effectiveness. The rule is that for a given problem you must generate 20 ideas - 19 will not suffice. It must be 20 (or more)! The crux here is that the first 10 ideas will be fairly easy and obvious to identify (as you will be happily swimming down a particular river); then the next 10 - 15 will become more tricky (at this point you will be starting to clamber up the river banks) and the final 15 - 20 are where the seeds of innovative and creative ideas are born (as you manage to sit up on the river bank happily basking in the new-found rays of possibility)
2. 10 Ideas Mindstorming with a Bridge - this is more tricky than the 1st tool but the results can be startling. The same rules and principles apply as in the 1st, however, to leap straight for the bridge we use a random word. Every idea for the business issue at hand must be linked to the random word. That’s the rule. More difficult than the 1st, that’s why you should aim for 10 rather than 20 ideas.

Participants that I have worked with using these mind tools have initially looked a little sceptical but have been amazed by the chains of thought they generated which they freely admitted they would never have reached without these tools.

The key is to practise as it gets easier the more you exercise your creative muscle.

My challenge to you is to apply the 20 Ideas Brainstorming mind tool every day to a business (or home / personal) issue and see the results.

Or experiment with these tools in the next business meeting you have to launch your team into new areas of possibility……

I would be interested in your experiences or comments.