Brainstorming Mistake #2: Brainstorming as a Group

Sounds counterintuitive, right?

Wait - what? I thought brainstorms were always in groups?

📈The research shows that an optimal brainstorm has time for individuals to ideate on their own. This lets people develop their thinking without the social pressure to conform, which is often subconscious. This is key to eliminating groupthink.

It’s not that you don’t involve the group at all - group energy is important for the idea process. It’s just that you need time for people to work on their own, without the pressure of “what will everyone else think?”.

The next time that you’re running a brainstorm, try this simple process:

1. 🌟 Let the group generate as many ideas together as possible. Don’t put limits on them being practical or “good”.

2. 🎧 Have each person flesh out their favorite ideas *on their own*, while in the room with everyone else. Music works well here!

3. 🗣️ Let each person take a turn sharing their ideas uninterrupted.

4. 🤝Have a final group discussion where you pick favorites and discuss next steps.

We Built Funware™ Ideator to avoid this brainstorming mistake.

• You can use Funware™ Ideator, which automates this whole process!

• Funware™ Ideator starts with a group brain dump, then transitions to solo ideation.

• Each person gets to share their solo ideas, THEN the group comes back together to discuss favorites.

Just 5 minutes of solo ideation gets dramatically better results. Test it out for yourself:

Cheers,
Devin

P.S. Curious to see what others are saying about Funware™? 👀

“This starts out silly but this actually bring some real good thoughts and feelings to the surface for a larger more in depth discussion.”

“Everyone has a chance to provide input on the same playing field regardless of their exact skillset...I like the idea of making problem solving a little more fun, and casual to talk about.”