Best practices I learned from years of brainstorming sessions.

From students to experienced professionals, everyone can benefit from better brainstorming and here is how to do it.

Brainstorming Illustration

In most cases, it tends to be a mess. The word brainstorming is mentioned, everyone has a different definition and forgets how to actually do it.

I had my first brainstorming session in high school when my team and I engineered 140 lbs. robots for FRC world competitions. As the years went by and I started to work with more experienced folks, I expected even better brainstorming sessions. And yet, not much changed from those early years.

Brainstorming is a ton of fun! You talk about innovation, new stuff, you strategize, you’re valued, it’s the best! But not everyone brainstorms in the most efficient way. 

Here are some of the best practices of brainstorming that I have implemented for my teams and my clients alike that continue to bring value.

Before we jump in, let me add one thing — brainstorming efficiency is not based on the length of the session but rather the quantity of thoughts shared. 

Ok, now let’s dig in. 

Brainstorming 101

Take all intimidation away, this is a safe space!

In many of the sessions I have attended there is a natural power difference in the room. Someone is the CEO, the president, or the extraverted newbie and on the other side there is the quiet leader, interns, or even the lost/tired quality assurance member.  

This slight personality difference should be put aside completely.

All thoughts are welcomed! In a brainstorming session, it is important that everyone is heard. Whatever is said should be written on the board with no exception (more to come on that later), but please keep it appropriate.

Everyone should have said something during this session as everyone is a stakeholder and deserves to share ideas.

There are no bad ideas.

I know what you are thinking, “well… when Josephine said a dishwasher with drone like propellers…,” yes you are right, it may not be the most subtle idea, but it is worth the marker ink.

Here is why.

While Josephine (sorry if I picked your name) may not have had the best idea in the world for many reasons, this is a team effort. Josephine’s input may have very well sparked another idea into someone else’s brain which may be the golden nugget of the session.

Of course, if all ideas are obviously pointless or a waste of time, maybe it is worth taking a break and coming back to it later.

Don’t plan them.

This is a controversial recommendation but I have my reasoning.

Brainstorming sessions should be put together on an impulse so that all thoughts can be gathered. If you plan a session in advance, it is common that team members will give it some thought between the announcement of the session and the beginning of it. Those thoughts are often worth writing down and will risk being forgotten by the time the activity starts.

The argument against “not planning them” is that in big organizations it can be difficult for everyone to be on the same page and same schedule. — But in a big company, you would not want to do such a big session anyway because it would defeat the purpose of the first recommendation as not everyone would be heard. 

So if you are part of a big organization, break into groups of no more than 15 and go at it. Later you can regroup the thoughts and keep the best ones. If you really want to get all the value, consider shuffling the groups between 2 rounds of sessions so more thoughts start flowing.

Keep the feedback loop open.

Once the session is over, keep it alive. Welcome more input and make the discussion available to all.

What I like to do is to regroup a few days later to re-iterate and catch any thoughts that sparked since the end of the session. Usually there are a few good ideas rising to the surface and make it worth the time investment.

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Naturally, there are more ways to improve the brainstorming sessions with your team, but these are the ones I see most commonly missed wether it is with students or experienced professionals.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your take on this as it also helps me understand what is most valuable to you.

Hope this helps.

Quentin.