Brainstorms have enormous potential to bring the zany into the realm of the actionable, nourished with group input. But they can also be big flops, with participants afraid to open the floodgates—or getting so off track that they leave the session exhilarated but without any actual ideas.
Before diving into a brainstorming session, have a plan to help you design brainstorms that will spark fresh yet sensible ideas. Consider these techniques to create better brainstorming sessions.
Maximize Efficiency With “Note and Vote”
You may find that your brainstorming sessions tend to veer quickly into off-topic discussions or tangents that don’t contribute to the session’s objective. One method can help with that: note and vote.
A common practice at Google, this method of brainstorming involves participants generating ideas on their own, then sharing them with the group. Start by writing down your own list of ideas, choosing your favorites, and sharing those with the group. All ideas shared with the group are then written on a whiteboard, and from there each member of the group votes for their favorite. The idea that gets the most votes is the one you run with.
The note-and-vote strategy is designed to help groups generate ideas quickly and find a consensus. It’s particularly useful when your team feels stuck, and since it’s a democratic process, it eliminates concerns that just a few voices are always dominating the conversation. This method is conducive to in-person collaboration (done with actual notes and a whiteboard), but it can easily be done remotely with virtual whiteboards and screen sharing.