Plus: 74 Million Wild Ideas at Your Fingertips www.BrainstormingAtWork.com Get the Full Edition eBook, only $3.95! Click here to order the Full Edition! Brainstorming at Work: Creativity and Innovation in Motion is the latest edition of the Internets most popular Business Creativity workshop. It doesn't matter if you're part of a small business, a large corporation, a government agency, or a nonprofit group. Brainstorming at Work can help you be more creative and effective. This eBook is a unique combination of classic brainstorming techniques and modern management thinking. The result is a dynamic learning experience. You will be creating real world ideas starting with the first exercise. With improved checklists and new chapters, this eBook is available in Secure PDF for Windows and Mac computers. Your unlocked copy includes 74 Million Wild Ideas at Your Fingertips, a powerful creativity tool with extensive word tables for generating ideas. You can download the complete version of Brainstorming at Work to your computer for only $3.95*. You will be able to read and print Checklists, Exercises, Idea Bank Worksheets, plus every Chapter and Appendix. Click here to order the Full Edition! *Publishers price as of August 2001. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 3 3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: Getting Started.......................................................4 PART ONE: The Basics Of Innovation...............................................11 CHAPTER ONE: Brainstorming, Why and How.................................12 CHAPTER TWO: Clarify for Shared Meaning.................................19 CHAPTER THREE: The Joy of Sorting.............................................22 CHAPTER FOUR: Selection and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.....27 CHAPTER FIVE: Level the Playing Field..........................................31 PART TWO: Where the Ideas Are.....................................................38 CHAPTER SIX: Focus on Purposes.................................................40 CHAPTER SEVEN: Welcome to the Performance Gap........................45 CHAPTER EIGHT: Scotty, Give Me Maximum Process.......................50 CHAPTER NINE: Thats Why They Play the Game............................54 CHAPTER TEN: Everything Old Just Gets Old..................................58 PART THREE: Mindblowing Thoughts for the Real World..................66 CHAPTER ELEVEN: Welcome to the Idea Jungle..............................67 CHAPTER TWELVE: Like Money in the Idea Bank.............................75 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Going to the Meeting Market..........................80 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Passing It On..............................................85 APPENDIX A: Review and Support...................................................92 APPENDIX B: Directions and Checklists.........................................107 APPENDIX C: 74 Million Wild Ideas at Your Fingertips...................130 TAB A, Information...................................................................136 TAB B, Hard Goods...................................................................146 TAB C, Powered Objects............................................................155 GLOSSARY.....................................................................................163 NOTES...........................................................................................167 This Free Edition includes the Introduction and Chapter One. A printable Full Edition is available. Click here to order. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 4 4 INTRODUCTION: Getting Started In 15 years, PSS/World Medical grew from a small start up to the leading distributor of medical supplies to doctors offices in the United States. During this time, annual sales increased to more than one billion dollars. One of the reasons that CEO Patrick Kelly mentions is the widespread small initiatives that nobody sees, but that make a huge difference over time. When PSS was doing $20 million in sales, there were three people in the accounts- payable department. After growing fifty fold, Kelly estimates there should have been at least 30 people working there. Instead, there were only 10. The people working in accounts payable at PSS took responsibility for improving their own productivity. They initiated staggered work hours to get more done without distractions. A batch filing system cut down the time spent on that task by 90 percent. Independent auditors were able to find the documents just as easily as before. Kelly offers one of his secrets to success: Create a company of CEOs who think and work on improvements all the time. 1 This book is for anyone who wants to be more creative at work. In todays competitive world, any organization is more responsive to the needs of their customers, financial backers, and leadership if everyone is an idea person. This includes you and your co- workers. This book teaches a process for creating, recording, and reviewing ideas that you can use every day. Brainstorming at Work combines classic techniques with contemporary management thinking. This book is designed to spark creative ability and direct it at the issues facing your organization. Part One teaches the creative cycle of brainstorming, clarifying, sorting, and selecting ideas. Starting with the first exercise, you will be creating ways to improve your workplace. In Part Two, the tools for finding potential hot spots of innovation are taught. Your new skills will become stronger as you work through the exercises here. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 5 5 Chapters begin by discussing a concept or part of the process. They are summarized with directions for a step in the creative cycle or using a tool. It is followed by a checklist for use in giving yourself feedback. Then there is an exercise. Each one challenges you to create and develop real world ideas. Use the directions, then assess your progress using the checklists. The first champions of brainstorming believed it was a tool that anyone could use to be more effective. Early articles celebrated frontline people who used the process to generate money-saving ideas. This book goes one step further. Part Three offers ways for you to help other people get started with Brainstorming at Work. This is a challenging and rewarding learning experience. You will be able to make a difference for the people on your team, and contribute to the success of your organization. Six Easy Pieces It doesn't matter if you're part of a small business, a large corporation, a government agency, or a non-profit group. This book can help you be more creative and effective. The structure of Brainstorming at Work lets you work at your own pace. You will also be able to assess for yourself how well you are doing. When you complete the readings and exercises you will be able to: Apply brainstorming techniques to effectively generate ideas. Refine these ideas by applying the skills used in the creative cycle. Document ideas using Affinity Diagrams and worksheets. Select ideas that can contribute the most to your organization and its goals. Focus on sources of workplace innovation to generate ideas. Work with others to build Idea Banks that improve your workplace. As you progress through Brainstorming at Work, you will find signposts along the way to keep you focused on learning. There are 18 Learning Goals in this book. They are clearly F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 6 6 stated goals for what you will accomplish in the section that follows. In Part Three, you will also find ways to help yourself and fellow team members achieve these goals. Brainstorming at Work taps your creative ability and shows you how to apply it practically. Professional trainers often ask about "the carry-over effect. They are concerned that will you be able to use what you've learned. In this book, every exercise gives you a product to take back to the workplace. Advanced exercises are included to reinforce your new skills. Your organization may already have a suggestion program in place. Brainstorming at Work will give you tools for developing more, farther reaching ideas. Youll sharpen your creative skills. Whats more, you will learn where to look for ideas that can impact your entire organization. This will help you make suggestions that are more valuable. If you receive awards, this means they will be worth more. It also means you will be a more valuable contributor to your organizations success. Priming the Pump At their very essence, ideas are information. They express concepts for a better way of doing things. You might have heard the phrase creative spark. This can be described as the moment a person combines two or more pieces of information together. The result should be an idea that is new or unique to them. The more fuel you have when that spark sets off, the better. Gather a wide variety of information. Read magazines, visit web sites, listen to the news on the radio. Look into subjects you havent been interested in before. With the explosion of information now available, its just a mouse click or visit to the newsstand away. Read books that are related to your job. Find out what other organizations are doing. Ever wish the place you worked was more like a friends workplace? Pick their brain about how they do things. When you digest this information, think of ways you can adapt it to your shop, office, or organization. The more sticks of information you have to rub together, the better your F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 7 7 chances setting off creative sparks. This book will help you turn those sparks into a warm fire that will burn for a long time. Wild Ideas on the Table To know is nothing: to imagine is everything. Anatole France "Pump basketball shoes." Not long ago, people would have laughed at you for thinking this was a good idea. Now, after millions of pairs sold, you would have been a genius. Even wilder ideas have become a part of everyday life. There was a time when proposing to "project celluloid images" could have landed you in a sanitarium. Today, you'd just go to the movies. Think back 75 years. Who would have thought to "navigate electronic documents?" But the concept gave rise to a new world of communications. Where will the next breakthrough idea come from? Will you think of it? What will inspire you? Appendix C is titled 74 Million Wild Ideas at Your Fingertips. It consists of word tables related to information, hard goods, and powered objects. Choose words from the tables to build new phrases that describe wild ideas. Stuff Youll Need This book will refer to Idea Cards. Youll need a pad of blank sticky notes or similar paper to write down each idea. You could even recycle old sheets of paper by tearing or cutting them up. A flipchart, whiteboard, or bulletin board will be a handy for sorting your ideas and keeping them in order. If all else fails, use a wall or table. One group that used this process sent in pictures of index cards taped to the divider of a hotel conference room. Have a good supply of pens and pencils. If youre not using sticky notes, a roll of clear tape will be needed. The workshop challenges you to look at how to contribute to your organization. Mission and vision statements, core values and philosophy, and strategic or annual plans are helpful. If someone you work with is helping you, they may already have this information. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 8 8 Idea Bank Worksheets Your ideas will develop as you progress. The flash of mental energy you captured on an Idea Card will expand. Use Idea Bank Worksheets as a note taking device. The format compliments questions asked during the books exercises. Use a separate worksheet for each Idea Card. Youll find out more about compiling these worksheets into an Idea Bank in Part Three. For now, think of the Idea Card as your deposits. The Idea Bank Worksheets are statements that show how much your ideas have matured or grown in value. Use the print function in your Adobe Acrobat viewer to print the blank worksheet on pages 78 - 79. To start, make ten copies. There are directions for filling out the worksheet on page 77. You can print more for your personal use at anytime. You will be able to complete the first two Learning Goals before printing these worksheets. Join the Discussion This book is a self-paced learning experience. Youre not in it by yourself, though. The Brainstorming at Work Discussion List is there to help. The list is a moderated e-mail forum for subjects related to this book. Its a place you can go for answers to your questions or advice. Youre invited to subscribe by sending e-mail to: majordomo@brainstormingatwork.com In the body of your message, please type: subscribe baw-l You can visit the Brainstorming at Work web site for more information. Its located at: http://www.BrainstormingAtWork.com F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 9 9 Of course, if this book was passed along to you by a friend or co-worker, you can take advantage of any help they might offer. The checklist that follows will help start putting this book to work for you. Getting Started Checklist The following items will let you get the most from your Brainstorming at Work experience. You just need items 1 through 4 to start with Part One. 1. Supply of sticky notes, index cards, or paper for Idea Cards. 2. Flipchart, whiteboard, bulletin board, or wall to post Idea Cards. 3. Pens, pencils, and other writing instruments. 4. Tape if not using sticky notes. Also hand if sticky stuff wears out. 5. Join the Brainstorming at Work Discussion List. Youre invited to subscribe by sending e-mail to: majordomo@brainstormingatwork.com In the body of your message, please type: subscribe baw-l 6. Information about your organization and workplace. If someone you work with is helping you, they may already have this information. As you progress, you will be able to gather what is needed: a. Mission and Vision Statements b. Core Values and Philosophy c. Strategic or Annual Plans F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 10 10 d. Performance Plans used for your appraisals 7. Gather a wide mix of information that interests you. Magazines, web sites, and books are some sources. 8. Printed copies of Idea Bank Worksheets on pages 78 - 79. When you have items 1 through 4, you will be ready to go Part One. To be part of the discussion, be sure to complete item 5. Good luck and good brainstorming! F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 11 11 PART ONE: The Basics of Innovation If you were a fan of the television series "thirtysomething, you remember two advertising executives named Michael and Elliot. They would sit in their office and shoot ideas for ad campaigns back and forth. As one blurted out a wild, inspired idea, the other came back with an angst-ridden reason why it was bad. Each week, we would be entertained by their often fruitless struggles to be creative. Office politics, family problems and a host of other distractions didn't help. It is no wonder that their own agency went under and they eventually drifted apart. That which is creative must create itself. John Keats This example emphasizes a key to effective brainstorming: keeping idea generation separate from evaluation. Brainstorming is just the beginning. To set your ideas in motion, they need to be developed. Brainstorming at Work uses a continuing process of generating and selecting ideas. This creative cycle has two phases. During the first phase, expansion, ideas are unleashed and developed. The second, contraction, calls on you to use judgement to focus on the best or most relevant ideas. You may already be familiar with a creative problem solving process, which consists of a number of these cycles, each with a unique purpose. In this part, we'll look at four basic steps of the creative cycle: Brainstorming: a disciplined tool to generate ideas. Ground rules provide a structure to maintain focus. Clarifying: providing explanations for ideas to other people. Sorting: random batches of ideas are organized into categories. Selecting; ideas ready for implementation are identified. Along the way, you'll create ideas for real world improvements. When you're working as part of a team, you'll be able to share these ideas and work together on those you have in common. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 12 12 CHAPTER ONE: Brainstorming, Why and How Imagination is the cornerstone of human endeavor. - Alex Osborn In 1941, advertising executive Alex Osborn began looking for ways to draw out ideas, not just from his creative people, but all members of his office staff. He believed that under the right circumstances, anyone can and would enjoy being creative. At the time, this was considered to be a novel idea. He coined the phrase "think up" to describe his process. Osborn authored several books and sparked research into creativity and problem solving. The term "think up" gave way to brainstorming. Today, we know a lot more about why people are creative and how they can maximize their ability, but Osborn's basic principles have endured. Rules of Brainstorming Brainstorming is a tool to generate ideas. People sometimes think this means that anything goes. Creative moments are filled with energy and emotion. Some ground rules are needed to stay focused. The first step is to determine what you are trying to think up. Ask a question that requires a creative answer. Gather a group of people and solicit their input. Following these four rules will maximize your productivity: Evaluate Later Go for Quantity Encourage Wild Ideas Build on Other Ideas Learning Goal #1: Apply the rules of brainstorming and explain why they work. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 13 13 Each of these rules is closely related. Not following one weakens the benefits of following the others. Let's look at each one so you know why they work. Evaluate Later This rule is known by several names, but they all mean the same thing. The place for evaluating ideas is during the contraction phase of your creative cycle. The first benefit of this rule is that you do not have to defend or explain your ideas. Evaluating or explaining can cause distractions that can make it hard to concentrate on generating ideas. All ideas that are proposed are equally valuable at this point. People hold back their ideas if they feel they may be ridiculed. Putting off evaluation is the first step toward the trust and mutual respect that liberates people to speak their minds. This is also important later to give your feedback value and credibility. Go for Quantity Write down or think of just one idea. For the moment, it has been decreed that this is your one great answer to the challenges in your life. Are you ready to stake the course of your destiny on this idea? How many people are you willing to take along for the ride? That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one. Samuel Johnson Thinking of your idea in those terms might have been quite scary. And if you came up with a good one, it would hold up when compared to other ideas. A large quantity of ideas opens up a wide range of possibilities. This quantity has two dimensions: flexibility and fluency 2 . Flexibility is a range of different classes of ideas. Let's say you were brainstorming for frozen items to sell in a store. Our list includes ice cream, waffles, microwave dinners, egg substitutes, concentrated juice, desserts and bread dough. This shows flexibility, or variety of types of products is high.
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E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 14 14 Fluency is a variety of ideas clustered around a common theme. Let's go back to our frozen food section. Our list has several kinds of ice cream on it including Raspberry Ripple Mint, Coconut Fudge, Magic Mocha Creme and Amaretto Mist. The fluency of ice cream related ideas is high. If some of your ideas seem strange, don't worry. It will happen when you follow our next rule. Encourage Wild Ideas Generating a lot of ideas will give you options. You also need to expand the quality of the ideas that are available. By fearlessly expressing yourself, breakthroughs are possible. Some ideas that seem really bogus at the time might also come up. This is where trust and mutual respect are put to the test. Wild ideas will exist at both ends of your qualitive spectrum. Originality is an easy word to throw around, but this is the creative skill that brings forth wild ideas. Management guru Tom Peters advises using hot language: colorful, expressive, irreverent words to describe your ideas 3 . For more about using hot language, see Appendix C. Whether you pick them up in a thesaurus or in the gutter, express yourself with passion and exuberance. For example, look beyond trying to satisfy, or even delight, the customer. Create the idea that can: Amaze the customer with scintillating charm.... Infuse each moment with fervor.... Have them bask in the radiance of a fabulous customer experience..... Leave your customer spellbound in the rapture of spectacular service. Engineering professors Gerald Nadler and Shozo Hibino have studied the methods of naturally effective problem solvers. At the top of their list is the principle of uniqueness. Even those that appear the same occur under their own distinct circumstances 4 . Do not always rely on what worked yesterday. Dare to propose what could work tomorrow. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 15 15 Build on Other Ideas Ideas that are shared during brainstorming can inspire even more ideas. Osborn believed that modifying or combining ideas could lead to new and even better ones. These ideas come from people with the creative skill of elaboration. They are able to expand an idea or take it a new direction. Elaboration may happen spontaneously. You might try painting a more vivid word picture. Add details such as how or where. Another way to elaborate is to put yourself in the place of other people affected by the proposal. What would they like to see? How would they do it? Developing a sense of empathy for stakeholders expands your point of view and the number of ideas you can generate. The lightning spark of thought, generated in the solitary mind, awakens its likeness in another mind. - Thomas Carlyle Combining two ideas that might not seem closely related can produce a better idea. It will certainly yield a wild one. Going back to our frozen food example, who would think to combine eggs and frozen food? But in trying to do so, something healthier was created. Yes, there are frozen egg substitutes. Fluency, frequency, originality and elaboration are skills that you can develop. Following the rules of brainstorming is the way to start. Remember to: Evaluate Later: to establish open communications. Go For Quantity: to maximize choice later on. Encourage Wild Ideas: to maximize creativity. Build on Other Ideas: to unleash all the possibilities. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 16 16 Brainstorming Skills Checklist Like developing your physical ability, there is a wealth of research and exercises to help you. But right now, you have the basics needed to get to work generating ideas. Use this checklist to assess how you're using these skills: 1. How well did I/we avoid evaluating or explaining ideas? (Evaluate Later) 2. How well did I/we think up different topics or broad ideas? (Flexibility) 3. How well did I/we think up variations of a basic topic or idea? (Fluency) 4. How well did I/we think up something we hadn't thought of before? (Originality) 5. How well did I/we express ourselves using new or different words? (Originality) 6. How well did I/we temporarily put aside our prior experiences? (Originality) 7. How well did I/we expand and combine other ideas? (Elaboration) There are a number of brainstorming techniques available. What they all have in common is that they ask a question and give you a way to put your answers in writing. One that you can work on by yourself right now is brainwriting. Brainwriting: The Tool Brainwriting is used by individuals or a group to put ideas in writing. Each person writes their ideas down on index cards, sticky notes or slips of paper. Large groups find it helpful because everyone gets to express their ideas completely and quickly. Individuals can write their ideas down in a private, quiet place and share them later. To use it by yourself is easy: Learning Goal #2: Use the tool of brainwriting to generate ideas. F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 17 17 1. Get a stack of index cards, sticky notes or slips of paper. 2. Pick or be asked a question that requires a new, fresh answer. 3. Sit down, relax and write down every idea on a separate card and initial it. You already know the rules of brainstorming and the skills needed to make them work. Now is your chance to generate some ideas to improve your workplace. Each one will be saved in the Idea Bank you will build. Think of them as nuggets that will eventually accumulate and become very valuable. Brainwriting Exercise For this exercise, write each idea down on a separate card. Please remember to initial them and give each a number. These are your Idea Cards. Later, you will want to cross- reference them with Idea Bank Worksheets. Without this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever come to birth. Carl Jung Tom Peters has noted companies that have reduced defects and mistakes to the point where they are negligible. Reducing the things that go wrong does not ensure satisfaction; it only prevents dissatisfaction. These companies focus on what Peters calls TGR, things gone right 5 . Psychologist Frederick Herzberg put forward a theory of job satisfaction along the same lines. Imagine that your office, company or organization are the best in the world at what they do. What are the things going right? What sets your product or service apart from all others? What makes your shop an outstanding place to work? How do you contribute directly to this success? Write your answers on Idea Cards. Use your Brainwriting Skills Checklist to give yourself some feedback on how you did. Good luck! F r e e
E d | l | o r B BRAINSTORMING AT RAINSTORMING AT W WORK ORK 18 18 More Brainstorming Techniques The brainwriting technique you used is called the slip method. Later on, you can share your ideas by posting them along with those of other people using this handout. During a group session, you can pass slips around so that other people can build on your ideas. There are also brainstorming techniques you can use to share ideas verbally. In the round-robin, each group member takes a turn at proposing an idea. A scribe writes each one down on a flip chart. This continues until the time limit or everyone is out of ideas. It is orderly and brings in all members, but can slow down the flow of ideas. When freewheeling, anyone states an idea when they have it. Ideas flow freely, but if there are dominant people in the group, a few may not participate. Up Until Now.... Youve completed Learning Goals 1 and 2. Congratulations! Youve taken the first steps toward building your Idea Bank and becoming more creative and effective. The 16 Learning Goals that lie ahead will help you explore your ideas and present them to others. So far, we've looked at brainstorming and the reasons why it works. You've had the chance to practice using your skills with a tool called brainwriting. Right now, you have a lot of good ideas, but you might be asking, "What do I do now?" The next step is to make sure that your ideas are understood; you clarify them. F r e e
E d | l | o r About this eBook This eBook is a combination of leading digital technology and the latest revision of some of the most enduring, proven Internet content available. Brainstorming at Work: Originally published online in 1996 as Brainstorming 101, this eBook has earned its place as the Internets most popular Business Creativity workshop. The top ratings and awards include being named to PC World magazines prestigious Best Free Stuff Online list*. Our Global Service Project has put these dynamic creativity tools into the hands of nonprofit organizations and government agencies on six continents. Registered users range from large corporations to small businesses and entrepreneurs in many industries. Updated editions have included suggestions from them based on real world experience. Advances in the eBook arena presented the opportunity for a new personal edition. The Participants Workbook was expanded to include tools and concepts available only to facilitators. There are improved checklists, along with new chapters and appendices. Among them is 74 Million Wild Ideas at Your Fingertips, a powerful creativity tool in its own right consisting of extensive word tables for generating ideas. Along with these updates comes a new title. Brainstorming at Work: Creativity and Innovation in Motion continues to combine classic techniques with contemporary management thought. The result is a challenging, rewarding learning experience that gives you the tools and skills needed to create real world ideas for the workplace. Conceived and developed for the Internet, you are reading a proven, high quality work that embodies the eBook concept to the fullest. It also remains true to Alex Osborns original belief that anyone can be empowered to be creative at work. Find out more on the web at: http://www.brainstormingatwork.com/ Get the Full Edition eBook, only $3.95! Click here to order the Full Edition! Brainstorming at Work: Creativity and Innovation in Motion is the latest edition of the Internets most popular Business Creativity workshop. It doesn't matter if you're part of a small business, a large corporation, a government agency, or a nonprofit group. Brainstorming at Work can help you be more creative and effective. This eBook is a unique combination of classic brainstorming techniques and modern management thinking. The result is a dynamic learning experience. You will be creating real world ideas starting with the first exercise. With improved checklists and new chapters, this eBook is available in Secure PDF for Windows and Mac computers. Your unlocked copy includes 74 Million Wild Ideas at Your Fingertips, a powerful creativity tool with extensive word tables for generating ideas. You can download the complete version of Brainstorming at Work to your computer for only $3.95*. You will be able to read and print Checklists, Exercises, Idea Bank Worksheets, plus every Chapter and Appendix. Click here to order the Full Edition! *Publishers price as of August 2001. F r e e
E d | l | o r Copyright 2001 by Brainstorming at Work. All rights reserved. This eBook is formatted for printing in Letter format, 8 by 11 inches. Visit the Brainstorming at Work web site for availability of this eBook in Metric format. The site is at: www.BrainstormingAtWork.com