Brainstorming is dead – here’s how to generate your best ideas

Have you ever been in a magical brainstorming session? Me neither.

Depending on who’s invited, a typical brainstorming session may consist of throat-clearing, eye-rolling, and apathy. And there’s very little magic involved unless someone brought Homer Simpson-like donuts with sprinkles.

There’s nothing magical about watching the person with the loudest voice dominate the conversation. 

There’s, likewise, nothing magical about being afraid to speak up in a room full of higher-ups because your anxiety won’t let you just be great. 

Or finally finding the courage to present your simple (but possibly brilliant) idea to the group, only for someone else to start talking just as you open your mouth to speak, making you lose your train of thought and will to participate. 

This is why you’ve likely never been to a magical brainstorming session. They simply don’t exist.

Today I learned the hard truth that brainstorming isn’t the only way to source great ideas to solve tough problems. And that there’s actually an even better technique you can use to generate ideas, with the help of Acclaim Ideas. 

Ready to learn how?

Why group brainstorming doesn’t always work

First, a quick definition to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Brainstorming is a problem-solving technique where a group of people comes together to generate ideas.

The goal is to encourage free thinking and open discussion, and to create more ideas by building on what others have suggested. In theory, no idea is considered too outlandish. In theory.

This technique was first developed by marketer Alex Osborn in the 1940s. In the decades that have followed, brainstorming has become the go-to method for stimulating creativity in organizational settings.

However, evidence indicates that brainstorming may actually harm creative performance rather than build synergy.

A comprehensive study of over 800 teams found that individuals are more likely to produce original ideas when they work alone.  

So, why isn’t group brainstorming as effective as working solo?

Researchers have discovered six main problems with brainstorming:

1. Social loafing (a.k.a. "Going-with-the-flow" syndrome): When we're in a team setting, we don't always put 100% effort into it. We tend to coast along and think that others will pick up the slack.
2. Group-produced social anxiety: We’ve all secretly worried about others’ perceptions of us, especially when it comes to the exchange of raw ideas. “What will they think of my idea? Does it sound stupid? Will I look stupid?” Those nagging fears are enough to shut our mouths during a brainstorming session and force us not to step out of the box.
3. Regression to the mean: This is a fancy way of saying, "Don't outshine the rest." This often happens when you're in a group with folks who might not be on the same page as you. So, what do you do? You adjust your vibe to blend in. You don’t want to be the odd one out.
4. Idea blocking: When everyone's sharing their thoughts in a group setting, only one idea can be considered at a time. Not only does this slow down the flow of ideas, but focusing on others’ ideas can also derail your own creativity and train of thought.
5. First idea bias: Ever notice how the first idea someone throws out kind of sets the tone for the whole brainstorming sesh? It's like everyone else's ideas start to orbit around that first one. This is a common issue with group brainstorming.
6. The "Who shouts the loudest" rule: Unfortunately, in typical brainstorming sessions, it's often the loudest folks who get their ideas across. This means the quiet geniuses among us might not get heard.

While brainstorming can provide a sense of inclusion in the ideation process, it rarely results in the highest quality or most diverse set of ideas. 

So, what’s the alternative?

Brainwriting: The alternative to brainstorming

Brainwriting is an alternative to traditional brainstorming where, instead of openly shouting out ideas in a group, each participant writes down their ideas independently and at their own pace. This allows for a more structured, inclusive approach to idea generation.
After a set amount of time, everyone's ideas are then collected and shared with the group. From there, team leads can build upon, combine, or refine others' ideas. This process can be repeated in several rounds to further develop the ideas.

The primary advantage of brainwriting is that it minimizes those common group brainstorming issues that I mentioned earlier, like anxiety and social loafing. This way, everyone's voice gets heard and the team receives a kaleidoscope of ideas. 

Sounds magical, don’t you think?

How to do brainwriting

Brainwriting sessions can be as simple as just writing ideas down on a piece of paper and sharing them verbally with the group. Or they can be a lot more streamlined and sophisticated with the use of idea-capturing and sharing tools like Acclaim Ideas. 

Acclaim Ideas gives you a shared space where everyone can submit and access their ideas digitally. All ideas are then stored in one central place that everyone can access. 

That way, your team can submit ideas as and when they get that lightbulb moment (no need to wait for a brainstorming or brainwriting session), and there’s no cap on the number of ideas they can submit. 

The best part is, users can then score and give feedback on each other’s ideas digitally and in their own time. 

So you see, Acclaim Ideas gives organizations a smarter way to brainstorm ideas and collaborate with each other. And there’s no risk of talking over each other or limiting the ideas you receive.