Nothing like a Springtime Storm for Clearing the Brain

How do you brainstorm?

It is basically dumping out and recording thoughts, ideas, and feelings. It may seem counter intuitive, but the quickest way to clearer thinking is to just dump everything out. No matter how chaotic is seems. Believe it or not, brainstorming is an organized approach to collecting disjointed thoughts and ideas to find clarity and meaning. 

What is Brainstorming?

Have you ever had one of those problems that you just can’t figure out, or a project that seems to be stuck, or an idea that you want to flush out more fully. Then you’re probably due for a “brainstorm”.  Just like those springtime storms that can be full of chaos and tumult, afterwards everything is fresh and clean, the air is crisper and the world seems to be more alive. 

Brainstorming can be fun and productive, but more importantly it is a great way to clear your thinking and organize your thoughts. It can often be the precursor to solving a problem, planning an activity, or strengthening a team. It can bring a new perspective to the world, just like a springtime storm lets us see the world anew in a fresh energized way. For an 

individual it can be refreshing, renewing, and liberating. For a group, it can be enlightening, energizing, and synergistic.

What do you do with the “chaotic dump”?

1. Start with a question. It can be any question. What are our core values? What are the obstacles preventing us from growing beyond our current market? What best describes a successful employee for this position? What symbol embodies who we are, what we do, and how we do it? The more focused the question the better. If you don’t know what the question is, maybe that is the brainstorm question. What questions should we be asking ourselves? Questions that can be answered in 1 to 3 word statements.
   
2. Set a specific amount of time. 45 minutes to an hour is usually about the right time frame. If you don’t provide enough time for the brainstorm, you may miss out on a lightning strike or that tornado touching down right in the middle of your problems root cause.
   
3. Have a way to record the dump. A visual way to capture and present it is best, especially in a group. What good is it to dump all the ideas out and then not have a way to sift through them? As you are sifting through all of the ideas, you may find patterns that will allow you to predict when future storms may come, or better yet, this storm might just provide the much needed rain for that budding idea or solution that hasn’t yet sprouted.
   
4. DO NOT let any criticism or negativity occur during the brainstorming. Yes, some ideas may seem silly, but once you start criticizing you stem the flow of ideas and stifle the energy and synergy that the process is designed to create. Besides, you will deal with the silly ideas later. The purpose is to let the mental storm rage and dump as much as possible. One silly idea may trigger, through a chain reaction like a lightning strike, that perfect idea. 
   

In a group it is a good practice to have a facilitator who is not part of the brainstorm, but rather they are the time keeper, recorder (you may need more than one person for this), and arbiter. The arbiter is the one who prevents any negativity. It is crucial that no negativity is allowed, if you want to have a successful brainstorm. 

Once you have completed the process. Go back through the results and look for the patterns and thoughts that answer or clarify the question.  Look to see if you can find any torrential rains that help to wash away any stagnation that may be preventing you from your next big idea. Or a lightning strike that may be able to energize a team to action. You may find the root cause of a problem in what was a tornado of ideas. There may have been a gentle rain of ideas that help to nourish into full blossom what may have just been a budding idea.

How often, should you brainstorm?

Once you have completed the process. Go back through the results and look for the patterns and thoughts that answer or clarify the question.  Look to see if you can find any torrential rains that help to wash away any stagnation that may be preventing you from your next big idea. Or a lightning strike that may be able to energize a team to action. You may find the root cause of a problem in what was a tornado of ideas. There may have been a gentle rain of ideas that help to nourish into full blossom what may have just been a budding idea. 

How often should you brainstorm?

As often as you need to. As the seasons change with professional, social, and physical life you may find it appropriate to usher them in with a brainstorm to help you find the best approach to the myriad of problems, ideas, and engagements that you encounter. The key is to pull out of the brainstorming what is useful and then to use it. Keep the brainstorm dumps for future consideration, review them regularly as you may begin to see patterns emerge that will help to accelerate the process in the future or in some cases skip it and get right to the solution or next great idea. 

As the weather changes, and it always does, keep in mind that a little brainstorm now and then can do a lot of good. Happy brainstorming.