The Creative Thinking Handbook by Griffiths Chris;Costi Melina;Medlicott Caragh;

Author:Griffiths, Chris;Costi, Melina;Medlicott, Caragh;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kogan Page, Limited
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The final stage is to draw everyone together in a large group to gather all their thoughts, discuss the masses of ideas generated and create a conclusive record of ideas. This is best carried out by the facilitator taking one idea serially from each person/group, putting all the ideas on a common document, either on a whiteboard, flipchart or on screen, and then giving equal time to talk about each idea (Delbecq, Van de Ven and Gustafson, 1986). A helpful option is to record ideas in the form of a diagram or Mind Map (instead of a list), which is effective for structuring ideas and clustering them into themes using colours and codes (Buzan and Griffiths, 2010).

Working around the room, the facilitator extracts all the ideas from the group one by one – the good, the bad and the average. The purpose of doing this is to start off on an equal playing field. If similar ideas are expressed, these can be grouped together. All contributions are valuable, so be sure to thank everyone and show appreciation for their input, whether the idea was an original or a duplicate.

Once all ideas have been shared, the facilitator guides the group into a discussion to clarify, develop and build on each idea, preventing people from interrupting each other and refocusing the group when the conversation gets diverted. Make it clear that this is a group effort by consistently using the term ‘we’. Now this is important – all ideas should be supported and taken on board by the other members, even the ideas that seem weak, absurd or irrelevant. Remember, bad ideas can very easily be stepping stones to good ideas.

Working collectively, everyone (including the quietest members) should be encouraged to rephrase, combine and refine ideas or springboard off existing ideas to create new ones. If connections between ideas aren’t clear, then make some! Produce variation by introducing some of the tools provided in Chapter 8 – reverse the challenge to explore it from its opposite angle, ask ‘What if?’ or abstract the problem using metaphors and analogies. Don’t evaluate or judge ideas. The purpose of this phase is to consolidate ideas and make constructive suggestions for improvement without passing a final vote on the best ones. Save all that judging for later, preferably in a separate meeting. The final document or idea board then becomes the external reflection, the ‘hard copy’ record of the brainstorming session. Post it up on the wall to provide inspiration and input for the next phase of problem solving.

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