{"id":4573,"date":"2015-11-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teambuildingasia.netagedev.co.za\/resources\/how-to-achieve-better-brainstorming\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T17:51:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:51:02","slug":"how-to-achieve-better-brainstorming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teambuildingasia.com\/resources\/how-to-achieve-better-brainstorming","title":{"rendered":"How to achieve better brainstorming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In 1948, real life Mad man Alex Osborn partner of advertising agency B.B.D.O, wrote the pop-science book \u2018Your Creative Power\u2019 which became a runaway best-seller. \u2018Your Creative Power\u2019 promised to double an individual\u2019s creative output and guaranteed career success. Chapter 33 \u2018How to Organize a Squad to Create Ideas\u2019 is where he coined the term \u2018brainstorming\u2019 a meeting between team members ‘storming’ a problem with their combined brains. Osborn formulated a series of rules to protect the \u2018delicate flower of creativity\u2019 and produce a large quantity of ideas.<\/p>\n

These rules have persevered over 7 decades despite nearly 60 years of research disproving their effectiveness. So what are the particular rules developed by Osborn and why are they inhibiting the brainstorming process from reaching its promised potential. And more importantly how can they be fixed?<\/p>\n

1. Groups will come up with more, better quality ideas than individuals<\/h2>\n

The basis of Osborn\u2019s conception of brainstorming is that groups will always be more creative than individuals. With the division of labour and increasing specialization in the workplace, there undoubtedly needs to be dialogue between different members of your team. But is \u2018brainstorming\u2019 the best way to do it?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn his book <\/em>Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration<\/em>, professor Keith Sawyer <\/em>recounts a Yale study<\/a> <\/em>conducted by Osborn in 1958. Male students were broken into groups and given several creative puzzles to solve. As a control, Osborn asked the same number of students to work on the puzzles by themselves. The students working alone came up with <\/em>two times<\/em> as many solutions as the groups did, and the solo students\u2019 solutions were rated as more \u201cfeasible\u201d and \u201ceffective\u201d by an independent panel of judges.\u201d \u2013 Bailis 2014<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Osborns Yale study demonstrates that people imagining independently are more creative and rational than groups? While brainstorming is great for combining team members with difference specialities it, unfortunately, encourages a few negative social processes that occur when groups work together. In particular:<\/p>\n