Brooke Hill: Want better brainstorms? Try this.

By Brooke Hill, Founder, Wonderthink

 

You’re in a brainstorm. It’s the usual: a group of busy people gather in a room or on a video call, someone reads out the brief. A few familiar voices dominate, everyone tries to be clever on command. Half the people just want it over with, half are just waiting for their turn to speak. The result? The safest ideas rise to the top, and everyone walks out feeling… flat.

You’ve been there, right? And you’ve felt the energy ebb; curiosity squashed, and optimism eeked away. It feels like creative solutions are just solutions – there’s no creativity in them at all.

And you’re not alone. Only 22% of people said their organisation is ‘very successful’ at identifying creative solutions to business problems in a Harvard Study. In Australia, according to Gartner, the percentage of employees who feel their workplace fosters innovation fell from an already low 24.5% to just 14% in just three years.

The good news? There are simple ways to make brainstorms better – and get better ideas – and the answer has been right under our noses.

Here’s the missing ingredient from your brainstorms

Wonder.

It’s not a word you hear bandied about in most workplaces. It sounds too ambiguous, too amorphous, too… fluffy. It can’t be KPI’d and it definitely can’t be project-managed.

But it’s an ingredient that’s missing from most workplaces.

And what is wonder, exactly?

Wonder is best defined as that combination of awe and curiosity, with a sprinkling of optimism thrown in.

Let’s break that down, and you can see how it can absolutely apply to the workplace.

Fill your team up on awe

In his book Awe: The Transformatory Power of Wonder, the social researcher Dacher Keltner says, ‘Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world,’ he explains.

If we want to come up with new ideas, we need to load up on experiences that challenge our current world view.

And that means building in time for teams to have those new experiences.

It could be as grand as a corporate retreat somewhere truly awe-inspiring, so the team can have creative fuel for months to come (we do this at Wonderthink). Or it could be as simple as taking a walk together somewhere new – Elizabeth Gilbert, Oprah Winfrey and Dacher Keltner are all huge proponents of this as a creative exercise (and if it works for them…). The point is, when we see or experience something different, it rewires our brain – and creates space for new ideas to drop in.

Start with curiosity

Brainstorms usually jump straight into problem-solving mode, with little or no time to actually question the problem that’s being solved. Instead, carve out time for interrogation, for asking, ‘Why’?

To spark wonder and explore possibilities, use the method first developed by Japanese inventor Sakichi Toyoda for Toyota. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. You start by asking ‘why’ and then you keep asking it until you get to the root cause of the problem.

Why…?

Why…?

Why…?

Why…?

Why…?

If you’re feeling awkward, channel your inner three year old. (‘But why, Mum?’) Don’t be tempted to skip out of the why loop early – you never know where that final why will take you.

Keep the optimism high

If you’re the leader or facilitator, you need to keep that energy high. One of the best ways to do this is through play. The beauty of play, is that it’s proven to boost creativity.

A study at Lund University in Sweden ran a number of experiments with organisational teams, enlisting them to do all sorts of playful activities – from small play cues to participating in improv theatre – and found creativity scores significantly improved.

So what are some (actually fun) ways to introduce play into a brainstorm?

Here are some for starters:

–       Play ‘snap’ as a warm-up to a brainstorm. It gets the adrenaline pumping, it’s a fantastic equaliser and everyone knows how to play.
–       Bring LEGO to the office. Or try a marble run.
–       Fidgets aren’t just for kids. They’re cheap and fun and for the neurodiverse can sometimes be a life ring.
–       See how you can gamify a workshop. Set little mini competitive challenges, with childhood snacks (Smarties, Haribo, etc.) as rewards.
–       Bring a hit of nostalgia to your next meeting. Research has proven that nostalgic memories make people feel more creative – so this is your permission to play your 90s or 2000s songs, to bring in your favourite childhood toys or books.

Remember the most powerful phrase: ‘I wonder…’

Sometimes the most obvious phrase is the most powerful. Try using the phrase,

“I wonder…”

It’s expansive, inviting, and brings the conversation into more strategic and creative territory.

Instead of ‘Give me 10 ideas on how to sell our new product’ or ‘What can we do about…’, try, ‘I wonder…’

‘I wonder how we might connect better with our customers?’

‘I wonder if we tried…’

‘I wonder when we might…’

‘I wonder what would happen if…’

‘I wonder why…’

The problem with brainstorms isn’t that people are short on creativity. It’s that we’re asking them to generate fresh ideas in environments that don’t allow for awe, curiosity, optimism – and wonder.

So next time you run a brainstorm, consider the role that wonder can play. I wonder if you will?

Brooke Hill is the founder of award-winning content agency Wonderthink and author of Spark Wonder at Work, helping leaders and teams use wonder as a catalyst for curiosity, creativity, and better work.

 

Register for FREE HERE and receive the Campaign Brief Daily Bulletin and/or the global Best Ads Best of the Week Bulletin.              Subscribe to Campaign Brief Magazine.

#More Creative News   #No paywalls   #No annual membership fees

Subscribe to Portfolio & Reel for current listings of Australian and NZ ad agency and production company leadership and key personnel.