Brainstorming: The Benefits and Drawbacks

February 18, 2020

 An examination of the benefits and drawbacks of brainstorming as a means of idea generation.


New, innovative, and constructive ideas are important for the success of every organisation. Among the numerous exercises for generating ideas is, most notably, brainstorming.Typically, brainstorming is a facilitated group exercise that focuses on coming up with ideas, selecting what are perceived to be the best of those ideas, and then developing the ideas into a concept, campaign, event, or product. In bringing together a diverse group of people with a variety of experiences and a common goal, brainstorming might seem like a productive operation. However, evidence of its success in producing quality ideas suggests otherwise, because what is required from brainstorming is at odds with many of the dynamics that govern the behaviour of a group. Bringing a group together, regardless of its intention, is far more likely to encourage, first and foremost, group behaviours. These include conformity, social loafing, and competition. Conditions that have the potential to result in paranoia, shyness, and fear of being evaluated rather than promoting the relaxed informal environment necessary for encouraging creativity and innovative thinking. Consensus becomes a favoured outcome, and the larger the group the greater the propensity for groupthink.

Brainstorming: The Benefits and Drawbacks

Brainstorming can be productive when the exercise or desired outcomes are, in effect, constrained:

 - When goals are few and very clear, when groups are smaller and more intimate, when individuals are more comfortable with each other, and are not striving for consensus.

   - When ideas that have already been chosen for development through a more creative process, possibly in a series of one-to-one scenarios, are to be explored in a specific, expert, or technical way.

   - When tactics for manufacturing dissent are employed by the facilitator to break groupthink in a case where key decisions are to be made.

   - When people who may have been inspired during a session, but are unwilling to share their thoughts, can be de-briefed post hoc by a facilitator.

   - When the session is treated primarily as a motivational exercise, so that any innovative ideas that emerge are a bonus.

Tapping into the rich resources and capabilities of the individuals in an organisation is crucial for motivating and getting the most out of people, as well as for the success of a smart organisation. An organisational structure with clearly open lines of communication that encourages people to express themselves, while also incorporating a means for seeking out, encouraging, and acting on feedback goes a long way to achieving this. While brainstorming sessions are no longer in the greatest favour, they are still a valuable vehicle for bringing people together and that has many benefits for any organisation. Our advice is to complement any brainstorming sessions with defined structures and processes in order to maximise effectiveness and efficiency.


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