Brainstorming is fun, social and is a great way to generate new ideas and solutions.
It is also an underrated way for any emerging leader to build interest and engagement in a problem, opportunity or issue.
But.
And this is a big but.
Brainstorming takes a long time to organise and run.
You typically have to invite a large group of people and try and get into everyone’s diary.
This is no mean feat and then you have to book a room, venue or location.
This all takes time and effort.
Not to mention actually running the session which can take a couple of hours.
But what if you need a new idea or solution in a hurry?
In these circumstances managers and emerging or future leaders that i have spoken to tend to follow two strategies:
1. Try and generate some new ideas themselves.
This is a valid approach but many people do not trust their own ideas (unfortunately).
2. Bounce off their ideas with a few colleagues
Again this is a sensible and valid approach.
The problem however is that the loudest people can dominate and there is often only a few ideas or solutions considered.
We need a 3rd approach.
It’s called Ideas Blitz.
This is a tool that you can use by yourself or with a colleague or a small team.
It only takes a few minutes (i.e. from 2 to 15 minutes).
And it generates lots of different ideas very quickly.
How?
Because with an Ideas Blitz each person tries to generate 9 ideas in 2 minutes. This means that with say 4 people you might start with over 30 ideas!
The other advantage of starting with the individual is that the extroverts do not nominate.
So if you enjoy brainstorming but don’t have the time why not try calling an Ideas Blitz instead.
It represents a middle ground between a formal meeting or brainstorming session and a spontaneous conversation.
In a time-poor world it is the ideal way to optimise your creativity and productivity.