Don Resh asked:
Brainstorming is all about ideas. It’s about setting off a bumper crop of visions, options, and inspirations. From these, you will be able to select that first-class, unbeatable “miracle thought”… the one that has been all that you wanted and needed it to be for your successful business. This exceptional idea perhaps will be THE solution to your dreams for future success!
Brainstorming is a creativity system for generating ideas for solving a problem. The highest result of a brainstorm session may be the above-mentioned COMPLETE solution to your problem. Or it may result in a list of ideas for tactics for a solution somewhere down the road. It may even result in a checklist for the formation of a plan to research and build a solution.
A simple brainstorming session can speedily kick-start your inventiveness and help you to stimulate ideas at a rapid rate. If you can only imagine something, brainstorming can always expand on it and perfect it. Always start by priming yourself for any session of brainstorming. Do a bit of research into your brainstorming topic. This will heighten your creativity think-cap.
You can brainstorm either individually or in a group. With group brainstorming, the participants are encouraged, and often expected, to let the others in on their ideas as soon as they are generated. The secret to brainstorming is to not disturb the thought process. As ideas come to mind, they are captured in written form, which will eventually provide the “history” of the session, and the stimulation for the development of better ideas.
There is a focus on quantity of ideas — The more ideas that are generated, the greater the chance of turning out a radical and effective solution. Group members initially focus on extending or adding to the ideas, but they reserve criticism for a later “critical stage.” By postponing judgment, you allow a supportive atmosphere where members feel liberated for generating unusual ideas.
To get a good and long list of ideas, of course it is the unusual ideas that are particularly welcomed. These may open novel ways of thinking and present better solutions than “regular ideas.” Atypical ideas can be generated by getting a glimpse from another perspective, or simply by setting aside one’s assumptions. If an idea is too “wild” to be practicable, it can be tamed down to a more fitting idea with more ease than thinking up yet another new idea.
There appears to be a common notion that creating ideas is a difficult undertaking. Many people seem to think that creativity is a mystical art, known only to a privileged “chosen few,” and that such “thinking outside the box” takes years of tormented study to learn this skill. Clear all doubt from your mind, as this is just simply not true! Creativity is simple. We would even say it is painless and comfortable. Anybody can learn to think creatively. Anyone at all can come up with extraordinary, original ideas. We all were literally born to brainstorm!
Idea generation is a cognitive process — The ability to make spontaneous connections between ideas or concepts is what brainstorming is all about. Every idea leads directly to the next, with no pauses for thoughts or examination. This, in fact, is what is behind the workings of the original, icon-based Macintosh computer (NOT the PC… icons came later for PC, after the success by Macintosh} where the brain sees one picture (icon) and automatically connects that to another concept… and you, the user go: Click! There is no prearranged order to this — ideas should flow randomly, without any attempt to organize or structure them.
Below is a sample collection of the multitude of things that brainstorming can be applied to:
– Creative projects — fine art, commercial art, inspiration for media projects,Web projects, multimedia, performance-based art
– Creative writing tasks — stories, books, scripts, articles
– Business ideas — new businesses, new products, new markets for existing products, methods for adapting existing products, advertising campaigns, marketing and promotional, sales force motivation
– Business names — find the supreme, extreme name for your next profit-pulling venture
– Scientific or technical research — win that grant or publish that novel! “A-Ha!” and “Eureka” ideas instigated most of the greatest scientific discoveries
Although the main purpose of brainstorming is to generate ideas, there are additional benefits:
– Improves creative thinking — members learn to move toward problems creatively and use association in the idea-making process, which becomes a skill they can use after the session, in their own lives
– Improves morale — participants work collaboratively to find a solution to a problem and every member is encouraged to take initiative. The “self-worth” value is immense
– Enjoyment — members usually like the interactive element of this creative atmosphere
The second you sit down to “make” yourself be creative, you probably will find that your brain goes into lockdown! Nothing in, nothing out. Zilch. Nada. That’s because there is no such thing as “forced creativity.” The best way to allow your mind to form ideas is when you are busy doing something else. Your brain goes into free flow; the doors are wide open for thoughts to enter in.
The human brain has an immense capacity — But the majority of it remains untapped in day by day life. In essence, the more you practice brainstorming, the simpler it will become to open up new, more ingenious and spontaneous patterns of thought. Are you beginning to visualize what these concepts can do for you, the Internet marketer? This will help immensely for:
– Never being stuck for a memorable, new idea
– Creating your best catchy marketing concept
– Sailing effortlessly toward the “solution of the riddle”
– Finding successful marketing concepts that are faithful to your brand and to the nature of your unique business
The knack to brainstorming is to nudge your brain into working FOR you and not against you! On a personal level, you may become your own best friend — but in your business, you will become your own best ally!