Brainstorming Activity

Brainstorming
Group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.

Alex F. Osborn, 1953, Applied Imagination

Gained Popularity
Brainstorming gained popularity because it is a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. Some of these ideas can be creative solutions to a problem while others can spark even more ideas. Most importantly, it helps to get people unstuck by pulling them out of their normal ways of thinking.

Criticism
Critics have argued that group brainstorming simply does not generate as much productivity and creativity as individual work does. Alternatives have been suggested such as online brainstorming, brain swarming, brainsteering, etc.

Check these articles out at Harvard Business Review (https://hbr.org/)

https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-group-brainstorming-is-a-waste-of-time

https://hbr.org/video/3373616535001/brainswarming-because-brainstorming-doesnt-work

Advocates
Brainstorming is a skill that needs to be developed. Experts say that facilitated brainstorming does generate higher creativity than individual brainstorming. Most importantly, Brainstorming brings people together.

Check this article out at Mckinsey & Company

http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/seven-steps-to-better-brainstorming

Is This Your Group?
People in a group passively sit around a table and make a list of new ideas. During the session, they might talk about crazy ideas, but at the end of session, the group get back to “real work” and “repeat” the routines.

Automated Thinking Process
You have developed memory muscle over the course of your life. The brain acts very fast to help you solve problems in a way you have always done. You are accustomed to traditional way of thinking and behaviour.

This prevents you from thinking spontaneously and finding creative solutions.

Game: Shout a Wrong Name
Recognize our own behaviours such as "over-evaluating" and "over-analyzing" that limit our creativity and prevent us from thinking spontaneously. It might take some time to train your brain to think in new ways and break your own habits in thinking. But, this will surely help you be more genuine and authentic idea generators in a group.
 * 1) Stand up
 * 2) Look around you
 * 3) Point at different things in your environment
 * 4) Shout out loud anything but what you are pointing at
 * 5) Shouting is important (Loudly and proudly call them different than what they are!)
 * 6) After the first round, group members can have a quick debrief. (Do they recognize their own behaviour such as "stockpiling" the names of objects or creating "patterns" of the names in order to win this game?)
 * 7) Remind this game is all about Being Wrong and allow your brain to be relaxed and look at things in a different way.
 * 8) Repeat the game one more time