How to have ideas as a group (without brainstorming)

You need to break up with brainstorming

We know you have intense feelings about brainstorming. But it’s time to pursue better options. Our clients have felt charged with inspiration, since we traded up from fusty brainstorming to a set of structured, creative exercises. Download our five rules for thinking as a group.

Here’s a teaser of what’s inside:

Falling in love with the problem

We still carry prehistoric brains in our skulls: brains geared to spot threats in dark caves and tall grass. So problems shout louder than solutions. And questions spring to mind before answers. You can use the ancient part of our brains to get the whole room talking.

Thinking inside the box

There are cliches about creativity: that you want to find blue sky, start with a blank page, punch your way out of the box. And we understand the appeal of all that freedom. But all that open space comes with a quiet concern: ‘If you can suggest anything, how do you know if what you’re suggesting is relevant?’ We rely on boxes to order our thoughts.

Having fun (it gets results)

You do your best thinking when you’re smiling. We didn’t need scientists to tell us that – but we’re jolly glad they did.