3 Lessons from Neuroscience to get Breakthrough Solutions from your Brainstorming Sessions

The brief for a new project is in and your team is gathered for a brainstorming session. Everyone puts their thinking caps on and the idea free flow begins. After two hours of caffeine and cold pizza, someone comes up with a brilliant suggestion. The team loves it and you all work out who needs to do what to make it happen. That’s how brainstorming works for you too, right? Easy, creative, with breakthrough ideas? No? I didn’t think so because brainstorming seldom works as advertised. What you may have found rather is that you end up with compromised solutions. Perhaps louder members of the team drown out the introverts. Some participants free ride or refuse to offer ideas to avoid criticism. Others feel they are too junior to participate meaningfully. Perhaps the team leader already knows exactly what 

she wants to do and so steers the team towards her idea. I bet you can add your own brainstorming blues here. If you already know the issues then skip over to the solution on the next page.

Here’s the other tried and tested trouble with all of this. I’m sure you’ll recognise a few.

• Not everyone has a good grasp of the problem to be solved and history of the issue. Has everyone read the brief?
• Volume and not quality of ideas is encouraged in traditional brainstorming. This wastes mental energy and time.
• In bigger groups, team members have to wait their turn to share their ideas, sometimes those ideas get lost in the process.
• Very strong ideas can get diluted down.
• Not being allowed to criticise and wanting to blend all the ‘best’ ideas tends to create compromised solutions.
• Nobody is responsible for coming up with a breakthrough solution and so free-riding is encouraged.
• Personal investment in the process can be low and rewards, if any, go to the group.

Traditional brainstorming can be like mixing all the colours on a colour palette together. No matter what colours you start with, you will always end up with brown. Mud brown. 

Better Brainstorming for Breakthroughs

Neuroscience knows that there are better ways to induce creativity. Even trying one of them will yield noticeable results. Ready?

1. Prepare for the storm

If someone has ever demanded creativity from you on the spot, you will know how hard it can be. This is usually what’s required of us in a brainstorming session. 

Participants are seldom expected to prepare for a brainstorming session. But imagine if they did? Asking each participant to think of, or investigate, their own best suggestion before coming to the session will vastly improve the quality of the ideas presented. Now nobody can eat the free pizza without offering a good idea in return. Better still, unfeasible ideas will not make it through the door. Each participant should share their own idea before the free flow of ideas begins, so no idea or person is drowned out.

2. Warm up mental muscles

Are you looking for creative solutions? A little innovative thinking or inspired problem solving? Luring someone away from their desk and then expecting genius ideas on the spot defies the laws our brains are subject to. In order to make new mental connections, the frequency that the brain operates at has to be lowered. Some relaxation or interesting stimuli should do the trick.  So, to coax the brain into a creative frame of mind, try some of the following;

Improvisation

Display unusual or interesting items or photos.  Let each person pick one and suggest an unusual use for it. - 1 min per person. (I had a colleague who used to bring in a rubber chicken, you know, the kind that has just been plucked and is ready for the pot.)

Disruptive thinking

Prepare a list of products, services or practices that the company or group already offers. Ask participants how they would improve upon it if they had a generous budget. 

Fames and biases

Ask individuals to identify a piece of conventional wisdom that is used in the office, city, country, society etc, and then how it could be challenged. 

3. Think up a storm

Of course, you can get straight down to business as you usually do. But the 5 to 10 minutes you invest in mental preparation will vastly improve the quality of your brain storming session. Now the group is ready to be productive.

Here are some tips to extract maximum value and creativity from the group. 

Keep the group as small as possible.

Put everyone on the same page.

Assume nothing. Ask for ideas about what caused the problem or led to the need to brainstorm. This will set the scene and make sure that everybody knows exactly what he or she is there to do. Write up different suggestions and notice how many you receive. Clarify and correct wayward ideas and faulty thinking. Note any ideas that are new and sensible. 

Provoke 

Look for loose associations that can contribute lateral thoughts. Naming a new trendy shoe? How about exploring the names of hip or upcoming neighbourhoods in your target market. An energy drink? How about popular trends in action movies? My dad is an undertaker who is forever looking to improve the quality and range of services that he offers. He visits biker clubs and extreme sports groups along with medical associations   and frail care centres to gather information on how to improve his offerings and best meet the needs of his clients in unique ways. Yea, he’s very cool, for an undertaker.

Kick conventional wisdom 

Challenge comfort zone thinking with some provocative questions: 

• What frame we are currently using?
• This issue can be reframed as ... 
• Are we solving the right problem?
• How do I/we feel about this?
• What do I/we believe but cannot prove?
• What conventional wisdom are we using
• What is the current status quo?
• What would shatter this status quo?
• Are we asking the right questions?
• What if our success was guaranteed? 

Shy team members? Play card games

Ask for ideas and solutions, which would ordinarily be spoken, to be written on cards instead, anonymously. Group the cards into similar themes.  

Remember that brainstorming is a process to generate ideas that lead to solutions. It’s not meant to generate the final solution. For that you need a more structured and analytical process.

Found these useful? Like my FB page here for more brain games over the next few weeks. 

What your child learns before going to kindergarten has the greatest impact on his intelligence in later life.

Everyone’s intellectual potential is set in infancy, at home, before they even get to school. Do you know how to build your baby’s brain during the most crucial period of cognitive development?

Here are some tips from the Raising Thinkers Series out in December 2014.

The day your baby was born, his brain was already packed with almost all of the neurons (brain cells) he would need for life. More than 100 billion - 3 times as many stars as there are in the milky way.  Even though the neurons of the brain already exist at birth, those that control higher order thinking, language and abstract thought as well as emotional regulation, can’t grow and develop till they are actually put into use. Neurons are activated through stimulation from the environment after birth. So, no matter how much Mozart you consumed during your pregnancy, your baby will recognise your voice, and little else when he is born. But then the fun begins. 

Once out of the murky, calm womb up to 2 million synapses per second fire through your baby’s mental circuits, in response to their young brain’s experiences.  A synapse is a connection between two brain cells. The more often a connection is used, the more stable it becomes. These connections eventually form memories, which is how we all learn. 

 “The growth in each region of the brain depends on receiving stimulation in that particular area.” - Child Welfare Information Gateway

The number of connections between neurons also determines the brain’s physical growth and intelligence.  Bigger brains have better circuity. This allows more messages to travel faster between different parts of the brain1. For example, continuously talking to babies will repeatedly fire language neurons and create connections that lead to the formation of memories and physical growth in that area. These language memories form a very important foundation for higher order learning.  Growth in brain volume after infancy may not compensate for poorer earlier growth.2 The first three years are the most important for the development of intelligence. How then can we encourage stronger, faster connections between neurons in our baby’s brain? 

If you want to give your baby the best cognitive start in life, your mission is fairly straightforward: to help your child build up sufficient networks of good strong synapses in the areas of her brain that support memory and language. These, in turn will open up the learning pathways to support higher cognitive functions. 

Here are some tips to help your chubby-cheeked cherub develop to his or her full potential. 

Language development

Your child’s first year is all about sounds. Talk, talk, talk to your child, face to face. Your child will hear sounds from the TV and from around him, but he needs to see your mouth moving and the body language that goes with the sound in order to catalogue words correctly. Your child is most engaged when you are close enough to make eye contact (remember your baby is short-sighted for the first few months). Keep sentences short and repeat important ideas. 

Try this: 

What’s in the box? Everyday, around the same time, introduce your baby to 2 new objects that you pick out of a box. Hold it up and ask “What is this?” Then let your child explore it, either let them grasp it or turn it around slowly so that they can see all of it. Describe it as you go. When he’s had a good look tell him what it is and show him how it’s used. No special equipment required.  

In your baby’s second year the brain’s language centres evolve dramatically as synaptic activity increases. Vocabulary expands exponentially, but only if they are exposed to many words and things to name. Eventually, pull objects out of the box, ask what it is and let your baby tell you. Then give them cuddles for being so smart. 

Independence

Scaffolding.  Is your little girl reaching for a toy that is just outside of her reach? Your first instinct is to pick it up and give it to her, right? Think again. This is both a behavioural and cognitive learning opportunity. Scaffolding happens when you follow your child's lead in activities that they initiate.  You provide just enough support to challenge her to the next level without overwhelming her with frustration. So nudge the toy to just within her reach. She still has to try to get what she wants. She is learning that she can help herself, that this requires effort and that mommy won’t just hand her whatever she wants when she wants it.    

Stranger anxiety and going to new places

At around 8 months old, your baby’s conscious memory stabilises. He begins to understand that objects can exist even when he can’t see them because now he can remember them. Your baby can look at a partially hidden toy and know what it is because they have a complete picture of it stored in memory. This is when stranger anxiety can begin because a stranger is someone that they don’t already have a mental image of. Going to visit granny and Grandpa for the summer? Even if your child has seen them before a few months ago, she will have forgotten them by now. So show her lots of pictures of granny and grandpa being sure to name them as you do. Skype often so that, when they finally meet up, there is familiarity rather than fear.   

Starting kindergarden soon?

Again, build up memories of the kindergarden so that it isn’t so frightening the first time you leave your infant or toddler there with complete strangers and lots of different things and noises. Look at the school’s website, explain the different pictures they have on it. Walk past the school and point out the different things in the playground. 

 Found these useful? Like my FB page here for more brain games over the next few weeks. Next week: Embracing your toddler’s tantrums. www.tremainedupreez.com

---

1 Ed Bullmore, professor of psychiatry at Cambridge. Cambridge Neuroscience Department http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?etb23

2 Catharine R. Gale, PhD, Finbar J. O'Callaghan, PhD, Maria Bredow, MBChB, Christopher N. Martyn, DPhil and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Study Team (October 4, 2006). "The Influence of Head Growth in Fetal Life, Infancy, and Childhood on Intelligence at the Ages of 4 and 8 Years". PEDIATRICS Vol. 118 No. 4 October 2006, pp. 1486-1492. Retrieved August 6, 2006.

Under pressure? Frustrated with your boss? Lashing out at others and blaming them?

It may be time to to check in with your emotional intelligence. 

Dare to take the EI test?

This is my most popular ‘just for fun’ test that really gives you something to think about. If you are still hanging on to the belief that EI is optional or fluffy, think again, quickly. The hormones that regulate our emotional state have the potential to cause havoc with our ability to process data and make sound decisions. 

An understanding of your emotional language and triggers is essential to making sound decisions. This is exactly what researchers have found. From entrepreneurs, to Fortune 100 CEOs, those that are successful in reaching their professional goals are either highly emotionally intelligent or know that they aren’t and surround themselves with people who are. Well, that’s a relief. You don’t have to be the cool calm and collected guy with high EI. If you are the one with a hair-trigger temper or nerves that are constantly offended, that’s ok. You just have to know your own emotional language and stop it from affecting your thinking. You won’t win ‘boss of the year’ but you’ll be better at reaching your goals. Where do you fit in?

Mark true or false (honestly) next to each statement and tally up your trues.

Statement

1. I never try to avoid tough conversations.

2. I know exactly what makes me angry.

3. There is someone I don’t like but I’m not exactly sure why.

4. I know what makes me sad.

5. I always consider how my words or actions will make someone else feel before I speak.

6. I put time aside everyday to reflect on my behaviour and interactions.

7. I never say things that I regret later.

8. I’m OK with saying sorry.

9. I know exactly what I do well. 

10. I know exactly what I can’t do well.

11. I can say NO to my boss/client when I know I can’t meet his/her expectations.

12. I am interested in hearing other people’s opinions.

13. I can usually find something to respect in others, even those younger than I am.

14. Colleagues value my feedback.

15. People tell me I am patient.

16. I am calm under pressure.

17. I think very long and hard about my mistakes.

18. I think very long and hard about my successes.

19. I love challenges that no one else can solve.

20. I can listen to someone without interrupting.

21. My mood never affects my interactions with other people.

22. I don’t mind if plans change.

23. I don’t mind if MY plans are changed.

24. I don’t get irritated if someone can’t follow my instructions.

25. I try not to lose my temper in public.

Grand total   Number of trues?

How did you do?

Rating - number of trues

        20 - 24:     Emotionally gifted, the world needs more of you 

        12 - 20:     Emotionally competent.You’ve clearly spent time reflecting on your EI

        below 12:    Human like the rest of us with the potential to improve

Over the next four weeks we’ll explore the four corners of EI; self awareness, self regulation, social skills and motivation, just in case you need a primer in any area. 

Copyright @tremainedupreez 2014, all rights reserved

Thoughts from the Raising Thinkers Series

Coming soon ... I promise