Brainstorming Better Together, Alone

Pain points, efficiencies, problems, desires. Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of what they look like or what we call them, it's our job to figure out the best ways to tackle them.

Brainstorming is common practice in the workplace. You get a group together and rapidly come up with ideas. In theory, this is a dynamic affair where folks are engaged and all voices are heard, tapping into everyone's unique perspectives and talents. A lot of ideas are generated, refined through debate, and the best ones bubble to the top.

In practice, this is a dull affair. The most vocal and the most senior dominate. The junior and the introverted passively nod along. And everyone else, simply coasts through. We wrap with a measly number of ideas, stemmed from a concentrated perspective, untested by challenge.

To avoid this trap, turn brainstorming on its head. Start alone.

Instead of starting cold with everyone, warm up solo. Have each participate generate an individual set of ideas. Give them the space to tap into and explore their unique points of view first. Then when coming together, have everyone present. This will paint a much richer picture of the solution space. It will eliminate the social loafing and deference to authority that is so common with groups. It will drive up engagement and debate, sparking more ideas of higher quality.

Comments

The Art of Giving Feedback

Constructive feedback is an awkward affair. You don't want hurt feelings, but recognize the importance of honesty. You've tried the classic "hoping things will get better on its own" and unfortunately it hasn't played out. When giving feedback, here are a few things that I try to keep it mind. Start with empathy. Step into their shoes and understand their story. If you don't know, ask. Be genuinely curious. Feedback is a dynamic affair. Shared communication with a shared goal towards progress. Take the emotion out of it. Focus on the situation, not the person. Focusing on the person adds unnecessary weight to an already emotionally-bloated event. Be specific. Give clear examples. Vague feedback equals dismissed feedback. Doing above won't de-awkward things fully, but it will dampen it and increase the chance of better outcomes.

Bias For Clarity

Bias for action. Gets things done. Go-getter. Traits companies big and small look for. And for good reason, you're being hired to do things! However, action is a secondary step that often overshadows the primary step, direction. Clear direction is the foundation that enables our actions to takeoff. Without it, we're stuck in the mud. Striving for clarity is an underrated skill. Having the courage to ask ( seemingly ) obvious questions, and to check in, making sure we're all on the same page. "O bvious " questions are a low risk, high reward way to add value. At worst, you'll add confidence to our actions. At best, you discover a misalignment that saves us from a dead-end. The more people, the more clear we need to be. The bigger the initiative, the bigger the risk of reaching the finish line, only to realize expectations were off. Success is always uncertain. But we can be certain about what we want and what everyone's job is. Things that can be clea...

Negative Feedback, Positive Lessons

In the battle against plastic bags, a five-cent tax was shown to be much more successful at deterring usage than a five-cent credit for bringing your own bags. Carrots satisfy but sticks sting, and they sting hard. So we default to the less painful choice of avoiding loss. Loss aversion impacts the way we process information. A 2019 study invited participants to learn through a series of multiple choice questions. Each question only had two options to choose from. Whether guessing correctly or not, they would still learn the right answer. Despite the identical learning opportunity, participants were much more successful at recalling the answers they guessed correctly than those they got wrong. "You're right!" feels good. We savour the moment, analyzing every detail. "You're wrong!" stings. We want to quickly forget, dismiss, and move on. When we succumb to loss aversion, we miss opportunities to learn. Failure is part of the process. We'll experie...

Herman Ye

Search