Brainstorming

Interactive

Here are the five real rules.

By Stephen Van Valin

I once made the mistake of leading a brainstorming session

without reminding the group of the rules. I assumed they knew, since
they were senior leaders. Surely they would know how to brainstorm
effectively right? Wrongit was a train wreck.
Within five minutes, an argument broke out as to why an idea
wouldnt work. Then, people piggybacked on the negativity, citing all
things wrong in the business. There was no way to get the brainstorm
back on track. After that experience, I promised myself that Id never
lead a brainstorm again without reviewing the rules.
To excel at brainstorming, you need to master the fundamentals and
then execute them consistently well. The basic rules are liberating to
the creative process, not constraining. Once you master them, youll
generate more great ideas and creativity.
Here are the top 5 essential rules of Brainstorming:
Ideation Flow

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Rule 1: Suspend Judgment: Treat every idea as a good idea. We

tend to voice opinions and criticisms almost immediately and negatively
evaluate things we dont fully understand, especially if it looks or sounds
different. Most people dislike change, and ideas change things. The
best way to suspend judgment is to eliminate language that is toxic
to new ideas. Toxic phrases include: Its not in the budget, We tried
that before, That will never work, Not the right timing, Legal
will never approve it, and Lets form a committee to look into it. To
eliminate such phrases, try giving a Nerf ball to everyone and invite
them to bop violators who judge with toxic phrases.
Judgment is toxic to brainstorming for two reasons: 1) judgment
slows the process downrather than thinking of new ideas, all energy
is applied to whether the idea is viable (a black hole); and 2) Judgment intimidates. People stop sharing ideas for fear they might be
shot down right away. Create a culture that encourages ideas, even if
they arent fully baked initially. Generate better ideas by not judging
them prematurely. Stay in the Divergent thinking stagedont jump
ahead to the Converging stage where ideas are judged and prioritized.
Judgment must come later with its own purposeful focus.
If you Suspend Judgment and treat every idea as a good idea in the
Diverge stage, youll be more energized to generate ideas, and encourage participation from everyone. When people take more risks, great
ideas surface and become difference makers.
Rule 2: Be curious, not critical: say, Yes, and Not, Yes,
leadership excellence essentials presented by HR.com | 02.2014

but Curiosity is all about being open, inquisitive, and interested.

Its an eagerness to want to know more, a desire to understand and
learn the meaning. Curiosity unlocks the potential in our mind to
respond positively to ideas and improve upon them.
To respond with curiosity more often, try these three tips: 1) Say,
Yes, and NOT, Yes, but Think yes and to the last line
uttered and go with it. This enables you to expand upon the line
using the momentum of the creative flow. 2) Be aware of the questions
you ask. Do they open possibilities or shut things down? What questions might you ask to understand others and learn more about their
thinking? You might say: Can you tell me more? What does that
look like? How might it work? 3) Pause before responding. Take
a chill pill before saying anything. Then, think of what is positive or
interesting about the idea. This puts you in curiosity-mode first. To
cultivate curiosity, listen to the words you use in response to others,
and be aware of your thinking.
Rule 3: Think it Say it Write it: No idea is too outrageouslet
it fly and capture them all. The light bulb is the universal symbol for
coming up with an idea because it illustrates the quintessential moment
when an idea flashes in our head. Ideas illuminate something new,
different and exciting. Its often described as a WOW or brilliant
moment. Creative people recognize and embrace their light-bulb
moments. They seek purposeful ways to turn on the switch, and are
confident to tell people what they see once the light is on. They think
it, and say it, plus they write it all down.
To enlighten a brainstorm, dont pull back, self-judge, or think the
idea through first before saying it out loud. Flex your creative muscles
and take more risks to say it even if it isnt perfected or seems outrageous. Extroverts have such an easy time thinking it and saying it,
that they sometimes dominate the brainstorm. To give others a chance
to participate, you might go around-the-room for idea sharing, or
toss a ball to random people for shout-outs. When you do say it, be
short and sweet like billboards and tweets. Avoid oversellingtrying
to convince people your idea is great. The act of Writing it sends a
message to everyone that their idea mattersand allows everyone to
see what is generated. Visually represent the ideas so you can later
build, sort, and evaluate them.
Rule 4: Quantity creates Quality: Go for the 2nd right answer and
beyond. Quantity gives you a better choice (quality). Its tempting to
take the first good idea and run with it. But to achieve something
remarkable, you need to seek the second right answer and beyond. Get
many good ideas, and then keep the best ones. To generate quantity
and quality, try these four methods: 1) challenge each other to fill the
flipchart with ideas full; 2) ask better (focused, yet flexible) questions.
For example, How might we increase sales in 4th quarter using social
media? Or, What might we do to increase repeat purchases from our
first-time customers? 3) use creative constraints to drive more ideas.
For example, What might we do if the budget was no object? Or,
What might we do if we had to deliver the idea in only 24 hours?
Or, What could we do for free? 4) borrow unique perspectives as
stimuli: What would scare the competition the most? Or, What
would we never do? Or, How might Pixar approach this challenge?

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Brainstorming

Or, What is this problem like? Create a metaphor and generate

ideas from the perspective.
Rule 5: Piggyback on Ideas: Combine and build on ideas to create
new possibilities. In a brainstorming session, piggyback on ideas to
generate something remarkable. One effective way to produce great
ideas is to combine and build on others to create new possibilities.
Masters of brainstorming continually ask, What if? as part of their
dialogue, since these words reflect the attitude that unlocks possibilities.
And the masters combine the curiosity attitude of Yes, and with the
possibility catalyst of What if? to piggyback on the ideas of others.
Achieving this level requires listening with curiosity and a sense of
optimism that sparks creative intuition. If you say, Yes, and what if?
out loud, youll be amazed at the creative direction it will take you.

Be certain that your team knows and practices these five rules until
it becomes second nature when problem solving together. Its the
key to winning with ideas. Ive seen how average ideas turn into a
something remarkable by piggybacking on ideas. LE

Lead with Your Brand

the best branding devices out there.

The company started as an online shoe store, but its founders
defined its brand as a service company that happens to sell shoes.
With this brand identity, they created an operating model that has
been flexible enough to incorporate a wide range of products, and
today, in addition to footwear, Zappos offers apparel, accessories and
sporting goods.
When the company was conceived, Hsieh and his colleagues
never intended that it would sell only shoes. We decided that we
wanted to build our brand to be about the very best customer service
and the very best customer experience, he said. We believe that
customer service shouldnt be just a department; it should be the
entirecompany.
By shifting your concept of brand from noun to verb, you allow
for constant evolution. When you think of your brand not as an
identity but as an instrument that you can use to fuel, align, and
guide everything your company does, you position your company
for successful expansion.
Leaders who opt for doing business as usual are killing their companies. With developments in technology and communications and
dramatic changes in the economy, old-style branding doesnt work
well anymore. Meanwhile, brands are more important than ever. The
frontrunners in this new brand-as-business world are the companies
whose leaders recognize that businesses must be set up and operated
according to the core values of their brands. They wouldnt dream
of handing over the reins of their brand to their marketing department or an ad agency. For a business to be successful, leaders need
to embrace the concept of operating the business based on its brand.
What Great Brands Do
In my book What Great Brands Do, I explore seven principles
that are integral to building a great brand. Great brands: 1) Start
Insidecultivate a vibrant corporate culture around the brand; 2)
Avoid Selling Productsdevelop superior emotional connections
through products; 3) Ignore Trendschallenge and anticipate trends,
rather than follow them; 4) Dont Chase Customersaccept that your
brand is not for everyone; 5) Sweat the Small Stuffovercome silos
to align and unify all your customer experiences; 6) Commit and Stay
Committedsacrifice short-term profit to maintain brand integrity;
7) Never Have to Give Backmake social contributions by creating
shared value.
What separates a great brand from a good one is how thoroughly
the company incorporates these principles. Leaders of great brands

Its now a management imperative.

By Denise Lee Yohn

Interactive

If youre investing time and money into branding strategies

that arent making a difference, youre not alone. Most leaders are
frustrated by the lack of return they see on their marketing dollars.
So, how are some companies enjoying rapid growth and success
with minuscule marketing budgets? Why are companies like online
retailer Zappos.com soaring past competitors that spend twice as
much and more on advertising? What are these companies doing
that many astute leaders are missing?
Build Brands Through Actions
Great brands consider their brands as verbs, not nouns. They
dont use their brands simply as external images promoted through
marketing and communications. Instead, they use their brands to
shape the internal culture they cultivate, the core operations they
design, and the customer experiences they deliver. Its who they are
and what they do. This means that the stewards of the brand dont
reside in the marketing department; theyre at the highest levels of
the organization. These leaders ensure their organization delivers
the brand identity and core values through everything they do, every
day, all day. They recognize that brands are built through actions,
not advertising.
Zappos.com designed its organization around its brands values.
Value number one is Deliver WOW through service. So the
company requires every new employee, regardless of the position
they will hold, to go through intensive customer service training
and then theyll pay anyone to leave if they dont embrace the companys values.
Zappos doesnt track customer call times and representatives dont
earn commission. Instead, theyre trained to devote as much time
as they need to make sure every customer is satisfied. If a product
is out of stock, representatives search competing web sites so they
can tell the customer where he or she can purchase it. Zappos CEO
Tony Hsieh explains why his company invests so much in customer
service and so little in advertising saying, The telephone is one of

21

Stephen Van Valin, CEO of Culturology, is a presenter, creative strategist, and

innovation expert.
Visit www.culturologyworks.com.
Email steve@culturologyworks.com.

Brainstorming

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leadership excellence essentials presented by HR.com | 02.2014