Better Brainstorming (1/3)

Asking the right question

Brainstorming is without a doubt the best known setting for creative thinking. The term and method where first introduced by advertising executive Alex F. Osborn in the early 50‘s. He laid down the groundwork of creative problemsolving. 


While brainstorming has been in use for quite some time, there are still a lot of misconceptions and myths around it. In addition, the framework is often used incorrectly or without the necessary preparation.

The first thing to consider when brainstorming is the starting question (or starting phrase). This should be an inspiring sentence that sparks the creative fire. It’s an extremely important part of the creative process that is often underestimated. Sometimes formulating the starting question is even skipped altogether.

“How can we make it attractive for our clients to bring their friends?”
“In which way can we turn our store into the street’s eyecatcher?”
“In which way can we reduce our expenses by 75%?”

All questions above have the same goal, to increase the revenue. 
As you can imagine each one of them will lead to very different ideas.

The way you ask a question will have great influence on the outcome of your session. That’s why defining the right question should be your first creative objective.

There is an urban legend that illustrates my point perfectly.

During the cold war, NASA was faced with a major dilemma. When they started sending astronauts into space, they quickly realised that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity. To solve this problem NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a ball-point pen that would work in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface and at every temperature.

The Russians used a pencil.

Although this story is not factually correct, it does show us what can happen if we’re not paying attention to the bigger picture.

Avoid spending your time and energy on solving the wrong problem.

Ask yourself:
For what situation do I want to generate ideas?
What kind of ideas am I looking for?
What is it that I want to achieve?

Before you start your brainstorm redefine your objective into a creative question.


 Some advice to keep in mind.

1. Keep it clear
Aim for a brief and powerful sentence. Don’t leave any room for doubt about the desired results. You don’t want to have a discussion half an hour into the session on what the brief is all about.

2. Make it simple
Be straightforward. Stay away from jargon.
Explain it like you would to a child.

3. Focus


Concentrate on one issue at the time. If your subject consists of multiple challenges, split it up and choose the one that has the most potential.

4. Be creative
People tend to be more innovative when they are faced with an original and inspiring briefing.
Instead of a broad question like “How can we make more money?” ask “How can we turn our store into an exciting experience?” or “What can we add to our services that makes our customers want to visit us more often?”

5. Set the bar high
Be ambitious. Provoke. If you have a target of increasing sales with 2%, change it to 80%. It is much more inspiring to work on and if you fail and only accomplish 10% it’s still great.



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