{"id":3890,"date":"2015-08-04T10:00:15","date_gmt":"2015-08-04T08:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=3890"},"modified":"2023-11-21T15:24:08","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T14:24:08","slug":"why-brainstorms-always-end-with-boring-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/why-brainstorms-always-end-with-boring-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Most Brainstorms End With Boring Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beware the lollipop of mediocrity;<\/em>
\n lick it once and you’ll suck forever.\u201d<\/em>
\n \u2015 Brian Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n

At the start of nearly every training in\u00a0creative thinking we organise, something interesting happens. During the\u00a0first creative exercise, we often hear people say; “Yes, this is it. I’ve found the idea we’re looking for!”<\/p>\n

When we reply that there is always a better idea<\/a><\/span>, most people get stuck. They get caught up in their own brilliant thought and get inhibited. They find it impossible to break out of their tunnel vision and to come up with alternative\u00a0ideas. It’s like their\u00a0minds\u00a0are finished thinking and are\u00a0taking some time off.<\/p>\n

There is a reason this happens. People often\u00a0assume that developing a creative idea is like solving a puzzle. Of course it\u2019s true that creativity is about finding pieces that fit together. However, there is never just\u00a0one single right answer. There are several\u00a0ways to reach\u00a0any goal. In fact;\u00a0the more ideas you generate, the better<\/span><\/a>. The more ideas you come up with, the bigger the chances of you finding a brilliant solution.<\/p>\n

This is why it’s problematic to\u00a0tell your brain that it should be looking for\u00a0one creative idea. <\/em>The moment you find an idea you’re satisfied with, your brain will stop looking.<\/em>\u00a0This is deadly\u00a0for every\u00a0creative session. Fortunately, there is a simple way of preventing this; an idea quota<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The idea quota<\/strong><\/h4>\n

That’s right. Challenging yourself and your team to come up with a minimum\u00a0amount of ideas is the best way to break out of your own thinking patterns. It will force you to detach yourself from your favourite\u00a0idea.<\/p>\n

Simply set yourself a timer (for let’s say 3 minutes) and force yourself to generate\u00a0as many ideas as possible.<\/p>\n

If you are holding a brainstorm, communicate an idea quota to the\u00a0group; \u201cOkay guys, I want at least 10 ideas from each duo,\u00a0within the next 5 minutes.\u201d,\u00a0\u201cI want 50 new names by\u00a011.00 a.m.\u201d, “At the end of this brainstorm I expect at least 500 ideas. And at least 50 of those should be truly original. (The ones that make your neighbour laugh and your boss\u00a0frown.)”<\/p>\n

Tell people what you are expecting of them. This will get them excited to achieve\u00a0that goal and it will give them creative\u00a0confidence.\u00a0In the end, you are communicating to them that you have faith in their ability to come up with that many ideas.<\/p>\n

Of course, you shouldn’t blow it out of proportions. If you\u00a0exaggerate too much, the unrealistic expectations will\u00a0stifle the flow of ideas. Just nudge the\u00a0participants\u00a0a little to find more ideas. (At HatRabbits we aim to generate between 100 and 200 ideas an hour.)<\/p>\n

The same little trick can be applied to your individual creative thinking sessions.\u00a0For me, these funny number challenges always seem to work. They tend to get me in an\u00a0idea\u00a0producing mood. I personally set an idea quota for nearly everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just give yourself a target and a deadline<\/a><\/span>. No matter what your challenge is. Whether you’re looking for a new name, want to develop a new range of products or are\u00a0searching for new ideas to improve your service.\u00a0 An idea quota will definitely help you get more and better results.<\/p>\n

Don’t worry about the quality of the ideas, just let them flow freely. Do not judge the ideas (yet).\u00a0Just make sure that you reach your goal. No matter how simple, small, ridiculous, stupid or impossible the\u00a0ideas\u00a0are. Crappy ideas often show the\u00a0pathway to brilliant ones.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most importantly, don\u2019t let your brain be lazy. If you truly care about original ideas and creative solutions, give yourself the task to find and explore every possible idea out there. Only then will\u00a0you\u00a0find the truly brilliant ideas.<\/p>\n

Like this article?
\n<\/strong>If you enjoyed reading this article, feel free to share it with your network by hitting one of the\u00a0buttons below. This way other people can benefit from the article as well.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most brainstorms end with boring, obvious ideas. The solution? An idea quota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,18],"tags":[115,516,356,480,431,22],"class_list":["post-3890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brainstorming","category-business-creativity","tag-brainstorm","tag-idea-quota","tag-ideation","tag-originality","tag-quantity","tag-tunnel-vision"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Most Brainstorms End With Boring Ideas - HatRabbits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Most brainstorms end with boring, obvious ideas. The solution? 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