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Brainstorming In Business

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Eaton Business School

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‘’Two heads are definitely better than one and by brainstorming as a team and sourcing ideas from each other, you have a better chance of coming up with a strategy that will allow your business to overcome a setback or challenge.’’ – Richard Branson

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What is Brainstorming?

Brainstorming is an intensive creative thinking technique used to generate ideas and solutions.

Brainstorming is crucial to the success of a business as it helps to formulate new innovative ideas and solve business problems.

Brainstorming is usually conducted among a group of people although it can be performed individually. Brainstorming fosters an environment for free thinking and team collaboration.

This article will help you understand more about brainstorming and its importance.

Brainstorming in business

Brainstorming can be used in a variety of business functionalities. Once thought to be limited to new product and marketing campaigns, brainstorming is now used in a wide range of business areas including company structure, business procedures & practices, ethics, and so on. But many of the businesses out there still rely on tried & tested methods of resolved business issues rather than going for brainstorming.

Figure 1: Usefulness of Brainstorming

Why Brainstorming is Important in Business?

Brainstorming encourages employees to think critically about any current and future issues in the organisation. Teams can find the best possible solutions to a problem through brainstorming sessions as it encourages people to share their ideas freely without hesitation.

This ideation method is useful for organisations to develop new ideas of business and solutions collectively as a team.

Brainstorming brings employees from all levels under one single roof and encourages them to work together as a team.

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Brainstorming encourages people to consider all possibilities and be creative in the workplace.

The process lets team members develop the best solution for a problem by listing all options and reviewing their pros and cons.

Some of the key benefits of brainstorming are:

Boosts the creativity of people
Generates many ideas from multiple perspectives
Enhances communication within the team
Fosters team collaboration & enthusiasm
Explores innovative concepts
Ensures participation for all members

How to effectively conduct brainstorming sessions?

The conduct of brainstorming sessions can be different for different organisations and depends on the type of business and the approach that the business takes to collaborate.

The biggest advantage of brainstorming is the generation of a huge amount of ideas. When participants with diverse knowledge, skill sets, and experiences come together for the same purpose, it is guaranteed to generate a pool of best ideas and suggestions.

Since we live and work in a digital era, it is most appropriate to leverage digital apps for more efficient brainstorming sessions.

Successful Tips for Brainstorming Business Ideas

Not all brainstorming sessions will be the same as the goal will be different for each. But there are some best practices you can follow to get the most out of brainstorming sessions.

Here are some tips to effectively brainstorm business ideas:

1. Note down all the ideas

Make sure that you note down all the

business ideas suggested. Don’t label ideas to be good or bad as you never know what will be useful at a later stage. So capture everything on a notebook so that you can review it at the end.

2. Be Open-minded

During a brainstorming session, everyone should remain open-minded and be accommodative to each other. Try not to make any judgments when someone shares an idea.

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3. Avoid Criticism

There are no bad ideas in a brainstorming session and so avoid criticising others. It is highly important to create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for all members of the group during a brainstorming session.

4. Bring in Maximum Ideas

Sometimes, it’s better to stop focusing only on the quality of ideas. Encourage people to share more ideas even if they seem silly. Focus on generating a maximum number of ideas from the team and it will automatically result in a positive outcome in the end.

5. Ensure equal participation

When brainstorming is performed, try to create a safe and open environment that gives equal opportunity for everyone in the group to voice their ideas and suggestions.

We hope that this article explaining brainstorming meaning, tips for brainstorming, and its importance in business was helpful for you.