I don’t think it’s right to say brainstorming doesn’t work, or is a waste of time, it’s just not a silver bullet for innovation. You’ve said it yourself at the end of your article: creativity is not just coming up with ideas, therefore creativity is not just brainstorming.

Anyone can have ideas, that’s the premise of a brainstorm! Where it gets interesting is what comes out of that brainstorm: What themes have been explored? What new ideas have been uncovered? Which ideas have come up yet again? I worked for several years at a very successful innovation consultancy where brainstorming was a fundamental part of our creative process, but it was not the only part. In most cases it was the only the beginning of a creative journey.