The Brainstorming Process

The ever-longing desire for efficiency breeds creativity. In business, creativity is the way in which we come up with the most efficient method to reach our end goal. A vital part of our creative processes is brainstorming. I was reading “The Manufacturing Challenge”, a book about how we make our ideas into a reality in the production world, which is what I do for a living. It highlights methods of brainstorming and the one that caught my eye was the “Crawford Slip Method”. This method is carried out by getting a group into a room and giving everyone some slips of paper to record their answers to the questions on. The moderator then asks rapid questions and gives the contributors a short response time.

“This method normally gathers a group’s know-how, views, and recommendations INDEPENDENTLY, ANONYMOUSLY, AND RAPIDLY. You can expect about 400 ideas on problems and solutions to those problems from a group of 20 people in a 30 minute session” (Stephanou, S., & Spiegl, F.) 400 problem-solving ideas in 30 minutes? For me personally, that screams efficiency! This system works because you have a very high probability of receiving many documented responses in a short period of time. Also, with the anonymity factor, people aren’t afraid to share their real ideas in fear of being judged. You might get a brilliant idea that outside of the box.

One of my director’s favorite questions when we can’t figure out a problem is “What can be done to fix this” Usually my partner and I spit out a few ideas and then we finally come across one that jumps out at us. That’s when I take over. Say we’re having an issue with a particular transition on a piece of equipment and my partner says “Well, maybe it’s an issue with how they are connected”. Something lights up inside my head about the type of bolt we’re using and I realize that instead of a flat-head, we should be using an allen bolt with a lock washer. This is something I pride myself in.

I don’t consider myself creative. I am not good at coming up with brand new ideas. I hate the job interview question “pitch me something” or “tell me an invention you’ve thought up”. Not my thing. But what I am good at is developing ideas to get where they need to be. I am very good at recognizing flaws in processes and ideas and working out the fine details. If someone else comes up with an idea and I can just dive into it to expand on it, that is something I am very comfortable doing. You have to play to your strengths.

WORKS CITED
Stephanou, S., & Spiegl, F. (1992). The Manufacturing Challenge: From Concept to Production. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.