Is your business in a slump? Are your sales flat? Are you doing things the same way over and over and over again? Do you seem to be always trying to fine-tune the same old ideas? If you are shaking your head and answering "yes" to these questions, now is the time to have a good old-fashioned brainstorming session.
We all fall into a rut from time to time. We become comfortable with the things we are doing and the way we do everything. The longer it lasts, the more difficult it becomes for us to change. But change we must !!!
One of the best ways to use creative thinking is a formal brainstorming session. To lead the session, select someone who is familiar with and who will enforce the only three rules - (1) absolutely no negative comments are allowed, (2) every idea must be written on the flip chart, and (3) we do not stop suggesting ideas until we have two hundred (or whatever number you choose - but it better be a big one) ideas written down. When the sheet is full, it gets taped up on the wall and you start filling the next one.
To maximize your chances for success, select participants from four different categories. Choose two or three people who are familiar with your business and industry. Choose two or three people who are good business people but know nothing about your business or industry. Choose two or three people who are experts in the topic of your session (marketing, productivity, employee motivation, or whatever you are trying to improve). Choose two or three people who are intelligent but are NOT business people (artists, scientists, etc.). The participants from the different groups see things differently. Thus, you will receive a diverse set of ideas. The key is that as the participants shout out ideas, these ideas - no matter how crazy or "far-out" they may be - will trigger new ideas for the other participants. Thus, crazy ideas are not only tolerated, they are encouraged. The sheets are always taped on the walls so everyone can look at every idea that has been suggested.
Once you have reached your quota of ideas, you can rate them. All ideas get three ratings on a scale from one to three, where three is the best. The first rating is effectiveness. If the majority of participants think that this idea will really be effective (to increase sales, lower costs, improve productivity, or whatever your objective is), then give it a three. If it won't be effective, give it a one. If it will be average, give it a two. The second rating is ease and speed of implementation. If the idea is really easy to implement and can be started quickly, it gets a three. If it is hard to implement, it gets a one. If it is in-between, it gets a two. The third area is cost. If it is expensive to implement it gets a one.
Once all ideas are rated, add the score for each rating area so the idea will have a total score. Those with the highest score (Nine) are those that are inexpensive, can be done quickly and are easy to implement, and will have the biggest impact. Those are the best ideas and the ones to implement.
Now the next step is ACTION. You have the ideas. You know what to do. DO IT !!!!!
If you have had success with a brainstorming session - or if you have failed, I would like to hear your comments. Thanks for visiting The Business Adviser.
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