Brainstorm
Forward and reverse brainstorming
- - There’s fire!... It’s half a mile away from us and the wind is carrying it in our direction! Take this dry grass and pull it out!
- The old man went to the opposite side and, choosing a bunch of the driest stems, he placed them on the shelf of his gun. They instantly burst into flames...
- “Now,” said the old man, “you will see how fire fights fire.”
- F. Cooper "Prairie"
- How to quickly and accurately determine the area of the country by geographical map, without having any tools for measuring length and area?
- How to build a concrete dome over a stadium?
- How to protect a sea vessel from a torpedo attack?
Alex Osborne
- You wouldn’t want anyone to be in a mess like the one that American Alex Osborne got into. Imagine: second World War, V open ocean caravan of cargo ships. And it just so happened that at some point they were left without security. And suddenly a radio telegram: be careful - there is a German service in your area Submarine. Alex was the captain of one of these ships. What to do? The task seemed insurmountable.
- And then the captain remembered the practice to which predicaments Medieval pirates also came running. The whole crew lined up on the deck, and everyone, starting with the junior sailors, answered only one question: how to escape in a situation of a torpedo attack? You can say whatever comes to mind! – what if someone’s “wild” idea serves as the key to solving the problem... For example, the cook came up with the following idea: let’s all run aboard and blow on the torpedo at the same time. Look, if we blow it off course, it will pass by...
- They were lucky. The submarine did not appear. But after the war, Osborne remembered this incident and decided to analyze the situation. And a calm analysis showed that the cook’s absurd idea led to a real solution! Of course, you can’t turn a torpedo with a “powerful blast”, no matter how hard you strain your cheeks. But on the other hand, it can be slowed down a little and thrown off course by the jet of the ship’s pump, which is found on every ship.
- Why not use this method of searching for new ideas in peaceful life? In 1953 former captain Alex Osborne releases book " Guided Imagination". This is where the popularization of brainstorming began in America, and then in other countries.
1. Statement of the problem. Preliminary stage.
- At the beginning of this stage, the problem must be clearly formulated. The participants in the assault are selected, the leader is determined, and other roles of the participants are distributed depending on the problem posed and the chosen method of conducting the assault.
2. Generation of ideas. The main stage on which the success of the entire brainstorm largely depends. Therefore, it is very important to follow the rules for this stage:
- The main thing is the number of ideas. Don't make any restrictions.
- A complete ban on criticism and any (including positive) evaluation of the ideas expressed, since evaluation distracts from the main task and disrupts the creative spirit.
- Unusual and even absurd ideas are welcome.
- Combine and improve any ideas.
3. Grouping, selection and evaluation of ideas.
- At this stage, unlike the second, evaluation is not limited, but, on the contrary, is encouraged. Methods for analyzing and evaluating ideas can be very different. The success of this stage directly depends on how “equally” the participants understand the criteria for selecting and evaluating ideas.
Idea generation techniques
- Analogy - do it the way it is done when solving another problem
- Inversion - do the opposite
- Fantasy - come up with something new
- Empathy - imagine yourself in the place of the object or process being studied
- Employees began to complain about the operation of elevators during peak hours: they had to wait a long time for a free elevator. How to solve the problem at the lowest cost?
- How to find a needle in a haystack?
- To rescue a pilot who had crashed at sea, an inflatable raft was developed that was practically unsinkable. But during a storm the raft capsized. How to eliminate this shortcoming?
The essence of the method is to find flaws in the proposed solution.
Sabotage method - is it possible to deteriorate the product, break it?
- Counteraction group during the development of new weapons
- Hackers and anti-hackers
- Criticism of the shortcomings of a new product during testing
- To clean tree branches from bark, it was proposed to act on microorganisms living between the bark and wood. Such technology does not exist. Offer your technology
- One of the companies produced excellent knives for peeling potatoes. After a few years, the demand for these knives dropped as the market became saturated and the knives were durable. Offer a solution to the problem without compromising the quality of the product.
Homework
- Finish the story (page 99)
Good afternoon, readers of my blog. Today I analyzed the statistics of requests from users, searched interesting topics for my articles and realized that many people are looking for new business ideas online. I am sure that everyone wants to find a ready-made business idea that will begin to make a profit tomorrow, or even today. I’ll say right away that you can find business ideas on the Internet, but it’s not a fact that they will be relevant. In most cases in open access There are old business plans that have already become obsolete, or those that are not profitable. What am I getting at? Moreover, you can develop a business idea yourself, it will be unique, it will be your own, you will think through all the pros and cons, you will be able to calculate all the risks and advantages of this business.
But here the question arises: how to do this? To be honest, I also asked myself this question from the very beginning. It's very easy to say - to come up with new business idea, but you need to have it clear understanding of how and what to do. Not everyone is naturally able to come up with creative solutions in seconds that can produce excellent results.
Studying in more detail this topic I realized that in science a lot of people also asked themselves this question, and some of them even developed special systems allowing you to stimulate the brain, forcing it to work beyond its capabilities and produce new ideas. So, today we will talk about 10 main methods for generating new business ideas.
Brainstorming is a great way to get new ideas
Brainstorming is something that is practiced in many companies, large and small. No matter what type of business you are in or are planning to do, brainstorm always able to come up with new ideas, interesting concepts and solutions to assigned problems.
This method was developed by Alex Osborne. The basic idea is that brainstorming participants discuss the question posed. First, a question is asked, then everyone offers their solution, expressing several phrases. Ideas should be different, it is advisable to express everything that comes to mind, and not be afraid. Even if the solution seems fantastic, then speak up. In this way, collective thinking occurs and the creative process is stimulated. It happened in my team that everything was difficult at the beginning, but then someone said one idea, it was picked up by another, a third, and off it went. Idea after idea, solution after solution, out of hundreds of proposals made, we are sure to find a couple of sensible ones. Next, you should write them down and discuss them in more detail.
Brainstorming has three stages:
Formulation of the problem. Decide what you will discuss, clearly formulate the task.
Idea generation. The most important and creative part of brainstorming. Here you need to comply certain rules: do not limit ideas, say everything; under no circumstances criticize the idea of another participant in the assault; the most unusual ideas are welcome; If possible, combine and compose what has been said.
Grouping and highlighting the most interesting ideas. This stage is often forgotten, but it is precisely this stage that allows us to single out the best and most worthy ideas from the hundreds of ideas expressed.
I think you have figured out what brainstorming is. I'm sure it will be difficult the first few times, but over time you will get the hang of it and be able to generate very interesting and useful ideas.
New business ideas: the “six hats” method
This method of generating new business ideas, and all ideas in general, belongs to Edward de Bono. During the creative process, a person must wear six different hats. Each has its own specific color, which is responsible for a particular function. So, putting on white hat you must impartially check all the figures and facts by trying on the black one, you need to look for everything negative traits and the risks of this business, in yellow - to analyze all the advantages of this business, in green to generate more new ideas for the development of the project, and in red you can allow yourself to express yourself emotionally about the presented idea. And the last one, blue hat- in it you should summarize all the work done.
Very interesting method, which turns into a game, but thereby is able to incredibly stimulate the thinking process and increase the ability to generate new business ideas.
Mind map method
This method of generating new business ideas is called “mental maps”. Its creator is Tony Buzan. The main idea is that the entire process of thinking and creativity is closely related to human memory. It is this that needs to be developed, stimulated, and tried to somehow excite. Tony Buzan suggests taking a large Whatman paper, writing an idea in the center, a key concept from which you need to build, and then creating branches on which to write all the associations that arise. In this way, you form a specific map consisting of many associations. They will all be connected key concept. This will enable the creative thinking process, create a whole network of associative concepts from which interesting and new ideas can be derived.
New business ideas: synectics method
This is already real real method, which I have used in my practice several times. I won’t say that it’s simple, but it’s quite effective. Once you understand the algorithm of work, you can easily generate new business ideas or solve assigned problems.
So, synectics - the main source of new ideas here is the search for analogies. By this method is William Gordon. What do we have to do? First, we select an object and draw a table for its analogies. In the first column we indicate direct analogies, in the second - indirect ones, and then you need to compare the goal, direct and indirect analogies.
Is it difficult to understand the first time? I was also confused, so I’ll give you a simple example.
Object – pencil
The goal is to expand the range and increase sales
Direct analogy - a large and voluminous pencil
Indirect analogy (negation of direct) – flat pencil
We compare the goal, direct and indirect analogy and understand that you can make a flat pencil bookmark for books.
I wrote in more detail about the synectics method in the article “Synectics: a method for generating new ideas”
New business ideas: focal object method
Focal object method - quite interesting way generating new business ideas. Its author is Charles Whiting, who notes that this method designed to combine the characteristics of different objects into one whole, and due to this, derive new object, more interesting for people.
For example: we take a holiday as a basis New Year. There are many associations, but what immediately comes to mind are oranges, gifts, sparklers and candles that my parents put on the table. The idea is that you can add ground sparklers to the candle wax, and we get an interesting candle that will sparkle. The example is simple, but I think it allowed you to understand how it works. The method of focal objects is used everywhere - in technology, mechanical engineering, and industry. Even taking the technology from Apple - all the new gadgets (iPhone, iPad) - this is the generation of various devices, the properties of which were combined into one and modified.
Morphological analysis
This method was proposed by Fritz Zwicke. To be honest, I didn’t fully understand it; I tried several times to generate new ideas this way, but it didn’t work. Perhaps I gravitate toward other methods, but I couldn’t ignore this one in my article.
So, the method of morphological analysis is that the object under study must be decomposed into components, among which the most important and significant must be selected. Next, you need to change them using all sorts of methods and try to assemble them, resulting in another, qualitatively new object.
Method of indirect strategies
This method of generating new ideas is quite fun. Personally, I used it several times; to say that the idea was brilliant would not be true. Perhaps due to the fact that I perceived everything as a game, I wanted to test the method of indirect strategies for effectiveness more than to get some kind of final result.
Indirect strategies were developed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. The essence is that you give certain instructions to yourself, but you do not know in advance what you will have to do and where the result of following this or that instruction will lead. Previously, special cards were used for this, on which commands such as “Ask your body”, “throw away the usual tools”, “do it in reverse” were written. There were also slightly incomprehensible commands - “Listen quiet voice", "Scroll the ridge" or "Do a wash." These are exactly the instructions that Brian Eno himself used.
Nowadays, when the Internet is available to almost everyone, you do not need to write cards or look for special cards of indirect strategies. Just go to the website futura.ru/Oblique.htm and you will find a generator of random instructions.
Bus, Bed, Bath Method
This method is based on the fact that ideas come to us always and in various places. Don’t think that just sitting in the office, or at home in a comfortable chair, you can come up with something new. As a rule, the most interesting ideas will take you by surprise at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on some ordinary working day. Remember that insight comes spontaneously, but you must be prepared for it. Carry a pen and notepad with you and write down everything that seems interesting.
New business ideas: decoding method
This is where fantasy comes into play. Take some statement on foreign language, something that you don’t understand, and you try to decipher it, using analogies, associations, going through dozens possible options. In such creative process may arise interesting idea. If you want to get a new business idea, then it is better to choose some business quotes in a foreign language.
Idea Trap
This method is somewhat similar to the previous one - bus, bed, bathroom. Here you also have to record everything, everything, everything that comes to mind. Write it down in a notepad, voice recorder, phone or tablet. But there is no need to immediately analyze what is recorded. As a rule, return to the idea after a few days, think about it again, make an analysis and draw some conclusions.
Generating new business ideas is not that difficult. Believe me, if you master one of the 10 methods that I described, then new ideas will become business as usual in your life. Another issue is that any idea must be properly implemented in order to turn from a concept into a worthwhile endeavor.
One of the methods to create " critical mass"ideas" is a brainstorming process in which two or more more participants work together to generate opportunities to solve a problem. Moreover, this practice is good not only as a way to find solutions to problems or generate ideas, but also as an exercise in developing creative skills and teamwork abilities.
1. First step
At the first step, it is important to clearly understand the situation and formulate the task. A poorly defined problem leads to anxiety and confusion.
2. Ideas
We have no shortage of ideas. We have a lack of confidence that they are good. Because of this, we often do not allow them to “break through.” But at night everyone just “goes crazy” - the creative flow can simply be unstoppable.
Exercise: Keep a voice recorder by your bed. When you wake up from a dream, write down its contents. And also all the thoughts that came to you after waking up. Sometimes this can be very, very useful.
3. Time to storm
Brainstorming is the process of creating a creative flow, led by a "mastermind" and a team of two or more people.
Exercise:
you and your partner or partners should write the problem on a piece of paper and stick it on the wall. Now - over the next 15 minutes - each of you in turn offers your solution. Do it quickly! Reward for the most complete and stupidest answer. After these 15 minutes, write down the answers and discuss them.
4. Be quiet with yourself
This game can be played alone, although it is much more fun and productive in a team.
Exercise:
imagine five people you admire. Write down what you think they would suggest to solve your problem.
5. Study
Study the problem as deeply as possible. Look at it from all sides.
Exercise: think about the last argument you used. Try to look at the situation from different angles:
A) from your point of view,
b) from your opponent's point of view,
c) from a neutral point of view.
As you do this, stay in the other person's position. Do not try to “defend” certain arguments. Try to figure out how to see the problem differently.
6. Take a break
Once you have identified the situation and thoroughly examined it, take a break and do something completely distracted. It is common knowledge that ideas often come to mind while taking a shower or doing exercise.
7. Don't stop
If possible, conduct a brainstorming session while walking. Get the blood moving! Aristotle was known as the "Peripatetic Philosopher" for his habit of teaching and brainstorming while walking. Seize every idea, regardless of its immediate usefulness. Carry with you a digital voice recorder, a set of cards, sticky notes, note-taking programs on your smartphone, writing paper - anything that can allow you to record the thought that comes to mind.
8. Stupid ideas
You simply have to come up with “stupid” ideas. Give yourself the command that at least every tenth of your ideas will be a little crazy, and maybe even completely crazy. Allowing yourself to be wild and crazy opens the door to creativity. The more confused you are by this proposal, the more you need it. Unfortunately, upon hearing about this step, all people nod: “Of course, of course,” which they carefully forget about when they need to act.
9. Ignore the voices in your head
Ignore the voices in your head that criticize: “This is not good, this won’t work.” It's the same voice that stops writers from doing their work. It never shuts up, but you have to learn to listen to the other - the young, wild, crazy, much more creative voice in your mind.
10. Play with existing ideas
Every movie you watch, every book you read can be reimagined - what three other ways could it begin (start earlier or later, in a different place, with a different character, be written in a different tone)? And then you can come up with three alternative endings for it (on a good note or a bad note, suddenly changing the genre, exaggerating the colors)? This will give you a workout for the brain, which will certainly “thank” you for it with a stream of new ideas.
Possible order of brainstorming in a group.
1. Divide the children into two groups. One group is the “idea generators”, the other group is the “insightful analysts” or “experts”.
2. Explain to the children the rules of the game, talk about the responsibilities of both groups. Emphasize that you can express any ideas, the wildest and most fantastic, no one will laugh. Everyone should come up with at least one idea, the more the better. For all ideas, you can give out chips of different colors.
3. Give both groups a task.
4. Ask the “generators” to express their decisions, and the “analysts” to listen carefully, remember or write down all ideas, but remain silent! If there is a hubbub at the “generators”, then this is normal, even good. Children need to express their emotions along with their ideas. The time for “yelling” must be steadily reduced; after a few days, children will learn to “yell” in turns, and then speak normally in turns.
Very good welcome to calm the noisy class, I. Vikentyev suggested. You need to agree in advance with the group that everyone will fall silent when the teacher loudly claps his hands and stretches his arms forward. Over the course of several days, you need to train the children to say: “Make noise! And when I clap my hands, be silent at that very moment.” You should not do more than three repetitions of a command in one exercise - children may not calm down, they will just like to make noise.
5. All children’s ideas must be managed to be written down on the board or remembered. A tape recorder is appropriate.
6. When ideas run out, you need to give the floor to the “analysts”. Let them evaluate each solution in a friendly manner and select the best few, as well as offer their own solutions.
Be sure to provide each child with the opportunity to defend his decision and find the optimal area or conditions of application. This is very important point- the ability to defend one’s opinion or agree with stronger arguments is developed.
Praise all children, mark the most active and witty.
7. Next time, switch the children's roles. The best “generators” and “analysts” will soon be revealed.
8. Generally speaking, it is not necessary to divide the children into two groups; both operations can be performed by the same children, but only the operations must be spaced out in time.
9. An excellent incentive for activity is to immerse children in a situation where they need to save someone, help someone, advise someone. Only this "someone" must be " a good man". "Let's help the chick, Little Red Riding Hood, Alyonushka...”
Teach children to ask themselves questions: What parts are involved in the problem? What properties do these parts have that can help solve the problem?
For example, the task: you need to quickly (!) cool a glass of boiling water. What should I do? You need to find 10 solutions.
Start with a question:
- What is in the problem statement? A glass, boiling water, you, the kitchen and everything that is in the kitchen is a resource for solving a problem. We use techniques: mediator + physical effect(transition of heat from a hot to a cold body).
Solutions:
1. Add cold water, tea leaves or milk.
2. Pour into a saucer, into a soup bowl, into a massive bowl.
3. Pour from glass to glass many times, keeping them at a great distance from each other.
4. Add a lot of jam or sugar.
5. Pour through a funnel.
6. Immerse cold spoons.
7. Place in the freezer, in a saucepan with cold water, in the snow...
It happens that children unanimously repeat a previously expressed idea without offering their own. Don’t aggravate the situation, ask: “What do you have to offer?” Repeat the question to the child in person. Sometimes children are silent. Nobody has a single idea. Ask leading questions, turn to the smartest or most lively child. Shake them up. If the generation process could not be established, it means that the proposed topic did not inspire the children, they are bored or are afraid to take part in the discussion.
Brainstorming Topics for Kids
First, we will present “classic” questions for brainstorming, and at the end of the section we will present problems and their solutions.
How to deliver Robinson's heavy pirogue to the sea?
- How to measure the length of all poisonous snakes in a terrarium?
- How to protect pedestrians from icicles falling from roofs?
- How to protect the pool from which the water is supplied drinking water to the city, away from the bathers?
- How to warm people on the streets in severe frost?
- How not to quarrel with your mother?
- How to save a dog floating on an ice floe on a river during an ice drift?
- What would you suggest doing that is uncontrollably fun?
How to save birds in the harsh winter without food?
- How can you draw on the asphalt?
- You need to stir sugar in a glass of hot tea, there is no spoon. What to do?
- What will happen if elephants increase in size? blue whale? (The height of elephants reaches 4.5 m and their weight is 5 tons, the length of whales reaches 30 m and their weight is more than 100 tons.)
- What will happen if the length of the legs of hares increases tenfold?
- Imagine a house of the future. (Formulate the functions of the house, improve them, reverse them, formulate the human needs, let the house satisfy them...)
- What will happen if you destroy all the wolves?
- What will happen in the lakes if all the pikes are destroyed?
Come up with an insect with unusual properties.
- How to make a multi-colored piece of ice?
- How can the hero of a fairy tale be saved? What should he do?
- How can a hen save her chickens from a kite?
- How can you greet a person?
- How can astronauts secure small objects flying around the cabin (pens, a comb, a notepad...): with a magnet, Velcro, a paper clip, a spring clamp, a pin... Which methods will not work?
- Australian Aborigines catch turtles when they crawl ashore. They are simply turned over on their backs and become completely helpless. How can I help them?
- The number of people on Earth is rapidly increasing. The time will come when there will not be enough food, water, fuel, space. What to do?
The leader of the tribe needs to determine who is more numerous: men or women? He can only count up to 10, but there are more than 100 people in the tribe.
- How to get into a room without opening the doors?
- How to get an icicle from the roof?
- How to decorate a classroom for the New Year?
- What can you put in a cake to make it delicious?
- Where in the room can you hide a doll?
-Where did I hide the candy?
- How to ensure 100% school attendance?
- What qualities of birds would you like to have?
- How to find yourself smart person in the kingdom?
- How is a mosquito useful and how is it harmful?
Tasks:
1. The family is going on vacation for a month. It is necessary to water indoor plants. What should I do?
2. How can you tell time if there is no clock?
3. What needs to be done to ensure that your Barbie doll never gets lost?
4. It is necessary to clean the inside of the winding pipe. What should I do?
5. Come up with a new, unprecedented natural phenomenon. How to help yourself fantasize?
Answers:
1. It is clear that something needs to be done preliminary action. Better to share different techniques. Ask neighbors to come water; place the pots in a basin of water; fill the bottles with water, turn them over and stick them in the ground; bury a wick (a string of cotton wool) in the ground of a flower pot, and place the other end in a jar of water; take flowers to neighbors; cover the plants glass jars or plastic bags; give away flowers.
2. The appropriate response depends on the specific circumstances. Make a phone call; turn on the radio and wait for the announcement exact time; go outside and ask a passerby; can be approximately determined by the position of the sun or moon; at the first roosters; by the number of passers-by on the street; by feeling of hunger; by color; according to the position of the sunflower “plate”; based on the dog’s behavior (does it want to go for a walk)...
3. Do not take the doll out of the house; tie to the dress; always play in one place; always put it in the same place; don't let anyone play; install an automatic squeaker into the doll, which beeps every half hour.
4. We use, for example, the “mediator” technique: rinse with water and sand; blow with a vacuum cleaner; drive the cat away inside the pipe; ignite over a fire, and then pierce and clean; clean with a rotating flexible cable.
5. Hint: name which ones natural phenomena You know. Wind, rain, snow, landslides, thunderstorms, eclipses, northern lights... Make them unusual: strengthen them, turn them over, swap them... For example: rain of candy and toys... Rapid movement of continents...