Unstructured brainstorming offends creativity. Don’t sit around tossing out ideas.
Tighten your approach. Ask the right question.
3 Components of a Brainstorming Question
- Define boundaries. Frame a question that defines success. State what you aren’t doing.
- Connect to what matters. Explain why this problem deserves attention.
- Target real tension. Help people feel the pain or imagine an opportunity.
Sample Brainstorming Questions
Notice how these questions include limitations, values, challenges, or opportunities.
- Our goal this quarter is to reduce customer onboarding time by 20%. How can we simplify our user interface to achieve that?
- Success means 90% of our team uses this new software by Friday. How should we design the launch day experience?
- We believe in transparency. What could we make public that will earn the trust of skeptical prospects?
- We value time for deep work. How can we restructure our communication channels to reduce ‘always-on’ messaging?
- Remote team members feel disconnected. What 5-minute ritual can we add to Monday’s meeting to strengthen connection to our mission?
Golden Nugget
Structure channels creativity. Too much structure kills originality.
Suggested Reading
Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie focuses on creativity.
The Myths of Creativity by David Burkus
Zig Zag by Keith Sawyer
What causes brainstorming sessions to produce actionable results?
