Periodically, the popular press raises the idea that group brainstorming isn’t effective at generating creative solutions. That assertion is erroneous for a variety of reasons. Groups can—and do—successfully brainstorm creative and useful solutions.

But research does show that effective brainstorming requires adherence to some specific guidelines. If it’s done casually, without guidelines, and the sessions are run by people with no knowledge of how to do it well, it will be significantly less effective than it could be. It will result in either unrestrained chaos with no momentum to move the project forward, or it will be just plain boring (which also results in no momentum).

For those of you who know that brainstorming is only one technique in a creative thinking toolbox, please excuse the shortcut. Most people think of brainstorming as any idea generation, and that’s the way it’s used here.

So, how do you set up your brainstorming sessions for success? Follow these rules. They will see you safely through the necessary level of chaos to the strategic momentum you’re hoping for.

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