How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 292

Source: European Commission, Innovation Management
Techniques in Operation, European Commission, DG XIII,
Luxembourg, 1998.
In other words ….
Plan and agree the brainstorming aim
Ensure everyone participating in the brainstorm session
understands and agrees the aim of the session (eg, to formulate a
new job description for a customer services clerk; to formulate a
series of new promotional activities for the next trading year; to
suggest ways of improving cooperation between the sales and
service departments; to identify costs saving opportunities that
will not reduce performance or morale, etc). Keep the
brainstorming objective simple. Allocate a time limit. This will
enable you to keep the random brainstorming activity under
control and on track.
Manage the actual brainstorming activity
Brainstorming enables people to suggest ideas at random. Your
job as facilitator is to encourage everyone to participate, to
dismiss nothing, and to prevent others from pouring scorn on
the wilder suggestions (some of the best ideas are initially the
daftest ones - added to which people won't participate if their
suggestions are criticised). During the random collection of ideas
the facilitator must record every suggestion on the flip-chart. Use
Blu-Tack or sticky tape to hang the sheets around the walls. At
the end of the time limit or when ideas have been exhausted, use
different coloured pens to categorise, group, connect and link the
random ideas. Condense and refine the ideas by making new
headings or lists. You can diplomatically combine or include the
weaker ideas within other themes to avoid dismissing or
rejecting contributions (remember brainstorming is about team
building and motivation too - you don't want it to have the
reverse effect on some people). With the group, assess, evaluate

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