Aug 20, 2008
Part 3: Designing The Project
by Aaron Shields
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Setting The Stage
The first two meetings are guided brainstorming sessions. These meetings should be facilitated by the person in the leadership position. The goal of the leader is not to force communication in any direction, but to ensure everyone stays on track with the process and to set the open, nonjudgmental tone for the meetings.
The leader must make it clear that no one will be criticized for his or her ideas. The goal is to get as much input, ideation, and data out of the group as possible—not to discuss a specific solution. This method is contrary to the way most people approach group brainstorming. The goal is not to come into the meeting with an idea in mind and then try to win people over to your way of thinking; it’s not an essay contest or a debate. It is essential that the leader makes this distinction clear.
Although most people would assume an inverse relationship between quantity and quality (measured by usefulness and originality) of ideas, studies show there is a direct relationship: the more ideas you generate, the higher the quality of your final solution. Encourage people to say whatever comes to mind within the confines of each segment of the meetings.
A few more points to keep in mind:
First, push people to listen to others when they are speaking. The single most important factor in producing ideas in a group brainstorm (that outweigh those produced by an equal number of individuals working independently) is the attention paid to other people’s ideas. Ideas propagate ideas, but only if people are paying attention.
Second, make sure there are no distractions. Turn off the cell phones. No one should leave the meeting when everyone else is working. Too much rambling and too many tangents create a background noise that has been shown to impede the generation of ideas.
Third, guard against heavy discussion among group members directed towards a solution; this is especially important early on. If information or opinions are shared among group members and this information dominates a discussion, the final solution often gets skewed toward this solution. It also makes it less likely that someone else will present unique information.
Fourth, be wary of anyone who is “the expert.” With difficult decision-making, there is a tendency for groups to come to a consensus that mirrors the solution suggested by “the expert,” but this doesn’t necessarily produce the best solution. Focus on the collective expertise of the group rather than the individual.
Fifth, delegate a set amount of time to each segment of the session. If sessions have no clear ending time, they tend to end up with ramblings. There’s no need for the same ideas to be stated more than once.
And finally, be flexible: if it seems like more time is genuinely needed, spend more time on it.
Session 1: Generating Ideas
The following meeting structure will help you set up a productive session:
1. Define the problem. This should be done before the meeting and brought to the meeting by the leader. The problem must be specific—the more specific the better. A clearly-defined problem and goal provides necessary focus for the meeting. You should be able to answer the following questions when the meeting begins:
- What is the problem?
- What is the specific end goal? This should be measurable; defined by time, money, or quantity.
- When is the deadline?
- What is the budget (if applicable)?
2. Lay out the facts. Spend time listing and recording any background research to create as much context as possible for the team. This can include data collected specifically for the project or data that is the result of the knowledge of the participants. This is not the place for opinions or inferences, just facts.
3. Create an environment of openness. Underlying beliefs and opinions that people don’t feel justified making openly, such as personal, emotionally-based opinions, can cloud almost any discussion. A gut reaction that certain ideas are out of line with the company’s goals can also make someone hesitant, but that’s all right. There’s no need to provide support for someone’s feelings now—because this part of brainstorming is the time for gut reactions. The sole purpose of the exercise is to allow the discussion to be carried out unimpeded by hidden motives or desires.
4. Look at the current situation. If the project is designed to re-examine and change a current situation, it’s time to look at what’s already in place. This step isn’t necessary if it is a new project that is not designed to replace an existing situation. However, if there is a current situation, first look at what’s going on now from a negative viewpoint: What’s wrong with it? If it worked before, why does it no longer work optimally? Be as specific as possible. Once you look at it negatively, consider it positively: What about this procedure or situation still works? Could it be tweaked to work without major changes? Does it need a major overhaul? If something needs to be changed, like the predominant retail display in your industry, consider the characteristics of the current approach and preclude using solutions that stem from that approach in the discussions. Knowing what it shouldn’t be helps with understanding what it should be.
5. List new solutions. Based upon current ways of doing things in the company, or procedures in the specific field, what solutions would effectively solve the problem? There’s no need to justify these solutions at this point; just get them out there. This also isn’t the time for wild solutions; instead, explore standard solutions that are not currently being employed.
6. End the session. After the solutions are listed, it is time to end the meeting. No conclusions should be reached. The ideal time for this first meeting is on a Friday. The mind has a way of coming up with ideas and solutions when direct focus is not placed on the problem. Almost everyone has experienced a situation where, after failing to try forcing a solution, they took a break and without any effort, suddenly a solution popped into their head. This step is sadly ignored in most decision-making processes. The best place for this step is after all the information has been gathered and looked at as described. During the weekend, everyone will be doing something unrelated to work, incubating their ideas without wasting valuable time during the week.
Session 2: Finding the Solution
The following steps for Session 2 will guide you to an optimal solution:
1. Start with a brain game. The best games are exercises that get people thinking critically about a problem in a new way. These exercises don’t have to relate to business—research shows that when the critical-thinking mindset is activated by any task, the mindset carries over to the next task to produce results.
2. See if anyone has any new solutions. Referring to the first session, see if anything came to anyone over the weekend that uses standard solutions.
3. Get people to give wild solutions. Have the participants use their imagination and dream up wild solutions to the problem. It doesn’t matter if they seem crazy at first—just get everything out there. Standard ideas from other disciplines that have never been applied to a problem like the one being tackled can be very useful.
4. Get everyone’s gut reaction to the options presented. There’s no need for any justification. This serves the same purpose as step three from the first session.
5. List the weaknesses. Go over each solution and have people come up with possible weaknesses of each approach.
6. List the strengths. Go over each solution again, this time listing their strengths.
7. Make a decision. By the time you get to this step, the solution will probably be obvious. If not, look at the solutions side-by-side. If consensus cannot be reached (and you have the resources), see if both solutions can be tested simultaneously for the next week by different people.
8. Articulate the decision as a concrete goal with a specific result. It is imperative that the goal is framed in terms of the specific desired result. A targeted result must be measurable including a definitive deadline. A result that says: “Design a new product packaging” doesn’t offer sufficient clarity and direction. “Develop a new product prototype that communicates our new focus on the customer by January 15, 20XX” will do the job. This can be the single most important factor in getting a team to work effectively.
9. Delegate responsibilities. Assign tasks to everyone present that makes full use of their skills. It helps knowing who you’re working with. People may have skills you’re unfamiliar with that would benefit the project.
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