:59 Seconds, Lesson #10

One intervention in change management is 'brainstorming' where we get a group of people together and basically thrash out idea's or talk through a situation. This idea was born from an advertising executive, Alex Osborn, in the early 1940s. Organisations all around the globe now use this method. But is there true value in this? Professor Richard Wiseman now challenges this as research suggests that group brainstorming may fail, in part, because of a phenomenon known as 'social loafing'! (see S.J.Karau and K.D.Williams (1993). 'Social Loafing: A Meta-Analytic Review and Theoretical Integration).

Studies conducted by Brian Mullen from the University of Kent at Canterbury (see B.Mullen, C.Johnson and E.Salas (1991). 'Productivity Loss in Brainstorming Groups: A Meta-Analytic Integration') proved that participants working on their own produced a higher quantity and quality of ideas than those working in groups. You've seen it all before in any large group and I'm sure you have felt it. The more people involved the less energy you need to exert...because the people around you act as some kind of crutch and you just don't need to work as hard. While the others are 'appearing; to be focused you are thinking about your own problems and the calls you need to make. The truth is that as the numbers of people increase in a situation the more you think that someone else will sort it out. How many times have you heard a neighbours house alarm ring? You pull back the curtain peer out of your window and if the world is still intact you assume some other sucker is taking care of it! Am I right?

Think about this....a large body of research now suggests that for more than seventy years, people using group brainstorming may have inadvertently been stifling, not stimulating, their creative juices!

Want some ideas...for generating ideas? Here are some quick tips, but I advise you study Professor Wiseman for a more in-depth appreciation.

1. Study modern art...but the right stuff, to use the power of visual priming.

2. Lay down when you are thinking. When you are lying down blood is not drained away from the locus coeruleus and thus the stress hormone noradrenaline is reduced.

3. Practice Wu Wei and do nothing. That is, just as in the 'The Secret', acknowledge your problem, give it a little thought, then hand it over to the cosmic forces and go and do something else. Your subconscious will have worked on the problem and coming back to it later will bring you closer to a solution.

4. Put a plant on your desk. The colour green inspires creativity.

5.Study Professor Wiseman's book 'Did You Spot the Gorilla?' and the techniques: Priming; Perspective; Play; Perceive.

So...change your mind...then change your thinking!

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