Picture yourself in the middle of a brainstorming discussion. Ideas are flying. People are energized. Smiles are rampant. Everyone is participating. WOW! Awesome, right? Absolutely.
But we all know that not all of the ideas generated are ones to follow up on. So, how best to move past those and act on the ones with merit?
I suggest the “4 A’s” approach. It’s not an earth-shaking concept, but it’s an easy-to-remember guideline.
AFFIRM. Brainstorming 101 – no idea is “bad.” And we do not criticize the ideas or the people as they’re thinking aloud. So, first we affirm the ideas and the people in the room. Thank everyone and talk about the great energy and synergy we shared. Acknowledge that we are not able to act on every idea (assuming that’s true in your specific case) and move on to stage two. Don’t be afraid to show personality here, too. Bring out a plate of bakery-supplied chocolate chip cookies or something to celebrate the success of the brainstorm.
ASK. Review the list of ideas collected with the team. Ask people how each idea might solve the problem at hand or move the plan forward or stimulate the desired response – whatever was the reason you called the brainstorm in the first place. Ask the originator to share how he/she arrived at their idea, if you can be seen as genuinely caring and not “critical” of the person. If speaking directly to a person is potentially isolating to him/her, try asking for comments from the full team about how the idea might be applied effectively. If no one can offer support, the idea doesn’t continue to Round 2. And no one in the room feels targeted or set apart.
ASSESS. As you’re working through the list and discussing how the idea could help, it’s natural to move to the assessment phase. As the team comments, a general feeling will arise about whether the idea should survive the first round to earn further consideration. Sometimes the idea can be morphed to become more effective and so live on to round 2 in its new form. It could also be a building block and applied to a different idea, and so move that idea forward. Again, do not speak a negative judgment here, just come to a consensus which of the ideas will continue forward in discussion.
ACT. Once you’ve chosen the ideas that have merit, do something! Move them to committee, assign them to someone to develop, set a second meeting, anything. Just make sure something happens with the ideas that you want to pursue. And set a deadline. Having a person(s) responsible and a finite timeline are critical to turning ideas into reality. Without them, you risk having led a meeting with no result. Not good.
And those are the 4 A’s I use to nurture ideas. I’d love to hear what others do to help ideas take root. Please share your comments below.