Who Should Be Invited to a Brainstorm?

One of the easiest ways to improve your brainstorms is to give some thought to inviting the right people to a brainstorm.

A brainstrom should not be a cattle call ("let's invite everybody!"), nor should it be random ("invite whoever's here today"). You want specific people, or people with specific skills. Personally, I believe four to eight people is ideal. Anything more becomes a hostage situation.

So who should be the invite list? First and foremost, you want to find ...

1. Prolific idea people. These are individuals who can let fly a dizzying volume of ideas, 90 percent of which will be utterly useless, silly, unnecessary, illegal or unimplementable – and 10 percent which will be terrific, WOW, shocking, thrilling and compelling ... in other words, exactly what you want.

2. People who fit the target profile. They might actually be the target audience, or second-best, they immediately understand, appreciate or communicate how the ideas may be perceived or implemented. This might include people who have similar or relevant experience.

3. People with considerable knowledge of either or both the purpose or key issues. This is not necessarily people who are members of the department or the account team. Look to other departments or other account teams - but preferably those people who can reduce all of the arcane information down into the key insights which are useful in a brainstorm. Again, find fresh brains.

And, last but not least ...

4. You - the brainstorm host – but only if you can behave yourself. Apologies if that sounded harsh, but for 40% of you, it's unfortunately the truth. In the past 12 months, 34 out of 84 of my clients should not have attended their own brainstorms. Easily they brought the most negativity to the brainstorms, mostly because - my viewpoint only here - 1) they've lived to closely to the subject for too long, 2) they've simply been worn down by their management or clients, or 3) they're frustrated by someone else's inability to see the merit of ideas.

One client kept saying "We're tried that (and that, and that)!" Later, I learnt that the ideas had been sold poorly to senior management, so none of the ideas were "tried" at all. (Lesson learnt: protect your ideas by selling them properly to others.)

Another client said: "My boss will never go for that." Afterwards, we learnt the reverse was true. The client was fired two months later. (Lesson learnt: know what the boss' boss wants.)

A third client said the ideas weren't "do-able." We then watched their primary competitor roll-out the same idea within three months - and later that year, pour salt on our wounds by winning an important industry award. (Lesson learnt: stand up for your ideas if you believe in them.)

I have a couple of clients who know they can't attend their own brainstorms, so we've worked out a system that they give me all of their concerns, issues, frustrations, complaints, background and history - and I use these as needed to guide the meeting. Once the brainstorm part of the meeting is over, they join us for the selection part of the brainstorm.

I have a few clients who said "to hell with you, I'll join my own brainstorm, thank you very much." Then again, they also know I do a brainstorm without them - just so we'll have fresh ideas.

A few other clients get by this rule by sending one of their staff members. Yes, fine - but they follow the same rules.

In fact, the best rule to trump all rules: if you want new ideas, get new people - including a new facilitator!