I

t is relatively easy to take part in a brainstorm session and to contribute to its successful outcome.  All you need to do is respect a number of essential points.

Do not hesitate to share this document with participants in the next brainstorm session that you are setting up.

1Be 100% available, so that you can fully concentrate on the proposed creative thinking process. Switch off your mobile phone, blackberry and laptop. They should remain switched off for the duration of the meeting.

2Contribute unreservedly to the production of ideas. All you need to do is step in and express your ideas – every single one of them – regarding the question at hand in the most spontaneous manner possible.

3Express your ideas with as nuanced as possible. General, generic and vague ideas are public enemy no.1 when it comes to a brainstorm. The nuances and the details will help spice up the new ideas and make them more meaningful. 

4Abstain from any form of judgment, criticism and do not comment on ideas for the duration of the meeting. Also try to avoid any form of auto-censorship! Express and write down every single idea that crops up. All that matters here is the generation of ideas. The quantity of ideas breeds the quality of the ideas ! Do not hesitate to use a yellow card in case of criticism!

5Use the ideas of your colleagues as a launching pad. One idea will inspire another, a proposal that may seem crazy at first glance may lead to a rather promising solution. Look at an idea from every possible angle.

6Be audacious, imaginative, use your fantasy. Push the boundaries, go beyond your reference frame, and do away with any pre-established ideas. Go on, get on with it. A creative brainstorm is designed to provide original, unexpected, surprising solutions. Your imagination is the limit.

7Explore all the possible routes, without exception.