Managers who promote brainstorming feel they’re getting the best ideas from their entire team, but research would indicate otherwise. Loran Nordgren, a management professor at the Kellogg School, says the first ideas introduced during a brain-storming session generally have a disproportionate influence over the rest of the conversation. The process is called “anchoring,” and it crushes originality.
Because first ideas are usually the “low-hanging fruit,” and because brainstorming favors first ideas, it usually ends up quashing creative ideas, say Nordgren and Leigh Thompson, another professor at Kellogg School.
The professors favor “brainwriting,” a process that starts with writing ideas down in order to drive creativity before a group discussion. Writing ideas down and then coming together to share them in a systematic way prevents more aggressive personalities from dominating the discussion.
Thompson told Fast Companyshe has her participants post all ideas on a wall without names attached. “It should be a meritocracy of ideas,” she said. “It’s not a popularity contest.”
