Getting the Best Out of Your Brainstorming

Where is your best thinking space? Do you have a favourite place that you go to when you know you have to do some really deep thinking or brainstorming? Maybe it’s not a place, maybe it’s an activity like taking a drive or going for a walk. We are all different in terms of what environments work for us and sometimes thinking spaces appear in the unlikeliest of places.?

Take the spa for instance. It’s probably not the first place you’d associate with a thinking space(!) but recently I found myself in a spa while away on a retreat with a colleague and while we were there, we generated some really inspiring ideas (although I can officially say that the tropical rainforest steam room is not the best environment for pen and paper note writing!).?

But just because anywhere can be a good thinking space doesn’t mean everywhere is. To borrow from the film Ratatouille where Anton Ego famously states at the end of the film -

“Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”

The same applies here. Not every environment can be a great thinking space, but a great thinking space can come from anywhere.?

So what makes a great thinking environment? Well to us it’s simple. It’s one where the brain is able to fire on all cylinders. Where creative ideas flow and people can focus. Where decisions can be made efficiently and where problems are overcome. And this provides the first hint to the answer. Because by understanding a bit more about the brain states associated with each of these different mental activities, you can provide the environments that facilitate those brain states. But it’s not necessarily a one size fits all endeavor when it comes to which environments improve performance. Because an environment that works to optimize one brain state may not be the same for another. What works best for creative thinking, might not be right for collaborative work, for example, and different work environments - whether the physical environment, the culture of specific work practices, can either boost or suppress different brain states. The bottom line is that organizations need to be cognizant of this and proactively create the best environments for their people, based on an understanding of what makes the human brain work best.

The problem is that tools on offer for improving performance are not optimized for these different brain states. They seem on the box to fulfill what is needed, but in reality, they don’t go far enough or miss the real target.? Take the example of the changes due to the pandemic where there has been a greater need for remote working. At first, there was a scramble by organizations to provide workers with the best technology that would allow them to work remotely. But while that allowed them to do their job on an operational level, it didn’t consider the brain states that are necessary for optimal working.? Because in reality what matters much more than the right tech, is the social connection, creativity, and satisfaction that comes with working collaboratively in person. So a different approach is needed. One that focuses on these brain states and creates environments, whether in the office or at home, that unlocks and optimizes them.

Ultimately, by understanding what the brain is up to during different mental tasks, and how those states are influenced by different internal and external influences, you can start to create the environments that trigger and maintain these different brain states and in turn improve performance. We see a future where all organisations know, from a scientific perspective, how their people work and proactively create environments - whether that be the physical space or the workplace culture - to optimise these brain states so they can leverage the full potential of their workforce.?

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