Why creatives hate brainstorming. Or is it just me?

I don’t know about you but as soon as I see a calendar invite for a brainstorming session my brain’s automatic response is, “Oh, for fuck sakes.” 

I’ve thought a little bit about why I feel this way and I’ve also done some research to validate my feelings. What follows is an adequately plagiarized article (links at the bottom for the curious and the litigious) with some of my own commentary sprinkled in.

A brief history lesson

Ironically, the man given credit for popularizing brainstorming was an Ad Man. A Mad Man from the ’50s, Alex Osborn. They call him the Father of Brainstorming.

Osborn, no slouch, is the O in BBDO. He famously claimed these creative orgies (my words, not his) would increase creative output by 50%. He arrived at this exact figure by, well, making it up. An ad guy manipulating the truth in the 50’s? Inconceivable!

Seventy years later, actual studies have been conducted and they’ve concluded that Alex Osborn was more salesman than stats-man.

Recent studies have shown...

According to the Harvard Business Review, “a review of over 800 teams indicated that individuals are more likely to generate a higher number of original ideas when they don’t interact with others.” 

Suck it, brainstorming.

I also found this beauty, “If you were charged with coming up with the worst way to get people to come up with plentiful, unique, imaginative ideas – then brainstorming would probably fit that bill.”  (from an unnamed author on Canva’s blog)

lolz. 

“Ultimately, brainstorming continues to be used because it feels intuitively right to do so. As such, it is one more placebo in the talent management cabinet, believed to work in spite of the clear absence of evidence. So go ahead, schedule that brainstorming meeting. Just don’t expect it to accomplish much, other than making your team feel good.” - Harvard Business Review

Other reasons brainstorming blows:

1.  Social Loafing - Similar to the bystander effect, people feel less compelled to contribute when they think someone else will act first.

2.  Social Anxiety - Many in attendance have a fear of judgment. Also, brainstorms are introverts worst nightmare.

3.  Regression to the Mean - The most creative thinkers match the performance of the least creative people in the room.

4.  Production Blocking – You can only express one idea at a time, so the more people you have in a group, the less productive it will be. 

5. Subpar Snacks - Snacks should be an easy win for brainstorms but what’s with the dry scones AND NO BUTTER? And why do I always reach for the scone? My point is, bring extra water. I almost choked on a scone crumb in a brainstorm in ‘09.

Sorry, brainstorm lovers, I’m not done yet.

Why do professional creatives (in particular) hate brainstorming sessions?

1. These sessions are often organized by people who aren’t professional creatives. For those people, this is an exciting break from their work. They get to come up with ideas. Wohoo! And also, FREE SNACKS! Wut! Wut! Sounds awesome. Unless you’re the only creative in the room. This is what you get paid to do every single day. And with all of your other meetings, it’s hard to find time to focus on just being creative. This "creative" brainstorm isn’t helping you though. Instead, it’s you, trying to do your job alongside eight other people who are all less qualified than you at doing your job. If I’m playing basketball, I'd want Lebron James on my team but he sure as hell wouldn’t want me on his. I would 100% make him way worse at basketball.
2. When you’re the only creative in the room, there’s additional pressure and expectation for you to deliver creative genius on command. 

3. Often the people who aren’t creative, dominate these discussions. For me, I don’t mind this. Bad ideas can be helpful and it takes courage to share. And that’s the point of a brainstorming session. Get as much out as quickly as possible without judgment. But I still expect the bad ideas to be on strategy. As a creative, even your stinky ideas go through some filters. You’re thinking about strategy, timelines, production, budgets, and the competition. Your bad ideas won’t be as bad, which is great for the group but not great for you (see Lebron analogy above).

Okay, now that we’re all feeling sorry for brainstorms, let’s find some nice things to say about these useless time-wasters.

What’s not the worst about brainstorming?

-They can be good for building camaraderie and culture.

-It helps to have different stakeholders and expertise all coming together in one room.

-You can get to a lot of ideas quickly.

-You get the bad ideas out early and these often lead to better ideas afterward.

-They are very useful when you have a super tight timeline and you just don't have time to do things properly. Get the smartest people into the boredroom, lock it, and don't let them out until those monkeys crack that nut.

-Sometimes, there are really good snacks. Chocolate chip cookies, even.

It’s not the tool, it’s the facilitator.

Like most things in life, brainstorms aren't all bad. But when it comes to getting the most out of a brainstorm, it usually comes down to whoever’s running the show. Let's take a quick look at some things facilitators can do to get the most out of a brainstorming session.

1. Send out the agenda, as well as any necessary context/background beforehand. Ask people to come up with ideas prior to the meeting. Instead of using the meeting to generate ideas, use it to discuss and improve upon the ideas people have already brought to the party.
2. The facilitator should be very clear and specific about the nut they’re trying to crack. Getting a group of people together to solve an undefined problem will only add to the ineffectiveness.
3. The facilitator must keep people focused. Don’t let them veer too far off course. Focus on that nut.
4. The facilitator should anticipate any roadblocks and have some thought-starters prepared or questions to explore to get things moving if people are quiet or stuck or sleeping.
5. The smaller the group, the better. If the brainstorm session is just 3-4 people, it would be way more effective. And it would be even better if it was just one person in a room all by themselves. (winky face)
6. Bring butter.

In conclusion, brainstorming increases creative production by 50%.

I'm Dan and I write stuff. Mostly about creativity in advertising. Follow or send an invite to connect. Also, I might one day start a newsletter. See link in comments to subscribe.

SOURCES:

Canva: https://www.canva.com/learn/brainstorming-is-bad/

Harvard Business Report: https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-group-brainstorming-is-a-waste-of-time

How to Run a Brainstorm Session: https://scottberkun.com/essays/34-how-to-run-a-brainstorming-meeting/