Hi every body Needed some information on Brainstorming & Knowledge sharing sessions And its Implementation. REgards Ashit (hrdude79@yahoo.com)
From India, Mumbai
Hi Ashit,



Brainstorming - its my forte as i teach the same! Would like to share information on this -

Brainstorming

The granddaddy creative technique, brainstorming, was the brainchild of Alex Osborn, co-founder of a major advertising agency. The procedure is simple and familiar. First you devise wild--even preposterous--ideas, and jot down every one. But the key is this: save the criticism and evaluation until this process is completed. Osborn tells us, with disarming logic, that we cannot simultaneously be creative and critical. Furthermore, he adds, wild ideas can often be "tamed" into workable solutions.

Although most people consider brainstorming a group technique, you can brainstorm by yourself as well as before a large audience. But the recommended small group, with 10 or 12 members, is usually suitable to a variety of situations. Brainstorming, I'd say, has survived for half a century because it works.

Attribute Listing

While brainstorming is a general procedure, attribute listing is a specific idea-finding technique (one that could even be used while brainstorming). You identify the key characteristics, or attributes, of the product or process in question. Then you think up ways to change, modify, or improve each attribute (in design engineering this is called the substitution method).

Almost anyone can "disassemble" a product into its attributes and then think of modifications for most of them. For example, a can of soda has these attributes: size, shape, color, color pattern, decorative theme, material, possible uses after modification, other audiences for the product if modified. Can you invent alterations for each of these attributes? Fran Stryker supplied himself with plots for Lone Ranger radio and television episodes for a couple of decades by modifying these characteristics: characters, goals, obstacles, and outcomes.

Morphological Synthesis

Morphological synthesis is a simple elaboration of attribute listing. After completing the list of attributes, list changes in one attribute (such as “products”) along the horizontal axis, and list changes in a second attribute (such as “markets”) along the vertical axis. Idea combinations, or syntheses, will appear in the intersections, or cells, of the table. Morphological synthesis will force you to look at many surprising combinations.

Idea Checklists

Have you ever consulted a telephone directory or a supplier's catalog as a "checklist" of resources or ideas for solving problems? You may not know that checklists have been written expressly to solve problems creatively. The best known is Osborn's "73 Idea Spurring Questions." Consider how you would invent a better mousetrap as you read these examples from his idea checklist:

Put to other uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified?

Modify? New twist? Change meaning, color, motion, sound, form? Other changes?

Magnify? What to add? Greater frequency? Longer? Extra value? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate?

Minify? What to subtract? Condensed? Miniature? Lighter? Split up? Understate?

Rearrange? Interchange components? Other sequence? Change schedule?

Combine? How about a blend, an assortment? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals?

Of course, none of these techniques is guaranteed to solve your research problems. But they can help you find ideas without forcing you to wait for an uncooperative muse.

Cheerio

Rajat

From India, Pune
Dear Colleagues,

It is always a pleasure to be part of this forum, I would like to lend my voice to the issues-Brainstorming and Knowledge Management-Sharing.

Brainstorming-this is a management strategy to help in the evolution of ideas, concepts, perceptions as they relate to most times sticky/thorny issues in an effort to get solutions/innovative ideas in solving them.

In addition they could come from the angle of Product/Business Development-a totally new product that a firm might want to invest in could be the issue- wanting to know how workable, profitable,viable and feasible such projects could be.

Most times when I advice on Brainstorming I usually preach diversity in the combination of personalities that constitutes the session/s-for instance pick a topic such as "Investing in Real Property", I would expect the session to be made up of a lawyer, a surveyor, a civil engineer, an architect and probably a generalist/administrator-this would certainly help achieve an avalanche of diverse opinions on the same issue for the benefit of the intended project.

In addition for such sessions there should be secretary taking down all the points no matter how seemingly irrelevant to the issue discussed.

All the points so gathered from such sessions are then screened, filtered and ranked in stages of priority so that Management can take a decision as it relates to such-and if not satisfied-another session is adviced-probably with a different mix of employees.

Knowledge Management/Sharing-in relation to Brainstorming-I would advice that Management documents and make all findings from Brainstorming sessions available to the generality of Staff either via direct distribution or availability on the Company's servers and can access through its Local Area Network-this would save stationery for the Comapny.

I have always be an advocate of making the work place a Learning Environment-when Employees are sent on training or seminars, they should be made to summarise the papers and also made available either through direct presentaions or pastedon the Company's server for employees to view.

All these aformentioned combined would help firms to achieve a positive level of Shared Knowledge at the Workplace.

Thanks.

From Nigeria, Lagos
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