
Paul Sloane introduces the course and starts with a story about an outrageous idea that led to a great idea in a brainstorm.
The set-up, the group, principles of brainstorming.
Students learn how to evaluate and select ideas using criteria, how to use How, Wow Now. And how to turn ideas into action.
Paul Sloane describes a number of icebreakers including the Gestures Exercise which is described in the associated resource.
A powerful method for product or service innovations.
Demonstration of ChatGPT as a tool to help brainstorm ideas.
Explore two powerful brainstorming techniques—the nominal method and pass the parcel—that involve everyone, reduce domination, and generate from safe ideas to wild, then workable solutions.
Explore brain writing, an anonymous brainstorming method where participants write four to six ideas on cards, then group and evaluate them remotely by criteria like novel, feasible, cheaper.
Redefine the problem in new terms to unlock fresh perspectives and ideas. Reverse the problem by imagining how to make things worse and deriving positive actions from those reversals.
Explore two advanced brainstorming techniques: random word and what-if, rooted in lateral thinking. Learn to facilitate associations from a random noun to challenges, generating creative ideas.
Apply a random word brainstorming technique with ai assistance to generate eight creative tourism ideas for Algeria, using nouns like beverage, dog, freckle, influence, and pinch.
Explore similes and free writing as practical brainstorming techniques. Apply cross-field insights to problems like absenteeism, and practice ten-minute free writing to generate and refine ideas.
Explore a newspaper-based brainstorming method that generates creative ideas for marketing, sales, and writing by scanning sections like home news, world news, obituaries, solo or in groups.
Master advanced brainstorming techniques to generate and select ideas, using diverse teams and a facilitator, with 12 methods like scamper and random word.
Explore two bonus brainstorming methods: what's on tv tonight, a random input role-play approach using tv program personas, and adding to that, a collaborative refinement with six serving men prompts.
Master the facilitator's role to troubleshoot common brainstorm problems, energize participants, and sustain engagement while applying methods such as nominal, random word, and what-if.
Master SWOT analysis to identify internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats, and craft strategic plans for business, marketing, acquisitions, and competitive positioning.
Every team leader needs to know how to run highly effective brainstorms.
Unlock the creativity in you and your team by learning how to run productive brainstorms, ideation sessions and ideas meetings. This course takes you beyond basic brainstorming into powerful methods which displace people out of their comfort zones and enable them to generate many radical ideas. You will learn how to evaluate and refine the initial ideas so as to select a handful of winning ideas to implement.
The course steps you through the structure of a successful brainstorm by explaining how and when you use divergent thinking and convergent thinking. It includes 16 brainstorming tools which are proven to deliver great ideas. The course is recently updated to include a demonstration of how to use ChatGPT and artificial intelligence as a brainstorm tool. It shows how you select the best ideas. It includes the remarkable How? Wow! Now! method for voting on ideas. Although it is primarily focussed on group activities, the course contains methods which you can use on your own to boost your personal creativity. The 16 brainstorm methods are varied, energizing, entertaining and highly effective.
When you complete this course you will be able to run highly effective brainstorms which deliver actionable results for your team, your department and your organisation. It will help enable you to drive innovation and advance your career. You will become known as someone who can lead teams to achieve creative and successful solutions to important problems.
As a bonus we have added a lecture on SWOT analysis - a brainstorm technique to explore Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is a powerful tool for building business strategies and marketing plans.