How do you engage others when problem solving? Knowing how to facilitate a productive brainstorming session puts the power of collaborative thinking in your corner. Plus, it builds a stronger and more united team to meet future challenges head on, too. Learn how to unlock group creativity to start the ideas flowing in this article from the Peak Focus experts.

1. Once the issue and expected results are
clearly described, the participants are
given a few minutes to consider the issue.
The facilitator then requests that they
offer any ideas or suggestions that come
to mind without discussion, evaluation or
judgment by others. The recorder should
write every idea down on a flip chart
without changing any words. If they are
not sure what is suggested, they must ask
for clarification before recording the idea.
It is best to create a time limit and keep
the process moving, engaging everyone
in the group. In order to ensure that
everyone contributes, the facilitator can
request that each person responds in
turn. Participants should be encouraged
to develop other people’s ideas;
remember, the purpose of this exercise
is to come up with new, and innovative
solutions.
Rules of Engagement
Solving Problems with
Brainstorming ▲▲ Everyone contributes
Throw your wildest idea on the table. ▲▲ There are no stupid ideas
▲▲ Outrageous suggestions are
Are you struggling with unresolved problems/issues and finding that desired
the strategies you’ve attempted don’t meet your expectations? Do ▲▲ No one judges or criticizes
you find at times that your employees or colleagues are not as fully another’s idea
engaged as you are?
▲▲ Record every suggestion without
Frequently, solutions/strategies are implemented based on limited discussion
input from just a few contributors with similar perspectives; resulting ▲▲ The more ideas the better
in disappointing outcomes. In fact, quite often the solutions result ▲▲ No cell phones/PDA’s allowed
in even larger problems. In other words, today’s solutions become
tomorrow’s problems.
Materials Required
Designing “Out of the Box” strategies can be achieved through
▲▲ Flip chart
Brainstorming. Brainstorming is a problem solving technique
employed in an effort to create a broad range of unique ideas/ ▲▲ Masking tape
solutions to problems or issues. Engaging groups of 5-10 participants, ▲▲ Markers (various colors)
tapping into their knowledge and experience, in a structured process,
▲▲ Sticky Notepads
can result in a real collaborative effort.
How does it work? Ideas for Engagement
Small groups should be organized, consisting of people with diverse When working with a group that has
backgrounds, to focus on a specific problem/issue to generate unique/ not experienced brainstorming it is
creative solutions. Each group should assign a facilitator and a recorder. recommended that you warm them up by

2. About Peak Focus, LLC
practicing with an issue that is unrelated to your People. Performance. Profitability.
mission. This will give them the opportunity to
be very creative without pre-judging their own Peak Focus gives you the tools to grow, develop and
suggestions. strengthen your team. With a mix of resources that we’ve
created ourselves, as well as several powerful tools we’ve
You can also warm them up by asking them to write carefully assessed and believe in, we combine our passion
as many ideas on one sheet of paper or one idea per and experience to guide companies and individuals
sticky-note (provide them with as many sticky notes toward optimized performance. Select your team
as they need) and make a contest out of it. This will members with confidence, help your key players develop
help to break the “judgment barrier.”
their soft skills, and learn how to coach your entire team
more effectively by engaging the experts at Peak Focus.
Once the actual brainstorming begins, make sure
you have plenty of wall space to display all of the flip
For more information and access to free resources, please
charts sheets. This will keep the ideas flowing as they
visit our website at www.peakfocuscoach.com
view the ideas that have already been presented.
When the ideas stop coming and the group is silent
Engage With Us
for a few minutes the first phase of brainstorming is
complete.
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Jerry Scher - Founder and Principal at Peak Focus, LLC
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Jerry is well known as a business
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Regardless of the title, the end result
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is the same–Jerry makes the people
around him significantly more successful through his
ability to simplify the complex, ask the right questions,
and develop appropriate solutions to keep businesses
and individuals moving forward.
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