Brain write before you brainstorm

How to make sure everyone's voice is heard

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Today's tip is that, if you want to get as
many good ideas as possible, allow time for everyone to
generate ideas solo before you share your ideas with each other.
In a recent interview with former Surgeon General v. Vick Murphy,
Adam Grant, a Wharton School professor, describe this particular idea

(00:38):
generation tactic as deciding to brain write before you brainstorm.
Lots of times when groups want to get new ideas,
you get everyone in a room and then say let's
put everything up on the board, and that can work,
but there are lots of group dynamics that can come
into play that can limit what people come up with,

(01:01):
So Grant explained, when you are in a group situation
generating ideas, one way to avoid some of these downfalls
is to dedicate time for everyone to think and make
notes silently and individually before brainstorming as a group. With
individual think time first, everyone and especially the introverts among you,

(01:25):
will have ample opportunity to come up with ideas and
will be ready to contribute when you all come back together.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
I think this is a good suggestion. Building in time
for people to think individually helps ensure that everyone's voice
is heard. But just as important, allowing individual think time
means you get more ideas to start from. In a
shouted out brainstorming session, you often wind up with everybody

(01:57):
simply responding to the first idea that someone said. And
let's be clear, this is probably going to be an
idea from someone senior and vocal. But if everyone has
generated solo ideas first, you can put them all out
there and then see what other ideas get sparked without

(02:18):
priming the pump for one individual idea. Providing time for
brain writing could be valuable in work meetings, but it
seems like it might be relevant in other contexts too.
For instance, if you are talking with your older kids
about their options for summer day camps or sleepaway camps
and childcare, it could be helpful to introduce the topic

(02:41):
and then allow thinking time for them, you, your partner,
and anybody else who's involved in the decision, in order
to identify possibilities before you discuss them. Likewise, if you
and your spouse are figuring out your annual budget instead
of immediate working collaboratively. It could be helpful for each

(03:03):
of you to look at your budget and actual tallies
from the previous year. Then you can develop ideas about
the coming year's budget independently before you discuss live vacations
for the year or even planning. Any specific vacation could
benefit from a similar approach, So could any persistent problems

(03:24):
you're trying to solve, like how to manage morning drop
off after a schedule change, When to put your house
on the market if you don't want to have two
mortgages for long, but also don't want to be living
in a house that's for sale, Where to gather for
Thanksgiving now that your parents are no longer hosting, and
so forth. Any time you want to generate ideas with
a group, building in time for people to generate ideas

(03:46):
solo first can help ensure that everyone's ideas are heard.
You might also get the broadest and most varied ideas
to choose from, and that can help make your ultimate
share much wiser. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks

(04:06):
for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions ideas,
or feedback. You can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

(04:36):
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