Brainstorming

The aim in brainstorming is to generate as many social enterprise ideas as possible.

It is best to conduct the brainstorming session in a group of at least five people. Allow two to three hours for the process. Appoint one or two people to facilitate the meeting and document outcomes.

Encourage participants to become ‘dreamers’. Dreaming is a high-energy, high-passion activity that uses the creative parts of our brains. Sometimes it is the seemingly crazy ideas that turn out to have the seed of a great idea. This stage does not last long, so enjoy thinking big for a while; you will bring things back to earth soon enough. It is important that the general attitude and atmosphere for brainstorming is positive and upbeat. The group may need warming up with a quick, playful activity to get the creative juices flowing.

Purpose
To brainstorm a full list of enterprise ideas. The aim of brainstorming is generating as many diverse ideas as possible.
Preparation
  • Organise a quiet room for this activity.
  • Invite five to eight people for the brainstorming session, and let participants know about the objectives of the brainstorming and what you’re trying to achieve. It is always helpful to review your Purpose Statement and keep in mind the purpose of the social enterprise.
  • If there are a large number of participants, break into groups of five to eight.
  • Allow at least 60 minutes for this activity. If group members are still enthusiastically generating ideas after 60 minutes, keep going until you feel you have run out of ideas.

What to do

1.Explain to members of the group that they are to generate as many ideas as they can within 60 minutes.

2.Review the objectives of the brainstorming session, including any purpose for starting a social enterprise.

3.Read out the ground rules.

4.Appoint or introduce a scribe who will be jotting down ideas or record the entire session.

5.Allow participants to ask any questions before beginning.

6.Start brainstorming!

Remember:

Don’t try to evaluate ideas during a brainstorming session. Jot them down and move on to the next idea. You are looking for as many different ideas as possible.

There is no need for discussion of any of the ideas generated. It is best to avoid discussion. Brainstorming is a team sport, with people bouncing ideas off each other. A slight modification in one idea becomes a new one!

7.There may be a lull or two, but give it a few minutes and see if the ideas pick up again. Feel free to throw in an idea or two (from another group) if a group has stalled.

8.Take a break at the end of this activity – it can be exhausting!

9.After the brainstorming session, it is a good idea for members of each group to read out two or three ideas.

10.Discuss with the group what steps to take next.

Ground Rules and Guidelines
Ground Rules:
  • Start anywhere, go anywhere.
  • Don’t think or analyse too much – talk off the top of your head (speak before you think).
  • Record every single idea, no matter how ridiculous.
  • Don’t discuss ideas, just get them down.
  • Agree: no criticism, no ridicule, no negativity, no judgment.
  • If you feel like being negative – be quiet (go and have a cup of tea).
  • Go for quantity, and the quality will come.
  • Keep encouraging each other and asking for ideas.
If the ideas are slowing down:
  • Pull out your resource maps to see if the data here will prompt more ideas.
  • Open your mind to 9 tips on where to look for ideas mentioned earlier in the Exploring section:
-Gaps in the market
-Plugging the leaks
-Under-utilised assets
-Friendly contacts
-Commercialising an existing program
-Value adding
-Challenging conventional thinking
-Acquisition and franchising
-Replicating
  • Questions you can ask to prompt more ideas:
  • Where is there unmet need?
-What industries could be considered?
-What is going on in the market (in a given industry)?
-What are the consumer trends in that industry?
-Is there unmet need or demand in this industry?
-Are there geographic gaps in the market?
  1. What is your social purpose? Who do you want to help?
-Is there a target group that you’d like to assist?
-What are the skills or talents of this beneficiary group?
  1. What can you do?
-What is your organisation already good at?
-How can you generate income from your core work?
-How does your organisation create value today?
-What resources does the organisation have available?
  • Tangible assets – real estate, infrastructure, warehouses, equipment etc.
  • Intangible assets – intellectual property, skills, experience and talents of employees, licenses, trademarks, brand etc.
-How can the resources be combined?
-Where is there spare capacity within the organisation?