Tool: BrainStretches

A challenge with group brainstorming in the workplace is switching gears from the “Do this! Do that!” of daily tasks to the “Hmmm, what if?” of creative thinking. Without a proper BrainStretch, group members may try to brainstorm from a tactical mindset (logic, practicality and speed). If so, the result will be narrow thinking, early dismissal of ideas and a lack of connection within the group – not the formula for success!

There are five specific outcomes of a warm-up; together they totally justify a 5 to 10-minute investment at the start of a session. Download a one-pager, BrainStretches.pdf, and do one or two of the three exercises offered. Watch for the outcomes below to ensure the BrainStretch is working!

• Switch gears from “work” to “play”! It is impossible to be creative if still stuck in the practical, logistical thinking of daily tasks. A warm-up gives you a way to transition.
  
• Warm up the brain. Creativity is all about connecting thoughts in original ways – a mental jumping around. A warm-up gets you jumping around without hesitation or self-judgment.
• Warm up the voice. It’s one thing to have an idea, it’s another to express it so that people actually hear it and build on it. A warm-up allows you to call out random words with abandon; you practice expressing your ideas with your full voice versus succumbing to a timid whisper or full-on self-censorship.
• Connect as a team. A group warm-up allows everyone to acknowledge and accept each other. Collaboration can’t happen without connection. (How many times have you been at a meeting where not everyone makes eye contact?)
• Practice listening and building on ideas. When people build ideas together (versus present their “own ideas” for approval), it takes the pressure off. If the idea fails, then no one in particular owns the failure. If the idea is a success, then everyone wins. However, listening and building on ideas is difficult. Often people don’t listen when someone is talking because they’re using the time to formulate their response. To address this bad habit, do a warm-up that brings awareness to what IS and IS NOT effective collaboration.

About the BrainStretches.pdf

• Clap Focus is explained in more detail in another post with instructions for adapting it for another purpose: helping a team learn and memorize key messages.
• Five Things is just crazy fun. See the samples below. The idea is to force the brain to make connections quickly.
• W6 Snap is more challenging but also more effective in building collaboration. It is a great warm-up if your group is generating ideas for something experiential e.g. a product, a service, an event, etc.

Famous Five Things

Here are some creative “Five Things” requests from past sessions I’ve led. You can guess how much fun comes out of spontaneous, unedited responses to…

• Five things you would find in the trunk of your car.
• Five things you would not want to find in the trunk of your car.
• Five things you have in your pockets (or purse) right now.
• Five things you would never cook in a pie.
• Five things you would pack for a weekend in Las Vegas.
• Five things you might find under a bed.
• Five things you would not want to find under a bed.
• Five things you should never bring to a Wedding Shower.
• Five things the Prime Minister never discusses with parliament.

You can change up the exercise a little bit…

• Five flavours of ice cream that don’t exist.
• Five reasons to exit a building in a hurry.
• Five ways to persuade a bear to leave a campsite.

Have fun and remember: don’t self edit!