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Brainstorming

Where do new ideas come from? Sometimes they come out of nowhere – the ‘eureka’ moment – but usually they emerge through discussions between people. Brainstorming is the generic name given to any sort of structured interactive process for coming up with new ideas.

When to use it

  • To help you or your team to come up with new ideas.
  • To solve a particular business problem.
  • To energise people in your firm so they contribute more.

Origins

The concept of brainstorming was developed by advertising executive Alex Osborn back in 1939. Frustrated by the inability of his employees to come up with creative solutions for ad campaigns, he began hosting group-thinking sessions to improve the quality of ideas. His books Your Creative Power ...

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