Don't Bet on Brainstorming

After over 25 years as a Manufacturing and Design Engineer, as an adjunct instructor teaching a college-level course in Engineering Design, I can say unequivocably that Brainstorming works. Does it work as well as individual thinking? Well, I believe that is is an aid to individual thinking. Brainstorming, if done correctly, will draw out ideas from individuals that might not have been expressed before. Brainstorming allows the individual to express ideas to a group without fear of condemnation or humiliation.

Mr. Teschler seems to draw on studies that might themselves be flawed. If the rules of formal "brainstorming" are not followed, such a session can easily degenerate. I have moderated several myself and participated/oberved many others. Yes, it is difficult to do, but, and here is the key, it CAN be done, and done effectively. Not all groupthink sessions are true Brainstorming. I can certainly see how researchers would draw the conclusions he cites from such failed attempts.

To use the fact that "Neither Einstein nor Edison" benefited from "brainstorming" is a logical phallacy, even if true. Just because they created numerous individual ideas on their own does not mean that they could not have done as well or better in a group environment that use the formal Brainstorming rules, like No Pre-Judging of Ideas, Everyone gets a Turn, No negative comments, You may pass and still get another turn later, etc.

I also doubt whether that statement is entirely accurate. We certainly know that Edison did NOT work alone. He employed at least dozens (hundreds?) of skilled craftsmen, engineers, and scientists in his workshops and labs. Many of them went on to have substantial independent careers after leaving Edison, notably men like Niccolo Tesla. Surely there had to be many moments of "brainstorming"-like activity, even if it was not formalized as it is today. Many new ideas build on the ideas of others. Inventors like Edison, the Wright brothers, Morse, Bell, Daimler, etc. all knew, and used, ideas other had proposed or experimented with previously.

I would imagine that Einstein shared some of his theories with his contemporaries or co-workers in the universities he attended and taught, notably Princeton. Did his ideas influence others, who came up with "new ideas" independently? Certainly. Was he influenced by ideas of others? Quite possibly.

Does that mean that Brainstorming is any better or worse than "Individuals thinking independently"? I don't think so. Each has its place and each can contribute to workable solutions. Sometimes the solution to a problem requires independent thought and investigation and sometimes it is just a good way to utilize scant resources, because there is no time for "Brainstorming". It can certainly be cumbersome to have team members "brainstorming" every aspect of a design or investigation.

Obviously, brainstorming has a downside as well. For many, it appears to be a waste of time, especially if a workable solution was not forthcoming. However, in human resource terms, it is certainly a factor in job enrichment and in practical terms may succeed in eliminating many dead ends, which otherwise might have been tried and failed, due to the individual lacking some knowledge in one particular area. It also can help to discourage the Not Invented Here syndrome so common in many workplace environments and allow engineers and designers to find a new paradism, and thereby "get off the dime" in thinking outside the box and finding new solutions.

By the way, I never over-rated Brainstorming sessions. I know they are not the be-all and end-all of idea generation, just one of many "widgets" in our toolbox.