Who do you typically brainstorm with? The same group of people, time after time? Do you ever detect a certain “sameness” in the ideas generated?

Are you surprised???

The quality and creative yield of ideas in any brainstorming session will only be as good as the people who make up the group. In today’s highly competitive, innovation-driven marketplace, truly breakthrough thinking almost always depends upon high quality collaboration.

In his book, Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration, author Keith Sawyer explains, “When we collaborate, creativity unfolds across people; the sparks fly faster, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Collaboration drives creativity because innovation always emerges from a series of sparks—never a single flash of insight. This is the essence of group creativity.”

Group Creativity and Flow

The most productive brainstorming sessions occur when the group becomes so absorbed in their activity that they slip into a state of creative flow. Flow is that peak performance state athletes refer to as “The Zone.” It occurs when a group becomes single-mindedly focused in its creative problem solving activity, all sense of time, place, and self-consciousness (ego) disappear. Everyone feels highly alert and on top of their game. It is under these conditions that a unified sense of effortless collaboration emerges; the group begins to function as a single, collective mind that intuitively knows the best ways to build upon, amplify, or refine one another’s ideas.

Clearly, selecting the most appropriate and effective group for your specific challenge is the key to an enjoyable, super-productive idea generation session.

Creating a “Dream Team’ vs. Inviting the “Usual Suspects”

If you were a basketball coach with your eye set on the championship, you would want to assemble an all-star, powerhouse team of accomplished players. You wouldn’t settle for a mixed bag of amateurs that just happened to be nearby and were easy to recruit. To assemble this “Dream Team,” you would scout for the most talented athletes who possessed the specific skills, talent and experience your team would need to win.

Likewise, when faced with a tough business challenge, shouldn’t you carefully evaluate who in your organization or network possesses the best knowledge, skills and experience to successfully tackle the challenge? Shouldn’t your goal be to assemble the smartest, most capable, most creative problem-solving all-stars you can find?

Surprisingly, few brainstorm leaders invest adequate time or effort in this important step. They forego any due diligence scouting and more often than not simply extend invitations to the “usual suspects” (those who work in the same department or division, or work on the same product, service, account, etc.). Most don’t even consider the value of inviting “outsiders,” since they already know and feel comfortable with the usual suspects. After all, “the team” understands your product, service, goods, or process; and they understand the underlying issues, situation, and challenges, right? Aren’t these people the best qualified to help you develop innovative solutions to your problem?

Not necessarily.

Conformity/uniformity in thinking (groupthink), a lack of objectivity or perspective, internal politics or infighting, personal agendas, and a general aversion to risk-taking or radical new ideas are all common pitfalls experienced when the same group of people come together repeatedly to generate ideas. When participants work under the same conditions and circumstances, confront the same challenges day in and day out, repeatedly run into the same limitations or obstacles, and share the same assumptions about what is or is not possible, options can appear scarce—boxing in the group’s thinking abilities.

The power of diversity

Who you invite to your brainstorming session can have a dramatic impact on your productivity and the session’s ultimate success. When you deliberately recruit a diverse group of participants—an all-star team from different backgrounds, cultures, genders, age, talents, skills, knowledge, expertise and perspectives—you exponentially increase your group’s ability to deliver innovative solutions.

In Group Genius, Keith Sawyer also writes, “…when solving complex, non-routine problems, groups are more effective when they’re composed of people who have a variety of skills, knowledge, and perspective.” He goes on to say, “The reason groups are so effective at generating innovation is that they bring together far more concepts and bodies of knowledge than any one person can. Group genius can happen only if the brains in the team don’t contain all the same stuff.”

7 ways to enhance diversity in your groups

1. Invite a mix of generations. Boomers, Gen-X, Millennials… They each bring a different generational perspective, values and skill sets, cultural reference points, beliefs, attitudes and archetypes.
2. Invite a range of expertise, professional backgrounds, and specialties. Great ideas can come from anyone. People from any discipline, even one not directly related to the challenge at hand, may offer incredible insights and value. Chances are someone has already solved a problem similar to yours in a different company, industry or country.
3. Balance gender and social orientation. Just as different generations can provide a variety of perspectives, so can individuals with diverse personal backgrounds.
4. Invite people from different countries of origin. Thanks to today’s global economy, we are increasingly working side-by-side with individuals from across the country and across the globe. Capitalize on their diverse world viewpoints and cultural understandings. Cultural fusion is a powerful element of innovation.
5. Invite right- and left-brain thinkers. Yes, in the same group! Creative types and linear thinkers, artists and bean counters. You may not think they’ll mix well. But in fact, the Yin and Yang of linear/analytical and non-linear/creative thinkers can be an important element in the creative process.
6. Invite introverts and extroverts. Maybe add a dash of Myer’s-Briggs personality types. Look for individuals with different ways of perceiving and interpreting: feeling, intuiting, judging, etc. This will add a richer dimension to your group’s problem solving abilities.
7. Throw in one or two “wild cards.” An unexpected participant can stir things up and add a new dynamic into the mix. You can invite customers, clients, suppliers, kids, etc.—anyone who can provide fresh, new perspectives on your challenge.

It’s often said that “variety is the spice of life.” It just might also be the “secret sauce” in successful brainstorms. Take the time to assemble your brainstorming dream team. Rather than settle for “same old, same old,” try embracing the unexpected!

It works for the most innovative companies in the world. And it will work for you, too!

- Victor Hugo

Unfortunately, most people have never experienced a genuinely successful brainstorm. The vast majority range from disappointing to disastrous. So when it comes to planning a brainstorm, you may not even know what to plan for.

If you want to create a much more efficient, productive and enjoyable brainstorming experience for yourself and your team, it is essential that you thoroughly pre-plan your sessions. This first step in our SmartStorming process is one that is almost never taken, and one of the most critical. In fact, taking this one step alone can have a dramatic impact on the success of your ideation sessions.

Experience design is a discipline in which processes or environments—experiences— are carefully crafted to meet the needs, desires, skills and expectations of the participants. Consider, for example, a roller coaster. The designer considers each moment of the experience, from the time the rider is strapped into the seat, through the first rise, the first big drop, every twist, turn and barrel roll, until the car rolls to a stop and the journey is over.

A group brainstorm session is much the same. As a successful leader, you must plan exactly where you want to take your participants, what their overall experience will be, how to keep your group on track and how it will all end up. Think of yourself as an experience designer, leave as little as possible to chance, and your sessions will consistently deliver the results you are looking for.

There are three key advantages in pre-planning your brainstorm sessions:

1. Pre-planning helps make your session flow more easily and productively from beginning to end. As the facilitator, you enter the room with a greater sense of confidence because you have comprehensively mapped out the precise journey of imagination your group is about to embark upon. You have clearly pre-determined the goals and objectives, invited the best team (knowledge and experience) to help you achieve your goals, you have pre-selected the best idea-generation tools and techniques for the challenge, and possess the right criteria necessary for efficiently evaluating and selecting ideas. When you pre-plan your sessions, you minimize the Machiavellian forces of chaos and entropy that can quickly undermine loosely structured traditional brainstorms.
2. Pre-planning dramatically increases your group’s creative yield of new ideas.There are numerous, proven group idea-generation tools and techniques that inspire fresh thinking and new ways to approach problem solving. These tools and techniques can be used individually, or combined in different combinations to eradicate limiting assumptions, explore multiple viewpoints and stimulate powerful free-association – what we call “popcorning” of ideas. Pre-planning provides you the valuable opportunity to orchestrate the best tools and techniques to ignite your group’s imagination and achieve your goal. It can dramatically increase your group’s creative yield, often by as much as 40-60%.
3. Pre-planning frees you up to lead more effectively. Once you have laid out your session plan, you will have a clear, concise overview of how your brainstorm will flow from beginning to end. This blueprint takes all the guesswork out of how to structure your session, or what to do, or when to do it. It’s all there… simply organized and in sequence. So as the group leader, you can focus on the matter at hand—generating ideas.

The 7 Pre-Planning Steps
Our SmartStorming Pre-Session Planner makes pre-planning easy. It walks the leader through the seven easy-to-follow steps necessary to structure great sessions, time after time. The steps are simple and logical. They are designed to stimulate your best thinking and get you highly organized, regardless of how challenged you may be in the organizational department.

Pre-planning requires an investment of just a few minutes of quality time, but guarantees your SmartStorm session will flow more efficiently, more enjoyably, and produce far superior results than traditional brainstorming efforts.

Here is a brief overview of each step we take in the SmartStorming Pre-Session Planner. You’ll soon see why this simple step will change forever the way you approach group ideation meetings.

Step 1: Clarify the Challenge, Goals and Objectives
It’s very difficult to get where you want to go if you don’t know where you’re going. That’s why goals and objectives are so vitally important. Clarifying your specific challenge, goals and objectives focuses the group’s attention and sets a high creative bar.

Step 2: Choose Participants
You can dramatically increase the quantity and quality of the ideas your group produces by thoughtfully selecting your participants. Choosing individuals with the most appropriate backgrounds, skills, knowledge, and experience for the challenge, instead of simply inviting the “usual suspects,” is a critically important step in group ideation success.

Step 3: Provide Background Information
In a typical, poorly-planned brainstorm session, participants enter the room with only a vague notion of the task at hand. They may know the general subject, but typically don’t understand the specifics of the challenge. Getting them “up to speed” can often take 20% or more of your allotted time. Provide your group with all the information they need to succeed—before the session takes place.

Step 4: Choose Your Icebreaker
When participants enter the room, chances are they are coming in with scattered attention, preoccupied with other outside concerns. The first job of a good facilitator is to help focus the group on the challenge ahead, free up their attention from distractions, breakdown interpersonal barriers and galvanize them as a collaborative team aligned toward a common goal. The fastest way to accomplish this is through brief, playful icebreaker activities.

Step 5: Select Ideation Techniques
While every part of a SmartStorming session is important, arguably the most important is the time allotted for actual idea generation. Simply “throwing ideas against the wall” is hardly the most effective way to help groups generate abundant, innovative concepts. There are dozens of techniques for enhancing the flow of original thoughts, helping teams expand and enhance the ideas of others and create totally new directions by combining or exploring various aspects of ideas. Decide ahead of time which tools and techniques will be most appropriate for your challenge and your group, in order to ensure outstanding results.

Step 6: Establish Selection Criteria
A productive SmartStorming session can produce literally hundreds of new ideas. Some are great. Some have potential. Some are…well, you know. How you organize, evaluate, and select the best ideas can become a daunting challenge, particularly in the heat of the moment, and if you haven’t considered your process ahead of time. Your selection criteria should be built directly from your challenge, goals and objectives, established in Step One. By pre-determining the specific yardstick you will use to measure the effectiveness of potential ideas, you will have a clear, unambiguous process in place, ready to implement.

Step 7: Plan Next Steps and Follow-Through
Most people believe a brainstorming session ends when the ideas have been selected. In fact, the end of the idea selection process actually launches an entirely new process—follow-through. Once again, most people never even consider this to be part of an effective ideation session. But breakthrough ideas are useless unless they are transformed from ethereal concepts into tangible realities. To bring new ideas to life, next steps and timetables need to be determined, responsibilities assigned, milestones established and progress meetings scheduled.

That’s it. Once you have completed your pre-session planning, you are all set! You will feel organized, buttoned-down and more confident in your abilities to lead a great session. Your group will appreciate the difference the new structure and techniques will make in liberating their creativity to more effortlessly achieve success.

Click here to download a free copy of our SmartStorming Pre-session Planner – and start pre-planning perfect brainstorms today!

7 Secrets for Supercharging Your Brainstorms

1.Preplan your sessions to boost yield of ideas

2.Get your group off to a fast start

3.Proactively manage and balance personalities

4.Engage the silent thinkers

5.Keep the energy high and ideas flowing

6.Use proven idea-generation techniques (like Idea Sprinting)

7.Never select ideas without pre-determined criteria

To learn more about how to supercharge your brainstorms, REGISTER HERE to receive a free copy of the SmartStorming 7-Step Pre-Session Planner, including instructions for the powerful Idea Sprinting ideation technique.

© 2010 SmartStorming LLC – All rights reserved

Ideation techniques are, quite simply, novel thought-provoking exercises designed to help groups tackle challenges in ways they might not otherwise consider. Some make it easier for groups to view issues from fresh perspectives; others provide engaging processes to help stimulate imagination, overcome shyness, facilitate collaboration, and much more.

In short, ideation techniques make it possible for groups to generate a greater breadth and depth of ideas (i.e., more, better ideas).

Anyone who takes even a few moments to Google “ideation techniques” will learn that there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, around. Some are well-known and extensively documented; others are less-so.

We recently conducted a survey among our network to find out just where people stand on ideation techniques—which ones they know, which ones they use in brainstorms, and what they think about them. The results are interesting, if not completely surprising.

When asked whether they believe knowing and using different ideation techniques is beneficial to brainstorming, the answer was a resounding “Yes!”

“…it helps you see more possibilities and solutions”

“…otherwise all people do it sit in a room and go around in circles discussing the same old issues & thoughts without any focus or direction.”

“It directs and channels your thinking.”

“… solutions can arise unconventionally, where otherwise no solutions may have surfaced creatively.”

Many respondents also suggested that knowing and understanding a variety of techniques is critical to group brainstorming success (a notion we at SmartStorming wholeheartedly agree with).

“The more techniques you can use the more chance you have of getting better results from a group.”

“…You have to match the technique to the objective and the strengths/weaknesses of the group.”

“…the more tools you bring to the stage, the more likely you are to come up with a hit.”

“…if you use only one brainstorming technique, you’ll lose the crispness of creativity.”

However, when provided a list of well-known ideation techniques, only one had relatively broad awareness—Mind Mapping—followed by Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and the widely-used S.W.O.T. Analysis. All others listed had less than 7% awareness.

Mind Mapping – 23%
S.W.O.T. Analysis – 20%
Six Thinking Hats – 19%
180-Degree Thinking/Reversal – 8%
SCAMPER – 7%
Worst Idea – 6%
In Their Shoes – 6%
All others – <3%

And when asked what other techniques (not listed in the survey) they used, more than 54% of listed no additional techniques at all; and fewer than 10% listed more than two.

It is important to note that this survey was conducted among our network of readers, presumably an audience that is more tuned-in to advanced brainstorming and ideation techniques than the average businessperson. And yet, it is clear that even among this group, very few know, understand and use a range of ideation techniques.

Again, this result isn’t entirely surprising. In our own ongoing research, we find that fewer than 10% of individuals in any industry (even creativity-focused businesses like advertising and design) have had any training whatsoever in brainstorming and group ideation. Those that have typically know one or two ideation techniques, but nothing about brainstorming session structure or facilitation skills.

And so it would appear that while we understand and acknowledge the value of having a library of ideation techniques at our disposal, few of us make the effort to identify and learn those techniques.

In this era of the “innovation economy,” it is bewildering that individuals and organizations still don’t recognize the importance of idea generation. Business success today requires continuous reevaluation and reinvention of one’s business offering. Once organizations could thrive for decades on a single great idea; today they need a great idea every year, and in some cases every month or week.

Only by taking the personal initiative to educate oneself in a variety of ideation techniques—and to offer training throughout one’s organization in effective brainstorm leadership and facilitation—can anyone hope to survive and thrive in today’s competitive business environment.

Innovation begins with ideas. No ideas, no innovation.

How many great ideas did you and your team come up with today?

——————-

Note: Here’s a full list of all ideation techniques mentioned by survey respondents. They’re a good start for building your own library!

Mind Mapping
S.W.O.T. Analysis
Six Thinking Hats
180-Degree Thinking/Reversal
SCAMPER
Worst Idea
In Their Shoes
3-D Ideation (SmartStorming)
Brainwalking
Group Graffitti
Freewriting
Divergent/Convergent Thinking
Process & Task Orientation
Role Reversal (similar to “In Their Shoes”)
Working Backwards
Analografiti by Vera F. Birkenbihl
Subconscious Ideation
Delphi Method
Synetics
Zero Draft
Rapid Writing
Random Input/Analogy
Alter Ego
What If?
Parallel Design
How Might Be?
Facilitated Creative Visualization
Socratic Questioning
Kills the Sacred Cows (similar to 180-Degree Thinking)
Random Stimulation
Forced Connection
Ask a Stranger

And here is webpage with a fairly extensive listing of techniques you can explore and use: http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Creativity_Techniques

In many ways I was thrilled and encouraged by Bob LaMendola’s story in the May 28 Sun Sentinel, “Inventors brainstorm ways to plug oil spill.”

As a native New Orleanian, and now a part-time resident of South Florida, it is gratifying to read about so many smart, engaged and concerned South Floridians employing their creativity in an effort to help reduce the impact of this terrible disaster that threatens to alter our lives for decades to come.

That said, it is troubling to learn, not only here, but in virtually every report on BP’s and the government’s response to the spill, how slow, pondering and uncreative their efforts have been, especially in today’s innovation-driven society.

Innovation, which is clearly needed in this unprecedented event, is fueled by ideas, not by rethinking the status quo.

The situation in the Gulf worsens not every day, but every second. A few fewer engineers and a few more creative thinkers at the table may have had this problem solved weeks ago.

It is interesting to note that a recent survey of 1,500 chief executives, conducted by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, shows that CEOs identify “creativity” as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future. And yet, corporate behemoths like BP, and even our change-oriented administration, continue to function in the ways of the past.

We can only hope that sooner rather than later, the real innovators in our world will assume greater positions of influence. Perhaps then, disasters such as these will not only be addressed faster, but may not happen at all.

Keith Harmeyer, Hollywood, FL

Don’t misunderstand—he did come up with his share of ideas, both good and bad.

But perhaps his most meaningful and influential contribution to the brainstorms was the inspiring way in which he would often open a session.

“You know how they say there are no bad ideas?” the boss would begin. “That’s not true; there are bad ideas,” the guy who held in his hands the fate of everyone’s career would continue. “Really bad ideas. Ideas so bad, they should never be spoken out loud.”

You can pretty much imagine where the sessions went from there.

The more junior people in the room, or those whose bellies were just the least bit yellow, would keep their mouths dutifully shut—except to offer an enthusiastic, “Great idea!” when the boss would serve up his creative contributions.

Those of us with a bit more experience (or foolhardiness) would carefully toss our ideas into the ring, more often than not only to have them instantly shot down by our leader. “No, no. That’s no good. Anybody else got anything?”

At the end of these sessions, we would almost always walk away with an idea. His idea.

Funny or sad, but definitely true, this true story exemplifies perfectly the single most devastating thing you can bring with you into a brainstorm—ego.

We often say, half-jokingly, “Kick out the boss” if you want to have a successful brainstorming session. While not always practical in real life, the idea behind the statement is nonetheless sound. Anyone who dominates a brainstorm, either due to seniority or just plain old arrogance and obnoxiousness, will most surely be its ruin.

The real magic and power of a well-executed brainstorm is the superior strength of the group mind—individuals, somehow working together in concert, towards a common goal. Bringing together diverse points-of-views, talents, experiences, etc. expands thinking, increases contribution and allows a well functioning team to build upon each other’s thoughts. The result: a greater breadth and depth of ideas that are far more inspired and developed than those any single individual could produce in the same time frame.

For all the brainstorming-naysayers among you, yes, there have been numerous studies that suggest individual ideation is more effective and producing ideas than group brainstorming. And no wonder. The vast majority of brainstorms are poorly planned, and facilitated by individuals who have had no formal training in the process. They are, in one way or another, like the dysfunctional examples I described at the top of this article: doomed from the start.

But when well prepared and expertly guided, a brainstorm is like a well-rehearsed symphony orchestra—each individual player sharing his or her talent and skill, working together to weave an intricate tapestry that only gets bigger and more beautiful as each new idea is introduced and expanded upon.

So if you are the one in control and just want to push your ideas forward (as ill-conceived and unenlightened as that management style may be), forget brainstorming. Save everyone the time, energy and humiliation, and just dictate the direction you demand.

But if you want to transform your organization into a super-human, innovative-thinking machine, do the right thing. Kick out the boss.

Or at least the boss’s ego.

One of the simplest, most valuable skills a brainstorm facilitator can develop is the ability to “read the direction” in which their group’s thoughts are flowing. Just like the ebbing and flowing tides of an ocean or river, collaborative thinking flows in one of two distinct directions: 1) it can diverge outward, in a broad, multidirectional, expansive exploration of ideas; or 2) it can converge inward, narrowing focus in an effort to judge, select and eliminate ideas.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking
Divergent thinking opens the imagination to all possibilities, while convergent thinking analyzes and chooses from among those possibilities. In a sense, divergent and convergent thinking are the Yin and Yang of creative problem solving. Neither is superior to the other – simply more appropriate for the task at hand. And both processes are essential to the ultimate success of any group idea generation session. So it’s important to understand their relative benefits, to identify when and under what circumstances each type of thinking is taking place, and to learn how to guide the group back to the most appropriate and effective method of thinking.

The Benefits of Divergent Thinking
Divergent thinking allows a group to generate as many fresh, new ideas as possible in a short timeframe. During this process all judgment is suspended, the group is encouraged to go for quantity of ideas, not quality, spontaneously build on one another’s ideas, and push the boundaries of the imagination…even wild, crazy, audacious ideas are welcome. In fact, the motto for divergent thinking is, “Everything is possible!” All ideas are equally embraced and recorded. In divergent thinking there really is no such thing as a bad idea. The goal is to simply achieve the largest creative yield of ideas and new connections possible. Look at divergent thinking as “big picture,” unencumbered by any practical or logistical constrains, limitations, or judgments.

The Benefits of Convergent Thinking
If divergent thinking is casting the widest net possible to capture new ideas, then convergent thinking can be thought of as harvesting of the very best of catch. Just as a funnel decreases the scope of a substance, so that it fits through a narrow opening, convergent thinking narrows down a large number of ideas through the process of analyzing, judging, eliminating and selecting. Convergent thinking is ideally suited for thoroughly evaluating the merits of an idea, or seeing how well it holds up to scrutiny based on pre-established criteria. We use convergent thinking to gain clarity, consider practical constraints, draw conclusions, determine the bottom-line, and select the best ideas.

When Thinking Processes Collide
As we mentioned earlier, each of the two thinking processes has an essential role to play in an effective brainstorm. However, if they take place simultaneously, or at the inappropriate time, they will quickly become an obstacle to success. Like matter and antimatter, one will neutralize the benefits of the other and create potentially “explosive” situations.

For example, imagine your group is in the middle of a spirited “blue sky” exploration of new, inventive ways to promote your product or service in light of new competition (divergent thinking). Suddenly a participant begins to judge or shoot down fledgling ideas they feel aren’t worthy of consideration (convergent thinking). What happens? The spontaneous outflow of idea sharing comes to a grinding halt. People clam up, become defensive and withhold their thoughts in fear of being judged or ridiculed. It takes a vigilant and skilled facilitator to spot convergent thinking when it seeps into the divergent ideation process. To get the session back on track, the facilitator must quickly stop the judgment and shift the group back in the direction of productive, divergent thinking.

Conversely if your group is in the selection process of narrowing down an abundance of ideas, convergent thinking is just the method you need. By assessing and judging ideas according to an established list of objective criteria, you can quickly separate the wheat from the chaff. However, if divergent thinking enters your evaluation process, your group will start free-associating ways to save an impractical idea… or worse, spontaneously begin a whole new round of unnecessary idea-generation. When this occurs, the objective selection process gets hijacked; sessions run overtime, and usually end without closure.

The Best of Both Worlds
An awareness and understanding of both these types of collaborative thinking can have a profound impact on the ultimate effectiveness of your idea generation sessions. Learn to identify them quickly. Develop skills for guiding or redirecting your group’s attention in the most productive direction. Then watch, not just as the ideas flow – but as the very best rise to the top.

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How many life changing ideas do you figure have been thought up over the centuries, yet no one ever heard about them?

How many times every day do you imagine a brilliant concept is presented to a decision-maker, only to be shot down and buried forever?

How many creative geniuses do you think are really able to effectively communicate and present their ideas to others? Not everyone is a Steve Jobs. In fact, very few of us are. Which is one of the key reasons why Steve Jobs is, well, Steve Jobs.

Creativity and innovative thinking don’t really require clear, effective communication. Big brained scientists with minimal social skills think up mind-blowing ideas in the privacy of their labs every day. But true innovation requires that those remarkable, game-changing ideas make it through the gauntlet of judgment and criticism, all the way through to completion, where they can deliver real, lasting value. That simply cannot happen if no one knows about them and enthusiastically supports them. And that requires effective communication and presentation skills.

As Howard H. Aiken is quoted as saying, “Don’t worry about people stealing an idea. If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats.” And while ramming it down their throats might not always be required, a little persuasion almost always will be.

Communication is the often forgotten, essential component of innovation. True, it’s not as sexy as all those other components we love reading about, things like creative ideation, strategic implementation, enhanced value, disruptive technology, elegant design and a dozen or so other overused buzz words. But in the end, if your big idea is not clearly and persuasively presented to your collaborators and decision makers, it will simply wither on the vine.

We’ve all seen it happen, especially in a group brainstorm session. Someone at the table has an idea, a good idea, one they love and that has real merit. Unfortunately, they don’t have the confidence and expertise to articulate it persuasively. A louder voice and bigger ego in the room shoots it down, and there it lies. Sometimes a supportive comrade will pick up the idea and champion it to the group. But if a skilled communicator doesn’t take up the challenge, it’s dead.

The good news is that communication and presentation skills can be learned and mastered by anybody. As with any other discipline, there are simple, proven methods and techniques that can help you speak with authority and influence the opinions and decisions of others. So if you are going to be an effective innovator, or even a contributor to the innovation process, you had better start boning up on your communication skills.

Here are a few tips to help you sell your next big idea…

1. Know What You’re Trying to Achieve – Before you open your mouth, think for a moment about what you want your words to actually accomplish. Are you trying to convince someone that your idea is the best there is, or simply one of several worthy of further consideration? Are you attempting to get final approval for your idea or simply create the opportunity to present it up the chain of command? Is your idea fully fleshed out or just an embryonic concept? Such things can have a profound impact on what you say and how you say it. So take a moment or two to think about what you wish to achieve before you speak, and you will have a much better chance of choosing the best words to help you attain your goal.
2. Know Who You’re Talking To – One of the great revelations most people have when mastering communication and presentation skills is that their audience often doesn’t really care all that much about what they have to say. In fact, the people you present your idea to only care about one thing… what’s in it for them. To sell your idea, you need to understand ahead of time what the other person’s agenda is, what their goals and objectives are in a given situation, and then frame your communication in the best way possible to let them know you understand, and that your idea can help them achieve their goals. Will your idea make them (or their team) look good? Could it result in a bonus or praise from management? Is it so risky that they might be hesitant to support it? Remember this number one secret of great communicators – know your audience well, and tell them what they need to hear. That is persuasive communication.
3. Know What You’re Going to Say – Seems obvious, right? But how many times have you opened your mouth and realized, almost immediately, that you were saying precisely the wrong thing at precisely the wrong time? If you’ve taken a few moments to focus on the first two steps, this third one becomes a lot easier. What do you have to say to this person in order to get them to respond the way you would like them to, right now? That’s precisely what you want to say at precisely this moment.
4. Know How You’re Going to Say It – As the saying goes, you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. Of course, you can kill a lot more with a flyswatter. Too meek or too bold an approach will not do the trick when presenting an idea for approval. How you deliver your message can be just as important as the message itself. Consider the situation. Is the mood upbeat and congenial or tense and combative? Are ideas being shot down faster than they can be spoken, or is everyone being overly supportive and not really giving anything real, critical evaluation? Are you on a tight deadline or do you have time to spare? Take the temperature in the room before you start selling. Make sure your manner and tone are confident, but appropriate.

Is it really possible to do all of this in the middle of a brainstorm, or even a business presentation? Of course. Masterful communicators and presenters do it every day. It just takes a little awareness, attention and practice. Don’t wait until your job depends on it. Start using these four simple communication tips today. In no time you will be able to consider all of these things in just a few seconds.

Many people think that being a confident, persuasive communicator is something you’re just born with. Nothing could be further from the truth. Communication is a skill. Learn it, master it, become a more valuable part of the innovation cycle – and start seeing more your ideas become a reality.

The results of the study are hardly earth shattering. But they are important for anyone interested in developing their innovation chops and enjoying the resulting rewards.

The verdict? “Coming up with brilliant, game-changing ideas is what makes the likes of Apple’s Steve Jobs so successful…”

Stating the obvious? Well maybe not to everyone.

Business leaders around the world are struggling to crack the code of innovation. They focus on re-structuring, re-invention, short-sighted innovation initiatives, revolving door consultants, creativity boot camps, etc.

But apparently what it all comes down to is the ability to generate great ideas. Do that well, and all the other stuff more easily falls into place – if for no other reason than the fact that you are generating great ideas about those things, too.

From "Learn the five secrets of innovation," by Mark Tutton, CNN.com

According to the study, there are 5 key skills necessary to be a prolific innovator (a.k.a. idea-generator) – associating, questioning, observing, experimenting and discovering.

It seems these skills have more to do with how one acts as how one thinks. Prolific innovators are always proactively searching for new ideas, new connections, new perspectives. Theirs is not a passive activity; they don’t sit around waiting for the Muse to visit or the lightning bolt to strike. They pursue ideas daily and relentlessly.

It is this skill set, this business activity, that will forever more be the definer of success.

So how can you ensure you have a whole army of Steve Jobses generating innovative thinking in your organization?

Remove the impediments and allow it to happen. Create an environment that facilitates idea-generation. Nourish it with acknowledgment, training, tools – and rewards for achievement. In a recent post here, “Google’s 80/20 Formula – It can work for you!” we briefly described Google’s take on the issue… encourage employees to spend 80% of their time on core projects, and 20% of their time on “innovation” activities that peak their own personal interests.

How much does your organization to do foster innovative thinking? Do you invest 20% in it, like Google does? If you did, what returns might you realize?

The ability to generate innovative thinking is not an inherent trait; it is based on a set of skills that anyone can learn and develop. Exposing yourself to new ideas and observing the world around you can drive innovation.

All it takes is doing it. As one of the men behind the study, Insead’s Hal Gregersen, put it, “Studies have shown that creativity is close to 80 percent learned and acquired,” he told CNN. “We found that it’s like exercising your muscles — if you engage in the actions you build the skills.”

Start building your innovation muscles now. And watch the ideas start to flow.

After all, when you cut through all the hype and Ivy-tower debate, innovation at its core is really just a child’s game of connecting the dots in new and imaginative ways.