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What is Brainstorming?

Why is Brainstorming Important?

IDEO Play Lab Founder & Instructor of our From Ideas to Action online course, Brendan Boyle, on how to brainstorm better.

We can’t get to new places by only doing what’s worked in the past. To come up with innovative ideas, it’s important to go beyond your comfort zone. In order to do that, you’ve got to start with an abundance of options—including some wild ideas—that you can build on and test.

Brainstorming is an effective way to:

Produce a large number of ideas
Generate ideas quickly
Expand your portfolio of alternatives
Get people unstuck
Inject insights from a broader group
Build enthusiasm
Solve tricky problems
Improve team collaboration

Rules for Running a Brainstorming Session

Across the thousands of brainstorms IDEO has run—both with internal teams and with clients—we follow seven important rules. Set the stage for a successful brainstorming session by sharing these brainstorming rules with your team.