{"id":412,"date":"2012-12-20T23:29:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-20T23:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scqa.hult.edu\/en\/news\/hult-labs\/2012\/december\/brainstorming-or-debate-how-about-both\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:38:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:38:39","slug":"brainstorming-or-debate-how-about-both","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/brainstorming-or-debate-how-about-both\/","title":{"rendered":"Brainstorming or Debate? How About Both?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brainstorming, as it\u2019s known today, was born in the late 1940s when a highly successful advertising executive, Alex Osborn (think Mad Men) wrote a book (Your Creative Power<\/em>) to let the world in on his \u201ccreative secrets.\u201d Subsequent books by Osborn reinforced the idea that brainstorming was the<\/em> method to light a team\u2019s creative fuse, according to the The New Yorker article<\/a> \u201cGroupthink: The Brainstorming Myth.\u201d It spread like wildfire.<\/p>\n

In his seminal book, Osborn described the importance of \u201cusing the brain to storm a creative problem \u2013 and doing so in commando fashion, with each stormer attacking the same objective.\u201d He was also clear on the two main tenets of the process: avoid criticism, and a quantity over quality (with weeding to occur afterwards). But brainstorming did not go untested. The first study on the technique was conducted at Yale University in 1958, and researchers found that participants who engaged in problem-solving alone produced \u201croughly twice\u201d the number of solutions versus those who worked in groups. Subsequent studies came to the same conclusion. Research results, however, did nothing to dent brainstorming\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n

But it was the result of a 2003 study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, that first threw into question one of Osborn\u2019s main brainstorming pillars: no criticism. The study looked at groups that were given one of three conditions prior to problem-solving. The first group was instructed to brainstorm without criticism, the second to brainstorm and welcome\/include debate, and the third to collaborate rules-free. While all the brainstorming groups produced more results than the one with essentially no condition, the groups that incorporated debate generated far more creative solutions. \u201cWhile the instruction \u2018Do not criticize\u2019 is often cited as the important instruction in brainstorming, this appears to be a counterproductive strategy. Our findings show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas but, rather, stimulate them relative to every other condition,\u201d said Professor of Psychology Charlan Nemeth<\/a> in the article.<\/p>\n

But why does debate (and criticism) aid the creative process rather than harm it? Professor Nemeth seems to believe that when brainstorming participants hear different views from their team members it causes them to reconsider their own. \u201cMaybe debate is going to be less pleasant, but it will always be more productive. True creativity requires some trade-offs,\u201d said Professor Nemeth. Perhaps debate inspires individuals to cling less to their own ideas, and feel more inclined to embrace or build on the ideas of others. And maybe this inspires teams to travel further into the murky waters of unexplored ideas to generate solutions they wouldn\u2019t have considered otherwise.<\/p>\n

Companies are also continuing to explore and institute new ways to create office environments that promote more \u201cinformal brainstorming\u201d among employees. Intentionally making highly trafficked sites the nuclei of the workplace (kitchens, coffee stands, bathrooms, meeting rooms \u2013 you get the picture) force opportunities in which employees \u2013 especially those from different departments \u2013 have to see each other, and this obviously increases the odds of a communication exchange. Even employees that have corners to hide in have to emerge at some point to seek out coffee or a microwave. And innocuous conversations over bagels or in the hallway can lead to creative sparks \u2013 some of which take on a life of their own, never having originated in a formal meeting where brainstorming was the primary order of the hour.<\/p>\n

So remember, whether “storming a creative problem” in a group, or with a colleague at the vending machine, it’s OK to offer critical feedback (although we’d recommend a nuanced way<\/a> to go about it), and to receive it in turn. Truly creative solutions require hard work, iterations, and inspiration from unpredictable sources.<\/p>\n

To read The New Yorker article in full, you can go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Flickr photo courtesy of the d.school<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

If you would like to find out more about Hult\u2019s global business programs,\u00a0download a brochure here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs<\/a> including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business<\/a>. To find out more, take a look at our blog Hult scores in top 20 in The Economist\u2019s Which MBA? ranking for 2019<\/a>. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brainstorming, as it\u2019s known today, was born in the late 1940s when a highly successful advertising executive, Alex Osborn (think Mad Men) wrote a book (Your Creative Power) to let…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[205],"yoast_head":"\nBrainstorming or Debate? 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