“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”
Lewis Carroll, “Alice in Wonderland”
Introduction
When engaged in the attempt to develop and achieve goals, organizations
are automatically involved in the process of group-form decision making
and problem solving. The skill with which that process is carried out
and, indeed, the degree to which it is understood, has a significant
bearing on a company’s ability to achieve its goals.
Brainstorming is one of the procedures used in the group-form problem
solving process, and for a very specific purpose. It helps to elicit
opportunities and threats that may otherwise have gone unnoticed until
too late. Therefore, it is in the interest of forward-thinking companies
to gain a better understanding of brainstorming and of the
problem-solving process of which it is a part.
Problem Solving
It is best that one understands the nature of a problem in
order to solve it – with or without the use of brainstorming. A problem
is a state of disorder. More specifically, it is the lack of a desired
or conceived order as compared to the natural or currently existing
order.
To illustrate this through an example, let's move out of the
boardroom and into the field, so to speak. It is part of the natural order for corn to grow.
However, it is not part of the natural order for corn to grow in tidy
rows; heavily concentrated in a specific field or fields; distinguished
by who owns or rents those fields; and in fields in which there exists
sufficient nutrients, adequate sunlight and the absence of extreme
temperature or rain, to better assure a successful harvest. The prior
sentence represents the desired or conceived order of a farmer. The
farmer’s “problem” — or state of disorder — is how to convert the
natural order (or currently existing order) of corn into his desired or
conceived order.
The quality of a problem’s solution is
limited by the quality of its definition!
Think of the catastrophic results that might occur if the
farmer implemented solutions to the above-defined problem, but the
definition of the problem, and the resultant solution, failed to include
provisions for adequate drainage or animal and insect control.
The first value of brainstorming is to come up with an expanded list
of items or ideas that are to be considered during the
problem-definition process.
Three separate steps are needed to achieve
an acceptable level of problem definition.
The first step should be to accurately state the problem, preferably in
the form of a question. An example of this might be: “How can we have
corn come to grow in rows, and heavily concentrated in a specific field
or fields in which there exists sufficient nutrients, adequate sunlight
and the absence of extreme temperature or rain to better assure a
successful harvest?”
The second step is to expand the individual elements of the first
level. This is where the additional items of adequate drainage, plus
animal and insect control, would likely evolve.
The third level is to separately address and expand upon each of the
items identified in levels one and two for purposes of analysis and
definition. It cannot and should not be assumed that any of the
individual items included thus far in the process of defining the
problem are complete, accurate or equally understood by all members of
the group.
For example, take the single word “rows” used above. The following
might be applicable:
- What are the intended purposes of the rows?
- How many rows shall there be?
- In what direction shall the rows be and why?
- How far apart should the rows be and why?
- How close to the end of the field shall the rows extend?
Typical results of a proper problem
definition:
Two immediate observations arise when the problem is correctly defined.
First, upon proper analysis in the definition stage, it is frequently
found that a problem is actually a conglomerate of separate problems,
each of which requires adequate independent attention. Second, solutions
to problems are often self-apparent as an outgrowth of a properly
conducted problem-definition function.
The Order of Activity©
Attention to the proper sequence is vital in solving problems. After
all, if in certain other aspects of our lives we go out of order, there
could be serious consequences.
To drive an automobile one must open the door, get in, turn on the
ignition, put it in gear and press on the accelerator – in that exact
order. Pressing on the accelerator before turning on the ignition, I
don’t have to tell you, is not a recommended way to drive a car.
Similarly, there is an order of activity that should be recognized in
connection with solving a problem and with the use of brainstorming in
connection with that activity. The order involves:
- Trying to define or uncover a problem;
- Collecting information relevant to a problem;
- Gathering ideas that may offer possible solutions;
- Evaluating ideas or alternate courses of action so as to select
a possible solution to try.
If the brainstorming activity were not monitored in recognition of
that order, it may lead to key elements being excluded from
consideration, thereby leading to potentially disastrous results. In
that regard, and contrary to popular belief, brainstorming should not be
assumed to be a random and uncontrolled endeavor in the aggregate.
The Order of Questioning©
The asking of questions should conform to the Order of
Activity©. If a participant is allowed to ask a question that is not
recognized as being at level 3 of the order, the group as a whole will
have been diverted from addressing levels 1 and 2, leading to
potentially disastrous results.
Conclusion
Brainstorming serves as a procedure to better enhance the benefits to be
derived when accessing group brainpower. More profound benefits can be
achieved when brainstorming is conducted in recognition of, and in
conformity with, the function of which it is naturally a part. In
actuality, brainstorming in its best form involves what may be simply
expressed as a controlled lack of control.
About the Author
Hal Rosenthal, CPA, CFE, CVA, who is based in Boca Raton, Fla.,
has for many years been involved in extensive study of problem-solving
and group dynamics. He has provided training nationally to organizations
in which maximizing the value of management’s brainpower is considered a
priority. Hal can be reached at
hr@askhal.com.