Brainstorming is one of the most effective way to get great ideas for your businesses, or marketing campaign.

On this article, we would like to share some of the element what might be very helpful for generating more creative ideas.

Mind Maps - What it is?

The first step to make all idea on one place is "Mind map"  It's nothing else than diagram that will help you to observe and study information in a visual manner. Is it created around a single problem statement and all the ideas to solve the problem are written around it. The problem statement usually is written at the center of a blank page as a hub and branches shoot out in all directions representing the solutions. The ideas can be represented as text, images, trees, and even smaller mind maps.

The entire map looks like a top view of a tree, with the problem statement as the trunk and the solutions as branches.

It is also known by the name of spider diagram.

How to Create Mind Maps?

● Write the main problem what about you want to discuss at the center of a blank white page.

● Make more visual aspect: Use images, different colors, symbols, caricatures, abbreviations and codes to depict your ideas

(Text can be boring, but different depictions can add an altogether different charm to your mind map).

● Keywords must replace long statements. The mind map must give a hint to the participant (Design Thinkers) about an idea quickly

- Reading a long statement is waste of time.

● Each and every word written in the mind map must be connected to the central hub by some or other line or set of lines.

● Remember to use multiple colors for visual stimulation and also radial hierarchy to make use of emphasis, italics, and underlines to stress on a point.

 

Mind Maps idea process

It can also be done with the help of sketches, screens, and storyboards.

There are teams in corporate organizations which have large whiteboards and they paste their ideas on it using sticky notes.

Different categories of ideas are represented in sticky notes of different colors and this helps you to segregate of ideas.

The main idea behind the step in design thinking is process to generate as many ideas as we can segregate them into categories.

This helps in brainstorming without judgment, helps in bringing all the ideas to the table and helps proceed to the next step called ‘Prototyping’, where the ideas are checked for their feasibility and value.

● Have a different mechanism for appraisal of employees.

● Organize events that feature team-building activities.

This will help boost the morale of employees and will make them work in a team in a better fashion.

● Discard the appraisal system.

● Paste motivational posters in cubicles and pantry area.

● Call a motivational speaker and conduct a session.

● Encourage fellow employees to take the onus of motivating other employees.

● Introduce a bond period for the employees so that they don’t leave soon.

● Eliminate knowledge transfer program.

● Ask only for expert employees to join the organization.

● Ask employees to fend for themselves for knowledge transfer.

● Conduct large classroom sessions with a huge audience listening to one instructor.

● Make an online document for knowledge transfer program.

● Make video tutorials.

● Have online instructor teaching across geographies.

More and more and more ideas

You can come up with even more and better ideas. You have no limit to the generation of ideas. Let’s represent these ideas using a mind map. Generation Of Ideas This is when we can draw analogy with similar situations.

The knowledge transfer program on your company it might be not pretty much different than schools programs teaching the students.

How does a school manage to keep the students motivated towards studies?

How does a school teach the kids?

If we draw the analogy, we would understand that in schools, a single teacher teaches around 30-40 kids in a classroom. To keep them focused on studies, exams are conducted periodically.

Using digital technology, smart classrooms teach kids using videos, presentations, and audio aids.

The same model can be replicated in Digital Technology company as well. We can have a single instructor (Leader of meeting) teaching the new employees with the help, using creative videos materials or power point presentations.

A proctored exam will help to assess the learning levels of the new employees.

The summary rules:

● You have to focus on the quantity and quality (in this step, the group must have large number of ideas with them).

● The rule "Think out of the box is highly recommended - Isn't any bad ideas, don't be afraid to share ideas, iven if you think it's is outstanding. The concept must be encouraged even if they invoke plain humor or seem impossible.

● If you are a group leader remember to defer judgment because the fellow thinkers also need to suspend judgment.

Judgmental attitude leads to an obstruction for the thinkers.

● Do not use only single words, visualization is important also the design thinkers must create a visual picture of the problem statement and then try to see a visual image of their ideas as well.

● Support other ideas and build on them through group discussions and healthy debates.