Page 144 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

68/4. BRAINWRI 1 ING 6-3-5

There are a number 01 variations of brainwriting developed
at the Battelle Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. They include
brainwriting pool, brainwriting 6-3-5, gallery method, pin
card technique, and the SIL method. The name of this method

is derived from the fact that six people produce three new
ideas in three columns within five min -ttes.' 6 After five min-
utes the paper is passed on to the next person, who adds his
or her variations to these ideas. This process is repeated six
times until all the participants have contributed to all the
papers. Theoretically, within thirty minutes the group can
produce 108 ideas; realistically, by the time you allow for
duplications, perhaps sixty good ideas emerge. Still, this is a
very productive effort.

You might want to modify this process so that less time is
given in the beginning and more at the end for each iteration.
The first set of ideas usually takes only about two minutes
and the later rounds take more time because participants have
to read the other peoples' ideas before adding their own.

SUMMARY OF STEPS

1. The problem is identified.
2. Six people, sitting in a circle, write down three ideas in three columns

within a specified time.
3. Participants then pass their ideas on to the next person in the circle.
4. This person piggybacks on the original solutions and develops new

ones, writing these beneath the solutions offered by the previous per-
son.
5. The process is repeated until every person has contributed to every
other person's original thoughts.
6. The results are discussed and evaluated.

6915. CREATIVE IMAGING 101
CREATIVE
This technique is often used in creativity and innovation pro- PROBLEM
grams. It is based on the assumption that developing visu- SOLVING
alization skills improves creativity. 17 TECHNIQUES

Creative imaging consists of three steps: envisioning a spe- 129
cific need for change, envisioning a better way, and formu-

lating a vision-based plan of action. The exercise can be done