Brainstorming and Creativity

Is your organization having problems coming up with ideas for activities?  Try brainstorming creative ideas as individuals, as a group, or both.  There are many different ways to brainstorm.  Give the members a general idea of what is being brainstormed.  Pull a word randomly out of the dictionary and use that word as a basis for ideas.  No matter how you do it, your organization can be left with a lot of great ideas at the end of a brainstorming session.  Just remember to follow a few important rules:

• There should be one person who facilitates the brainstorming session to make sure that everyone participates and keeps focused.
• Ideas must not be criticized or evaluated during the session.
• Expand on other people’s ideas.
• Have fun with the ideas you come up with.
• Keep a record of all of the ideas from the brainstorming session. These will help you with the evaluation process.

Creativity is not a gift; it is a state of being.  Everyone has creative potential. Pull in the creative members of your organization and delegate the jobs requiring creativity to them.  While they are doing these jobs, however, have them work with the not-so-creative members so they can be creative too.  You can find great ideas on how to run meetings, prepare agendas, plan and promote activities, etc., in the Leadership Library, located in room 1207 of the University Center.