We mostly rely on one creative tactic when we’re in a pinch: brainstorming.
But while it’s championed as the best way to generate great ideas (and lots of them) with your peers, it sometimes lets perfectly good ideas fall through the cracks. Maybe the most creative people don’t always do their best thinking on their feet, or they never get heard because a shy co-worker doesn’t feel comfortable speaking up. Enter brainwriting.
In the video below from creativity expert James Taylor, he introduces brainwriting as a process similar to brainstorming. It implements a 6-3-5 rule: Six people come together around a common problem, then each jots down three initial ideas on their own, and then after five minutes, they rotate their notes and repeat the process.
This way, people can learn from each other, and no one gets silenced in the process. It has the potential to be a win-win situation for coming up with your next big idea.