Brainwriting

This week at work, I was part of some strategy sessions. We were tasked to think through the future of our business.

A lot of blue-sky thinking. We had to step back and brainstorm all possible horizons. As I was reflecting on my career, a typical brainstorm…didn’t go that well.

Whenever someone scheduled one, it was just cross-talk where the loudest voices got the most airtime. And that silenced other key voices, missing out on a huge opportunity. Not super effective.

But what we’ve done at our company—and has taken shape in the last few years—is brainwriting. The meeting lead (or team) puts together a doc with all their thinking. And then everyone is given a pre-read - plus 15 minutes to silently read during the meeting. Folks write ideas and comments directly in the doc independently and asynchronously.

It does three things: 1) lets all comments have equal standing, 2) allows thinking to flourish when it makes sense for the attendee, and 3) captures everything in written form to process later. A triple win!

Fantastic way to move from a messy storm to a clearer sky.

Credit: @researchdoodles by Marissa Solomon Shandell