Update on my brainstorming post

I just read a fascinating article on brainstorming and group creativity. I may have had the definition of brainstorming wrong - it seems to imply two things - that negativity is not allowed and perhaps a limit to the ideas presented (or maybe a limit to the ideas debated). Research has discovered that it is better to allow negativity in so far as free debate and expression of opinions. Also the group dynamics are very important - participants have to be somewhat familiar with each other - not strangers, but not having worked too often together. The occasional "fresh blood" also helps. It was also found that proximity is helpful - creativity doesn't work as well through emails. People need to be in an environment where they can have chance meetings or bounce ideas off of each other.

I would also add that having contributors - people who address the topic and honor the people around them rather than steer the conversation to themselves. There are some people who can't help but to start every sentence with the word "I".

another edit (as I read): In an article Mel Brooks described the writing at Your Show of Shows: They constantly reworked the same scene until something really great emerged. The writers felt like they belonged to something greater than themselves. Critics and TV historians call this comic gold. I call it “group flow.”

One thing I want to add that I haven't seen yet is that the people in the group have to believe in an idea. Too often I am thrown in a group forced to explore an idea that doesn't apply to me.

Another huge problem is where o you find a group??? In hinting this idea around, people are satisfied going about their merry little way and nobody is interested at all. Seems like everybody needs an activity - poker, drinking, restaurants. Considering so many people waste so much time, they are quite protective of 120 minutes once a month. Not that I have outrightly invited anyone yet - but I get a feel for these things. Haven't found anyone right for it yet.

What is a 5¢ cigar?

"What this country really needs is a good five-cent cigar." This is a apparently a quote from Woodrow Wilson's VP Thomas Marshall in 1914. He said it after many senators babbled on about the problems of the country (what this country needs) and how to solve them. My father recently misused this quote as an example of what happens if people were sitting around, shooting off ideas, and somebody in the group says " "What this country really needs is a good five-cent cigar." Everybody nods their heads in agreement but then it is forgotten, except by one person who creates the good 5¢ cigar and becomes a huge success. Then the guy at the party who came up with that idea lives a life of regret for not acting on it (regardless of the fact that he might not have been capable of acting on it).

First of all, I am not sure what a 5¢ cigar is. I ever never stuck one of those things in my mouth, 5¢ or otherwise. I imagine, though, that even in 1914, a 5¢ was a cheap cigar and the country needed something like a small luxury that everyone could afford. In our Walmart world we probably have a lot more of that today, including inexpensive but decent cigars (the wine industry has caught up to this in the past 30 years).

Second of all I think that bringing a product to market is prohibitively risky for most individuals. It's a huge investment in time and money and marketing and patent hurdles. If the product is really any good it will probably be stolen or re-engineered by a Walmart. And not everybody is cut out to do what it takes. We no longer live in the "build a better mousetrap" world. Market a mousetrap with enormous backing and shove it down everyone's throats is more like it. The playing field isn't level anymore.

Brainstorms and Think tanks

I want to be part of a brainstorming group - a group of people who will share ideas, create, discuss. Doesn't matter what the topic - from if the big bang really happened to how to make the first million dollars. Just open minded people willing to meet on a regular basis, exchange thoughts on any number of challenging topics, and document the results.

I know so many intelligent people - multiple degrees, street smarts, a history of responsibility toward their family, friends, work, budget, etc. What if we can get 4, 6, 8 (probably not more) in a room together periodically (once a month?). Everybody gets a yellow pad and a pile of pens. Perhaps everyone is responsible to come to the group with a single idea. The idea is researched and available for presentation. Maybe it isn't (I am sure at least a little familiarity is helpful). If it isn't that researched the groups could be more open to explore it without prejudice. Every possibility is on the table, everybody is open minded, everybody takes notes about things they hear and feel is significant. Everybody is positive and encouraging. Some ideas will not get more than a minute, some might monopolize the session. We might have to come up with a rule to vote on one idea to explore.

What could come of this? Suppose we took our yellow pads of notes and processed them, perhaps through a blog where we could use labels or tags. We would have a handful of people meeting for a couple of hours a month and produce pages of ideas and thoughts. What could we produce after, say 18 sessions (months)? I personally think it would be something amazing - a wealth of work and knowledge. It could be a large pile of bullshit. But maybe if we sort it all out there will be threads, patterns, and a collection of simple ideas that could be molded into something grand.

On Cosmetics and enhancements

On Cosmetics and enhancements

I've mostly had an aversion to cosmetics during my life but I understand their purpose a little more. For many people the creativity is a self esteem boost - they feel good for wearing it. I think someone who uses cosmetics to its fullest has to answer two questions : "What kind of package am I putting together?" and "What is the statement that I am making?"