New “Brainstorming” Principles

This article presents six new principles emerging from four decades of academic and industry research on the generation of high-quality creative ideas by “brainstorming”. The principles are: (a) brainstorming insructions are essential and should emphasize, paradoxically, number and not quality of ideas; (b) a specific, difficult target should be set for the number of ideas; (c) individuals, not groups, should generate the initial ideas; (d) groups should then be used to amalgamate and refine the ideas; (e) individuals should provide the final ratings to select the best ideas, which will increase commitment to the ideas selected; and, (f) the time required for successful brainstorming should be kept remarkably short. By following these principles, brainstorming will more dependably produce high-quality creative results.