- Think about what stormers are asked to do
when they participate in a brainstorm.
They're asked to solve a problem multiple times,
oftentimes without all of the facts that are needed
to fully understand the problem.
In addition, they're asked to do so
with a level of novelty to their ideas
that inherently comes with a greater risk
of those ideas failing in both concept and application.
Stormers are asked to put on display
the one thing they can't blame on anyone else,
the way that they think.
And they're asked to do it over and over again,
to bear an idea and throw it out into the world
for others to throw darts at.
We often think that this activity is embedded
in all creative and corporate practices,
but this simply isn't true.
For some, this is new territory and can be intimidating.
Additionally, some people are just better at it
or more comfortable with the process than others.
Regardless of the implied ease of ideation,
recognition of what stormers give to the brainstorm
goes a long way towards building
the type of trusting relationships necessary
to do it over and over.
In some form or another, every stormer should be recognized
and thanked for the time and effort they gave.
A simple, "Hey, great job today," can do amazing things
for the energy level of the next opportunity.
And if their participation was less than expected,
it provides a good opportunity to find out why
or encourage the stormer to generate
and document residual ideas.
Some people just struggle in group settings,
but excel when alone.
So giving them an avenue to participate
in that way may just be the push they need
to take what they've learned in the brainstorm
and apply it individually towards the problem at hand.
Never underestimate the power of simple encouragement.
Stormers give more than just their time
and should be recognized for that effort.
So warm up your inner backslapper and be that encouragement.