Features

Teampedia reviews of books and articles, interviews with people experienced in team building, and other items of interest.

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Group Brainstorming - a Bad Idea?

A Teampedia review by jz of

“Groupthink, The brainstorming myth,” an article by Jonah Lehrer in the New Yorker, January 30, 2012

In the 1940’s book “Your Creative Power,” a partner in a Madison Avenue advertising agency revealed what he considered his company’s central secret to innovation and success: the group “brainstorm.” He said that “using the brain to storm a creative problem . . . in commando fashion, with each stormer attacking the same objective” brings about the most and best ideas possible.

The group exercise he promoted, which stipulated that each idea must meet no criticism, became the most widely used creativity technique worldwide. It is still used in many corporate and academic settings.

But, according to scientific research cited in that New Yorker article, brainstorming does not work very well. Lehrer discusses other approaches that are considered successful for stimulating creativity in a group. One famous example was “Building 20,” a location in which a conglomeration of offices and shops were in close physical proximity. In it, diverse people involved in various fields found that their ongoing, unplanned mingling was key to stimulating creativity and productivity.

See Teampedia braintorming activities

What have your experiences been with group brainstorming? Is it successful for your team? Have you found ways to make group brainstorming worthwhile?

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Team Globally, Bond Locally

Each year since 2008, approximately xx employees of Google help serve their communities across over 400 different projects as part of GoogleServe, an employee-driven initiative organized almost entirely by volunteers. Through partnerships with nonprofits, schools and local governments, Googlers from 119 cities in 36 countries help communities in need with projects ranging from educating youth about online bullying to cleaning up local rivers and parks.

"Giving back to our communities strengthens our connections with the places in which we live and work. And it also brings us closer together as a global team," says Seth Marbin, GoogleServe Global Director [Marbin is also the founder and lead of Teampedia]. Each year the event has grown in size and scope.

Examples of GoogleServe projects:

   In New York, Googlers led resume writing workshops and provided career coaching to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America members seeking employment.
   Googlers helped Mountaineering Ireland construct drains in order to maintain a stretch of trail along the Dublin Mountains Way.
   Googlers facilitated a strategic planning session for staff from the Post Prison Education Program in Seattle.
   Googlers conducted an online tools workshop for NGOs in Singapore with the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.
   Googlers fixed up bikes with Free Ride in Pittsburgh; the bikes were donated to local nonprofits and residents.
   At the Punjabi Bagh Central Market area in West Delhi, Googlers cleaned and removed old, decayed posters with the help of “Lets do it Delhi,” an organization which has taken up the initiative to minimize abuse of public property.

GoogleServe is coordinated by a core team . . . Positions include . . . Tasks include . .. Employees are inivited, but not required, to volunteer for projects of their choice . . each team . . . Google provides transportation, meals, equipment for the volunteers . . considered part of their work (not vacation time) . .

one time a year / ongoing

Comments by volunteers - "We enjoy Google parties and Google retreats at Disneyland and xx, but GoogleServe is the strongest experience for helping us get to know each other and xx - after a team volunteering effort, I xxx" says xxx . .

GoogleServe has lead to, inspired, xxx

add 3 Googleserve photos . . . read more about GoogleServe (or are there better GoogleServe pages?