Research into the practice of brainstorming has confirmed an important and overdue refinement that Colabria Action Research has advocated for years. The finding is that a hybrid model of independent brainstormers works better. Here is The New Brainstorming experiment.
Hybrid Brainstorming is a much-needed refinement of the age-old practice. People must remember performance and innovation originate from originality, network multiformity, conceptual blending, abduction, situated cognition, disequilibrium, serendipity, conversation, lateral thinking and a wide-range of other crucial nondeterministic behaviors and knowledge-based activities. This is called Authentic Knowledge Management (KM).
One continuous Colabria refinement for hybrid brainstorming is to pursue conversation not discussion. Sadly, the vast majority of business interaction is discussion. It hurts productivity, stops innovation and stunts knowledge creation. It is time to bring back conversation.
The root of the word discuss / discussion tells a lot. It comes from Latin – discussus: struck asunder, shaken, scattered, to shake, strike, break apart. The modern root comes from Old French: examination, investigation, legal trial. Today’s meaning of discussion may be to ‘get to the bottom’ of something.
On the contrary, conversation is a dance, it is among equals, conversation is joyful and is nondeterministic and creative.
Mainstream, old-economy businesses and moldering government agencies seems to prefer discussion to preserve and extend their command and control structures and their pernicious hierarchies.
Meanwhile, the fast-emerging Creative Class pursues genuine conversation, plurality and sincere interactions to cultivate and coordinate disruptive productivity growth, well-being and prosperity. As the saying goes, Empathy is Innovation, Vulnerability is Strength. They are the foundations of conversation and Authentic KM.
Colabria compels organizations to pursue perpetual brainstorming. Brainstorming must not be the typical once-a-year charade at the management offsite; it must be done every day, maybe several times a day, especially by the rank-and-file! Why? It is Authentic KM. See Good Business.
