In this paper, Osborn's (1963) work is placed under a new light from resurrecting inspiration as a key component of his brainstorming heritage and recreating its initially intended spirit in brainstorm sessions.
It is proposed that divergent thinking facilitators, whether in individual, group, or electronic brainstorm sessions, should be trained to orate an inspirational script that remains faithful to Osborn's (1963) original prose.
In this proposed study, self-efficacy and promotion focus prove to be invaluable constructs in enhancing idea-generating performance of individual, group, or electronic brainstorm sessions.
For this reason, it is proposed that the inspirational script be delivered to participants with activated positive affective behavior in the hope of transmitting it to the brainstorm participants.
In this instance, Osborn's (1963) work on brainstorming is remembered as a synopsis of four brainstorming principles without concern for his advice on cultivating a suitable brainstorm environment, adopting affect, values and identities that shape one's personal affective state, attitude, and inspiring momentarily and in the long term the self and others to higher levels of high arousal positive affect, self-efficacy and promotion focus.
Thus, the more categories individuals can summon alone before the group session, the higher the probability that a creative and original solution will manifest itself later during individual or group brainstorm sessions.
IDEO brainstorms thus use rules much like those proposed by Osborn but that differ from those in most experiments, because people who attend have (1) past and future task interdependence, (2) past and future social relationships, (3) a use for the ideas, (4) pertinent technical expertise, (5) complementary skills, (6) expertise in doing brainstorming, and (7) expertise in leading brainstorming.
Following Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Miles and Huberman (1995), a set of iterations usually began with a hunch inspired by the data or literature (e.g., an informant said clients are impressed by brainstorms).
Table 1 indicates we found that brainstorms at IDEO had six other consequences beyond generating ideas that were important enough to IDEO, its designers, and clients to be labeled effectiveness outcomes (1) supporting the organizational memory of design solutions, (2) providing skill variety, (3) supporting an attitude of wisdom (acting with knowledge while doubting what one knows), (4) creating a "status auction" (a competition for status based on technical skill), (5) impressing clients, and (6) providing income.
Brainstorms help IDEO designers acquire, store, retrieve, adapt, and combine knowledge of potential solutions to design products.
Brainstorms are among the main ways that design solutions are added to, stored in, and retrieved from IDEO's memory.
Brainstorms provide an opportunity to add new design solutions to IDEO's memory because they are among the first steps in designing a product.
