The Method of Brainstorming

In addition to actively training creative ways of thinkingand grasping the business ideas throughout the year, a good entrepreneurialproject, from the generation of ideas to the prototype of the project, alsoneeds to use a variety of appropriate methods. In this section, we willintroduce several commonly used methods and tools in the process of generatingentrepreneurial projects. When using divergent thinking, we can use a methodcalled brainstorming to generate ideas. Simply put, it is a way to stimulateall kinds of weird ideas.

When entrepreneurs have just discovered opportunities in themarket and do not know what products or services should be used to seize them,they can use this kind of brainstorming method. This method is used to solicitproposals or get a preliminary understanding of various The crowd's perceptionof opportunity. For example, if you find coffee, market, and opportunities, howdo you open a unique cafe? Or you have a general idea. At this time, you wantto have an in-depth discussion on how to make cat-themed cafes not easyImitated by others. Specifically, brainstorming involves gathering a group ofpeople involved in entrepreneurial projects, in a relaxed atmosphere, aroundspecific market opportunities and discussion topics to open their brains, speakfreely, and solicit ideas that may seize opportunities.

The process can be divided into five steps. First, determineone thing that needs value-added creativity, and then select representativeparticipants and moderators, such as members of the entrepreneurial team,potential consumers, and practitioners in related industries to start abusiness. The problem is that the entrepreneurial team jointly determines adiscussion guide, which can discuss multiple topics that require divergentthinking around the topic. For example, Chairman Mao’s cafe can list severalsuch discussions. Why are the customers listed in this picture more willing tocome to cat-themed cafes? What kind of consumption can be made in cat-themedcafes? Then, starting from the needs of these customers, we will discuss whatkind of products and services can be provided, including what breeds of cats toraise, what catering and peripheral products are provided, what is the level ofservice provided, and what kind of service, because of imitation. What kind ofstorefront and so on.

In the formal discussion process, in addition to themoderator, a dedicated technician is required to save the recording after obtainingthe consent of the participants. After the event, the materials discussedshould be sorted out, and further convergent thinking and creative ideas shouldbe developed.

The above five steps are the main part of the brainstormingmethod.

In order to get a better idea, some special skills need tobe paid attention to in the application of the method. First, it is moreappropriate to limit the number of brainstorming sessions to 6-10 people eachtime. This can stimulate mutual thoughts, and it will not be enough for Thaipeople to give him more. The second is that the time for each brainstorm is 1~2hours. Third, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the proportions ofdifferent genders, ages and occupations, and have as diverse a group as possible,but also need to pay attention to seeking diversification in the targetcustomer group.

For the cat theme, the main customers of the cafe arerelatives, so you should invite people aged 13~18, 19~24, 25~35 to participaterespectively. Women may be the main group, but you also need to invite 1~2people Men can also invite children and their parents to join in and listen tothe children's thoughts. However, parents of young children are usually not thetarget customers of pet-themed cafes and should not be invited to participate.If you feel that the target group of the project is very diverse, and you arenot sure about the main customer group, you can also organize multiple similarbrainstorms based on different objects.

In the process of brainstorming, the role of the moderatoris very important. The selected moderator should have relevant professionalknowledge and good listening and observation skills to be able to properlyguide the activity. In the course of the activity, the host should first graspthe most basic principle of brainstorming, which is to encourage participantsnot to have any scruples, to express their own opinions, and not to thinkdeeply, the more the better, to encourage independent thinking about whimsicalideas, and at the same time pay attention. It is discouraged to comment onother people’s ideas, and to encourage different views from different angles,but to avoid disputes between different participants, this is the moderator'sneed to pay special attention.

The second is that the moderator should control the pace ofspeaking and allocate time according to the number of specific topics to bediscussed. Facts guide the beginning of the next topic, especially for atalkative speaker. The moderator should stop them from changing the topic atthe right time, guide other participants to speak, or simply remind the wholeprocess that the moderator should avoid publishing himself. The point of view,also minimize the dialogue with the speaker, and focus on listening andobserving. Because the moderator’s speech often limits the perspective ofdivergent thinking, and the affirmation of certain points of view also limitsthe expression of different opinions. Some participants may be moreintroverted, so once the moderator finds that the prediction is naive, theparticipants can guide them to speak.

For the discussion of certain issues, if talents appear, themoderator does not have to rush to express their views, and can guideparticipants to describe their own similar experiences to inspire thinking, orskip this topic temporarily and come back to discuss later.

In the final stage of the discussion, the organization canappropriately summarize various points of view, supplement and improve existingideas with encouragement, and there may be many unexpected lives.

If there is still plenty of time, after each topic has beendiscussed, and before the discussion can be resumed, if there are not manyideas, there is a special situation that needs the moderator's attention. Sometimeswe will discuss some sensitive issues in order to understand the needs ofconsumers. There are two common situations. One is related to personal privacy,such as understanding personal income and personal hygiene, and the other isrelated to social moral standards. If these issues are discussed directly, evenparticipants who are willing to express their opinions will be very interested.It may not explain the true situation.

Faced with such sensitive issues, the host needs to use somespecial skills to resolve embarrassment and guide the real test. There arethree commonly used methods. The first is called the Four Difficulties, whichis to add a paragraph before asking the discussion question to help not beembarrassed by the participants. It is the naturalization of the discussion,such as the VR experience hall project, which needs to be targeted at the youthgroup. Start a discussion about game consumption habits. According to thecurrent general social moral standards, it is considered that playing games isplayful, so many such survey results are different from the actual situation.

Before discussing this kind of issue, the host can firstintroduce the development of the game industry, explain the value of the game,resolve the concerns of the participants in terms of social order, and trulyexpress their views.

The second method is called a person profile, which is tochange the topic discussed in the first person to a third person perspective.The speaker can discuss the issue in a purely objective position. Theentrepreneurial team of Love Studio will encounter this problem when discussingthe consumption situation of college student couples. Participants areembarrassed to talk about their situation.

So if the host uses third-person guidance when starting toask questions, for example, what kind of love consumption do your classmatesand roommates around you often have, or where do they often go when they aredating? Maybe everyone will give full play to the gossip spirit and jointly promotethe third method, called digital archiving. It is to divide the digital issuesthat need to be understood into privacy and divide them into several continuousintervals, and the participants will choose the method. For example, in somediscussions on consumer demand, the speaker needs to explain the sensitivity ofhis income and age first, then the speaker can be filed and explained.

Regarding the handling of sensitive issues, thispart of the course will also be involved in our follow-up questionnairesurveys. We have learned the problems of brainstorming, the development stepsand the use skills, and everyone can apply to the next part of the divergenceof your own creativity. In the course, we will learn how to converge andsummarize the results of divergent thinking.