1. Global Innovation Management
Toolbox Workout #5

2. Understand real-time brainstorming METHOD
GOAL
Understand real-time brainstorming
METHOD
Group problem-solving exercise and follow-up analysis

3. Why is brainstorming important?
Brainstorming can be used to analyse and address complex and sophisticated problems that are changing in real time
However, it is often beset by the following problems, all related to the fact that it is a group activity
Difficulty managing conflicts over processes and methods
Impatience with delays, because the decision making is real time
Difficulty in finding patters, because of the distractions of dealing with others and their opinions
Difficulty in establishing authority and responsibility for decision making, and the tendency to descend into the negative chaos of ‘groupthink’
This innovation workout will use a team exercise to help you identify and overcome the above problems

4. Your task: 1 Divide into groups of four to seven
In each group, each participant should mark the back(s) of their hand(s) with a number from 1 to 7. All numbers should be used once.
(ie if the team has seven participants, each participant takes one number; if the team has fewer than seven participants, some participants should mark both their hands with a number.)
Lay three pieces of paper in front of each team.
Participants should stack their hands on one paper in order from ‘7’ on the bottom to ‘1’ on the top. This is the ‘start’ position.

5. Your task: 2
Each group should restack hands in the exact same order (with '7' on the bottom) following the rules below:
Only one hand may be moved at a time
Only the top hand on a stack may be moved
A hand may be moved only onto another hand (or stack of hands) or an empty paper
A hand may never be placed on top of a lower numbered hand – ie:
'3' cannot be placed on top of '1' or '2'
'3' can be placed on top of '4' or '5' or '6' or '7' or and empty paper
'5' cannot be placed on top of '1' or '2' or '3' or 4
'5' cannot be pulled out from under any number of hands; it can be moved only when it is on top.

6. Debriefing Consider the questions below:
What strategy did you use to be successful?
How were differences of opinion about how to move handled in your team?
Did you have a leader? How was he or she selected?
When someone on your team thought he or she knew the solution or at least the next move, how did he or she behave? How did you respond to that?
Did you ever feel that you were backtracking? How did that make you feel? (eg frustrated, or as though you were wasting time/had messed up, etc.)
When do we backtrack to move forward in our organization?
What implications does this have for real world group problem solving (and the management of people who have to solve problems)?