Starting With the Basics- "Brainstorming- The Lost Art"

    As I walked into the first class of my fourth year in University I was taken back by large bags sitting atop of tables in my Marketing classroom. Why were they here? My professor, John Lax (Saint Leo University) walked in shortly after and said, “Today we're going back to the basics…we're leaning a lesson in brainstorming” The class chuckled, not believing that was the case until he told us we had 20 minutes to get into groups (people we’ve never met before). We had to search the bags, write a page or two of ideas and create something out of the materials. This activity, though childish was a great life lesson.

   The first piece of thought leadership, I have decided to start with the basics. Small business owners brainstorm to an extent with every new idea they have but brainstorming as a whole has been forgotten in the working world. We learn this valuable skill at a young age, typically in elementary school with pencil crayons, a big piece of white paper and mind maps. 

Caption: An example from a blogspot of a grade 3’s simple yet effective mindmap. 

    As we dive into our life/business ventures, brainstorming becomes a lost art. Little do we know brainstorming is one of the most effective ways to generate ideas, develop marketing plans, and build team bonds.

There are some simple rules when it comes to brainstorming.

-                      - Have a group (yes you can do it yourself but it becomes less effective)

-                     - Put a time limit on each session. (this stops inefficiency and repeated ideas)

-                     -  Write every idea down no matter how ridiculous it may sound.

-                    -   Don’t discourage any idea once written down (even if they are not plausible)

-                    - Have fun and enjoy the process. ( when people are happy, they generate better and more efficient ideas)

-                    - Keep a record of the idea’s paper for later references

   Make sure to take time out of the busy schedule and brainstorm new ideas. This may not seem as important as day-to-day operations but without new ideas the business will hit a stand still. If done properly brainstorming can be the kick start to the next level for your business.

So don’t be afraid to pull out that full scrap piece of paper and your 64 pencil crayon package! Enjoy the process.

Introduction

Hey, this will be my blogspot... if you ever wondered "what is Scott thinking?", you will probably find your answer here. This will be my very first public journal.

Warning- most of my blogs will be irrelevant to you and quite frankly... pointless to read. but I will make sure to label my posts so you (the reader) can decide if you have the endurance to carry on with the reading.
The labels will be as follows

Take it or leave it- My thoughts on life and all the questions that come with it.
Business- self explanatory
Random- pointless and random things I want to say (the majority of my blogs)
Quotes- good quotes I find and feel like talking about
...And any other label I feel like putting on.

There are two main reasons for creating this blog 1) because I wanted to name something "thescottfiles" and 2) because I have a goal of being the first Scott Edwards that appears when I search my name on google (I'm 6th right now) so I figured I would join all the social media mediums and start writing blogs.

I will not be using proper grammar or spelling, forgive me now and if I offend someone I am sorry in advance.

So if you ever decide to read my blog... it'll be an experience (good or bad). Talk to you soon.

p.s don't expect me to write blogs all the time, I think they will be few and far between.