Spur Of The Moment

Don Phillips went to a Detroit manufacturing company to give a talk on creative thinking. He found about eighty people in one department, and to illustrate his talk he decided, on the spur of the moment, to have them break into small groups and brainstorm the problem of how to improve the eraser, since he had just been using one on the blackboard section of his talk.

They were allowed only six minutes, and the results were surprising. One suggestion from the first group was that the bottom of the eraser be made of sponge rubber to keep down the dust. Another came up with the idea of a disposable base. The next section asked, “Why couldn’t it have a handle like a flatiron?” That gave another group the idea of shaping the eraser like an iron so you could erase just one letter with the point. Six minutes after Don Phillips had his spur-of-the-moment idea, he had a long list of practical suggestions about the simple old eraser. The ideas were so good; in fact, that an eraser designed on those principles has recently been put on the market.

I have experimented with this technique and had amazing results in many companies, at all sorts of conventions, and with the military in the Pentagon.

I have every other row of people stand up, turn around, and face the row behind them. Then I form groups of six. I have each group choose a chairman and secretary. I also have them pick a nickname-Pile-drivers, Tough Guys, Yankees, Rebels, Dead End Kids, anything they think up. This team system develops a competitive spirit that sure sparks ideas.

I keep the groups small and limit them to six to ten minutes. I have found the average group comes up with fifteen to twenty ideas in six minutes, but once I had one come up with fifty-two in only six minutes by using creative thinking and appointing two secretaries.

There is hardly a limit to how this mass brainstorm can be used. A company could have the members of its regular annual sales convention come up with ideas for new lines, better products, different advertisements and promotions, improved packaging, calling upon their daily experience in contacting customers on the road.

It is possible to mass brainstorm in a town meeting to find new ways of raising taxes-or building schools. The PTA can use it and so can the teachers’ organization.

It can be used equally well by union and management,

Democrats and Republicans, professional societies and fraternal organizations. The important thing is that in each and every case it makes the participants not just spectators but contributors.

And we all respond to that treatment.