Tactics That Sell

Let’s run over some of the tactics you might use to sell the idea of brainstorming to your boss. You could find out, for example, which competitors are using the technique, and when he roars, “Where in blank did the Acme Pistol Release Company come up with that idea?” you could answer, “They probably brainstormed it,” and explain how they have been using it. Or you might try it in your own department in a modest way, and once you have established a pattern of solid results, show them to him. You could keep mentioning brainstorming at staff meetings, but only if you have well-documented results, and by the same token you can invite him to brainstorm demonstrations given by business groups, but again, only if you know they will be good ones. You can also shoot magazine articles about brainstorming across his desk.

Another way to sell the idea to him is to list specific company problems that could be solved by brainstorming, and perhaps attach to it a list of new ideas other companies have used to solve their problems.

One of the most effective ways to sell brainstorming is to demonstrate it on his favorite or most irritating problem. If he suddenly finds himself with a list of 165 solutions to his pet peeve, he’ll become extremely interested in brainstorming. A twist on this, which has worked out, is to challenge him to submit a problem for a private demonstration. This is especially good on the I’m-from-Missouri type who has to be shown.

Of course, you should always show how brainstorming can make money for the company, and at the same time tell him that it will cost the company no money to try brainstorming. One company I know underlined this by showing how much it cost them not to have the ideas they might have received from brainstorming.

You know your boss best. You may have to appeal to his secretary, his wife, or the men closest to him. You may have to make him think it was his idea; you may have to camouflage it under a different name. But if you sit down and think carefully, you will see which approach is best. Personally, I like the one, which stood out, in my mind from a list of 308 ideas we got in a six-minute mass brainstorm I ran at the American Management Association on “How to Sell Brainstorming to Executives.” Here it is in its entirety: “Do it! Don’t ask!”

Remember, if you want to sell brainstorming, or any other idea, that solid results will make the difference. Start with a couple of people attacking clear-cut and basic company problems. Then add a third person, then a fourth, building up a team who enjoys brainstorming and believes in it. Attack specific problems and you’ll come up with specific solutions- and the successful problem solver is too valuable a man to be ignored in any organization.