The Step by Step Guide to

Brainstorming

Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate lots of ideas on a specific issue and
then determine which idea or ideas is the best solution. Brainstorming is most
effective with groups of 8-12 people and should be performed in a relaxed environment.
If participants feel free to relax and joke around, they'll stretch their minds further and
therefore produce more creative ideas.
A brainstorming session requires a facilitator, a brainstorming space and something on
which to write ideas, such as a white-board a flip chart or software tool. The facilitator's
responsibilities include guiding the session, encouraging participation and writing ideas
down.
Brainstorming works best with a varied group of people. Participants should come from
various departments across the organisation and have different backgrounds. Even in
specialist areas, outsiders can bring fresh ideas that can inspire the experts.
There are numerous approaches to brainstorming, but the traditional approach is
generally the most effective because it is the most energetic and openly collaborative,
allowing participants to build on each others' ideas.
Creativity exercises, relaxation exercises or other fun activities before the session can
help participants relax their minds so that they will be more creative during the
brainstorming session.

Step by Step
1. Define your problem or issue as a creative challenge. This is extremely
important. A badly designed challenge could lead to lots of ideas which fail to
solve your problem. A well designed creative challenge generates the best ideas
to solve your problem. Creative challenges typically start with: "In what ways
might we...?" or "How could we...?" Your creative challenge should be concise, to
the point and exclude any information other than the challenge itself. For
example: "In what ways might we improve product X?" or "How could we
encourage more local people to join our club?"Click here to read Dr. Arthur Van
Gundy's The care and framing of strategic innovation challenges (PDF document:
537kb)
2. Give yourselves a time limit. We recommend around 25 minutes, but experience
will show how much time is required. Larger groups may need more time to get
everyone's ideas out. Alternatively, give yourself an idea limit. At minimum, push
for 50 ideas. But 100 ideas is even better.

3. Once the brainstorming starts, participants shout out solutions to the problem
while the facilitator writes them down usually on a white board or flip-chart for
all to see. There must be absolutely no criticizing of ideas. No matter how daft,
how impossible or how silly an idea is, it must be written down. Laughing is to
be encouraged. Criticism is not.
4. Once your time is up, select the five ideas which you like best. Make sure
everyone involved in the brainstorming session is in agreement.
5. Write down about five criteria for judging which ideas best solve your problem.
Criteria should start with the word "should", for example, "it should be cost
effective", "it should be legal", "it should be possible to finish before July 15", etc.
6. Give each idea a score of 0 to 5 points depending on how well it meets each
criterion. Once all of the ideas have been scored for each criterion, add up the
scores.
7. The idea with the highest score will best solve your problem. But you should
keep a record of all of your best ideas and their scores in case your best idea
turns out not to be workable.

Key Factors to successful...

BRAINSTORMING
There are a numerous approaches to
brainstorming, but whichever approach
you use, there are several key factors
which make the difference between a
successful brainstorming session and a
mediocre brainstorming session.
State your challenge correctly. In order to get the right ideas, you need to ensure that
you are giving the brainstorm session participants the right challenge. Otherwise, you
could end up with a lot of ideas which do not actually solve your problem. To learn
more, download Dr. Arthur Van Gundy's article: The care and framing of strategic
innovation challenges (PDF document: 537kb)
No squelching! Squelching is when you criticise an idea or a person contributing the
idea. Squelching can be obvious, such as "That's the dumbest idea I have ever heard!"

or subtle, such as "you'd never get the budget to do that." No matter what the form,
squelching does two terrible things to a brainstorming session. Firstly, it makes the
person who contributed the idea feel bad. As a result, she is unlikely to contribute any
more ideas to the session. Even if her idea was not a good one, it is likely she would
have had other, better ideas to contribute. Secondly, squelching tells other participants
that unusual ideas are not welcome at this brainstorming session. Since most creative
ideas are also unusual ideas, a single squelching effectively prevents participants from
offering creative ideas. So, if you remember nothing else about brainstorming,
remember: no squelching!
Mixed participants. When brainstorming works well, it is because the session taps into
the combined creativity of all the participants. Clearly, then, the more varied the
participants, the wider the range of creative thinking and the more creative the ideas
generated. It is a common mistake for managers to think: we need marketing ideas, so
let's get the marketing department together to brainstorm ideas. These people work
together all the time, have similar backgrounds and know too much about marketing.
As a result, their ideas will be limited in scope. Bringing together a dozen people from a
dozen departments is a far better approach to generating a wide range of creative ideas.
Enthusiastic facilitator. The facilitator is the person who manages the brainstorming
session. Normally, she does not contribute ideas, rather she makes note of the ideas,
encourages participation, prevents squelching, watches the time and directs the
session. A good facilitator will have a sense of humour and a knack for encouraging
people to contribute ideas and be creative in their thinking. A good facilitator
compliments ideas and gives high praise to the most outrageous ideas - that's because
she knows that outrageous ideas encourage outrageous thinking which generates
creative ideas. Moreover, what at first might seem a crazy idea may, on reflection, prove
to be a very creative idea. Incidentally, if the facilitator is in the same company as the
participants, care should be taken not to use a facilitator who is significantly higher in
the corporate heirarchy. A high ranking moderator can make participants reluctant to
take the risk of proposing an outrageous or highly unusual idea.
Well stated challenge. The challenge is the problem or issue for which you will be
generating ideas. It is important to indicate very clearly the challenge in such a way as
to indicate the kind of ideas you want, while not making the challenge so restricting
that brainstormers cannot get creative. In our experience, the most common problem is
that the challenge is vaguely phrased. A manager who is looking for ideas on how to
improve product X in order to make it more attractive to younger customers all too often
phrases the challenge like this: "New product ideas" or "product improvements". Such
vague challenges encourage vague ideas, many of which do not respond to the
managers' needs. For more information about stating challenges effectively, download
and read: The care and framing of strategic innovation challenges (PDF document:
537kb) by Arthur Van Gundy.
Good environment with no disturbances. An uncomfortable environment, an overly
small room, cellphone calls and sectretaries calling their bosses out of the room for a
moment all not only interupt a brainstorming session, but also interupt the continuity

and thinking of participants. If you want an effective brainstorming session, you must
insist participants turn off their telephones and inform their staff that they are not to
be disturbed short of a total catastrophe. You should find a space that is large enough
for the group and comfortable. A supply of water and coffee should be provided.
Sometimes a little alcohol, such as wine or beer, can losen people up and reduce
inhibitions about proposing crazy ideas. Where possible, hold the brainstorming session
outside your office, in a pleasant environment where participants are less likely to be
disturbed or worry about their other work obligations.

The Adventures of Brainstorm Man and the

Boring Pushchairs
Willy Heckert flung the magazine across the room in frustration. How do the
Americans come up with such clever new pushchairs (baby strollers for our American
readers) every year? he demanded of no one in particular. BabiGo has been making
quality pushchairs for years. But they are boring, boring, boring! The Americans always
have clever new models. And now the Chinese are making good pushchairs for half the
price of ours!
Solveig, his long suffering secretary, looked on with a touch of sympathy mixed with
fear that he might have a full-fledged tantrum. Willy's company had seen steadily
declining sales figures for the past two years and it had done nothing for Willy's
disposition. She hoped he had finished and would get back to the marketing plan. No
such luck.
If we cannot come up with better pushchairs for next year, I might as well pack in this
job and sell sausages in the town square! That was new. Solveig was worried. Maybe
this time he really meant it.
Maybe we need to brainstorm some new ideas, suggested Solveig.
Willy was just about to make a disparaging remark, but then Solveig's suggestion
reminded him of the mysterious man from Erps-Kwerps whom he had met at an IT
conference in Munich a few months ago. What was his name? he asked out loud.
Whose name? asked Solveig.
Brainstorm Man, that's it! and he pulled out his mobile phone, checked the address
book and found it. He pushed the button to call the number.
After two rings, a deep confident voice answered: Never fear. Brainstorm Man is here.
How can I help?
Willy explained his situation.

We've no time to lose! Said Brainstorm Man. Put together a team of a dozen people
from different divisions and different backgrounds. And be sure to include a few men
and women with small children. I'll be at your office tomorrow first thing.
In Erps-Kwerps, Brainstorm man rang off and called together a quick meeting with his
colleagues, Jeffrey, Andy and Molly. He explained the situation, a brainstorm strategy
was devised and Brainstorm Man prepared his bag of tricks. The morning flight to
Munich was booked from Brussels airport.
***
The following morning, a tall man with a shock of unruly grey hair, wearing a tweed suit
and a long coat that billowed in the wind, marched into the head office of BabiGo. I'm
here to see Mr. Willy Heckert. My name's Brainstorm Man. He was immediately ushered
into a plush office where he quickly introduced himself to Willy before getting down to
business. Let's plan the first session with the Brainstorm team for 10:00, he said.
Meanwhile, why don't you give me a tour of your operations?
The tour revealed much of what Brainstorm man had expected, a traditional medium
sized business with most production in-house, although the company recently opened a
production line in Bulgaria.
At 10:00 he met the brainstorming team and was happy to see that Willy had followed
his instructions. Unfortunately, everyone in the room had dead serious expressions on
their faces. Never mind, thought Brainstorm Man, I'll soon fix that.
Hello and welcome to the BabiGo brainstorming event, he boomed. My name is
Brainstorm Man and my job is to ensure you generate great new product ideas for your
pushchairs. We're going to spend most of today doing three brainstorming exercises.
Then tomorrow morning we will finish off. And I should warn you in advance: you might
find parts of this session extremely fun, possibly even funny. Will that be a problem for
anyone? A few people smiled, which relieved Brainstorm Man, the worst thing that can
happen to a brainstorming event is for everyone to take it overly seriously.
Brainstorm Man reached into his bag of tricks, pulled out a dozen pocket-sized
notebooks and gave one to each participant. Once you start having ideas, you may find
it hard to stop. Don't worry. That's good. I want you each to take a notebook and keep it
with you at all times. If you have an idea, be sure to write it in the notebook. We will
look at your notebook ideas tomorrow morning.
Before we begin with the first session, I need to explain a few basic rules.
Rule one: no squelching. Squelching is when you criticise another participant or her
idea. Squelching can be as blunt as saying, 'what a stupid idea!' or as subtle as raising
your eyebrows and saying 'tsk, tsk'. When you squelch, it does very, very bad damage to
the creativity of the brainstorming session. I will shoot anyone who attempts to squelch.
I'd rather have to deal with a dead body or two than a dead brainstorming event.

Rule two: push your ideas as far into the realm of craziness as you can. The point of
idea generation is not to come up with safe, dull ideas. It is about generating as many
creative ideas as possible. Crazy ideas push our creative minds to think more creatively.
They inspire more creative thinking. Moreover, some ideas which seem crazy at first
turn out, after analysis, to be pure genius. So, anything goes as far as ideas are
concerned.
Rule three: no squelching.
Rule four: no interruptions. Turn off your mobile phones, tell your assistants not to
knock on this door or disturb you for any reasons short of terrorist attack and then only
if nuclear weapons are involved. Now let's get to know each other.
Brainstorm Man reached into his bag and pulled out a set of cards. He fanned them
out, passed them around the room and had everyone take a card. Each of you has got
a card with a word on it. That is your word. Now, I would like us to go around the table
with each of you sharing your name and describing yourself in a sentence using the
word on the card.
This went smoothly and started to warm up the participants as Brainstorm Man had
expected.
For the first brainstorming session, I want you each to take your BabiGo persona,
crumple it up and toss it in the rubbish, explained Brainstorm Man while miming the
actions. Now, pretend you are parents. For those of you who are parents, that should
be no great challenge. The rest of you will need to use your imagination. We shall begin
by spending a half hour brainstorming ideas for features you would like to see on
pushchairs. Stretch your imagination as far as it will go and remember, no idea is too
crazy to share. Indeed, I shall be disappointed if we do not hear a lot of crazy ideas.
While you shout out ideas, and please do shout, I shall write them on the poster paper
here. Now remember: no squelching. Ready? Good! Let us begin! Said Brainstorm Man
as he pulled a starter pistol from his bag and fired it into the air.
There was a moment's silence and then an idea was softly called out, then another and
another. The ideas were timid, but that was to be expected. In about five minutes the
first really creative idea would be suggested. In fact, it arrived at six minutes and set off
a round of laughter which inspired an even sillier idea that led to more laughter and the
first squelching attempt.
Don't be ridiculous, we could never... began one of the male participants who reeked of
middle management.
Brainstorm Man pulled a revolver from inside his coat, pointed it at the man and said.
I told you no squelching. The room went silent as he pulled the trigger. The gun made
a loud farting sound and filled the room with confetti. Everyone laughed, some a little
uncomfortably, and the brainstorming continued. There was no squelching after that.

At the end of the half hour, 43 ideas had been written on the poster paper. Which ones
do you like best and why? asked Brainstorm Man. A dozen of the ideas were checked.
Very well done indeed, said Brainstorm Man. We've got some interesting ideas here
and we're only a third of the way through. Herr Heckert, I believe we will have no
problem out-innovating the competition if you and your colleagues keep up the good
work.
Let's break until after lunch. Remember, if you have any additional ideas during lunch,
pull out your notebook and write them down. In the meantime, Herr Heckert, we need
to work out the evaluation criteria for these ideas. Let's you and I and anyone else you
want to involve sit down for a half hour and sort these out.
Two directors joined the meeting. Brainstorm Man explained the purpose of evaluation
criteria for providing quick, yet reasonably accurate initial analysis of ideas. He
explained that criteria based evaluation means taking each good idea and measuring
against a set of five criteria. (for more information on evaluating ideas using this
method, take a peak at http://www.jpb.com/brainstorming/evaluation.php).
With Brainstorm Man's guidance, Willy and two other directors worked out a set of five
criteria for evaluating new product feature ideas.
After lunch the team convened again in the meeting room. Brainstorm Man pulled out
of his bag of tricks a set cards and had everyone take one.
I want everyone with a 'Samantha' card over here, everyone with a 'Arthur' card over
here and everyone with a 'Juliet' card right here, Brainstorm Man said, indicating three
different spaces in the room. Once everyone joined their team, Brainstorm Man reached
into his bag again and pulled out three baby dolls of the sort small children play with.
Each team is now a baby or small child represented by your doll. What I want each
team to do is to work together to design the most outrageously luxurious, feature filled
dream pushchair for yourself as the baby. Remember, you are not adults, you are not
cost conscious employees of BabiGo. You are babies who demand the absolute best and
have no conception of costs.
Each team has poster paper, coloured paper, pens, pencils and scissors. You have forty
five minutes to design one or more pushchairs. When the time is up, each team will
present its concept to the group. Remember: be super-duper outrageous and no
squelching! Brainstorm Man patted his gun pocket.
The teams promptly got to work while Brainstorm Man walked around listening in and
offering advice. He found that interactive group activity like this was perfect for after
lunch brainstorming when people are sometimes drowsy and easily distracted.
At the end of the teamwork session, the Samantha team made its presentation of a
ludicrous, motorised, computerised four wheel drive pushchair. Everyone was delighted

and the presentation was frequently interrupted by laughter. This is how

brainstorming is meant to be, thought Brainstorm Man to himself. At the end of the
presentation, Brainstorm Man asked the audience what they liked about Samantha's
pushchair. While the group talked, Brainstorm Man took notes on another sheet of
poster paper. In particular, he made note of the most popular ideas.
The remaining two teams each made their presentation in the same way. Brainstorm
Man filled two sheets of poster paper with new ideas. You're going to knock the
Americans' socks off with these ideas, Brainstorm Man remarked to Mr. Heckert.
Let's take a half hour beak for coffee, and any quick business you need to do and we'll
reconvene here at three.
When the brainstormers returned to the room, they found Brainstorm Man waiting for
them by the door with yet another deck of cards. Take one and go the table with the
same name, he said to each person. The cards read busy executive parents, show off
parents and gadget loving parents.
Once everyone was at their table, Brainstorm Man explained. This session is rather
like the last one, but instead of being the children, you will be the parents. The busy
executives have lots of money, but not much time. They are willing to pay for quality,
practicality and anything that makes their lives easier. The show off parents love to get
one up on their friends and colleagues. They like to show off and believe that their
worth is demonstrated by their possessions. The gadget lovers prefer function over form.
The more gadgets, functions and gimmicks the better.
So, imagine you are the kind of parents described by your cards and design a
pushchair that would delight you. Like before, the more outrageous, the better.
The third session was structured largely like the second session, with each group
making a presentation followed by a discussion where brainstorm man made notes of
the most intriguing ideas. Because it was the end of a long, mind stretching day, most of
the participants were a bit silly and there was substantial laughing during the group
work as well as the presentation. Ideas were crazier but there were also some very
creative suggestions made.
Terrific, terrific, terrific, said Brainstorm Man. You've done wonderfully. There are
some great ideas here. But that's enough for today. We'll meet up again tomorrow
morning to review the results, discuss evaluation and conclude the brainstorming. Also,
if you have any ideas tonight, be sure to make a note of them in your notebooks and
share them tomorrow morning.
Now, I have heard rumours that your German beer is almost as good as Belgian beer.
So, I shall go out this evening and try a beer or two to see if that's the case. If anyone
would like to join me, I would delight in your company.
***

The following morning, the group reconvened in the meeting room. A few of the
brainstormers had had ideas the night before and they were added to the lists.
You have a lot of ideas here. Some are brilliant, some are merely good. The next step is
to evaluate ideas to determine which ones to apply to your pushchairs immediately and
which ideas you may want to develop further. And remember, just because I am gone
does not mean you cannot play around with these ideas some more.
Brainstorm Man went on to explain how to evaluate ideas using the 5x5 evaluation
matrix. For your convenience, we have set up a secure on-line evaluation tool that you
can use to evaluate your ideas easily. All of your ideas from yesterday are already in the
system and I will add today's latest ideas within a few hours. You can also add
additional ideas later. Brainstorm Man demonstrated the simple-to-use evaluation tool.
I shall call you next week to see how things are getting on. In the meantime, please feel
free to give me a call at any time if you have questions about the brainstorming,
evaluation or any other aspect of what we have done today.
It has been a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen. And now I have a plane to catch. Good
bye! Brainstorm many shook everyone's hand, turned and walked out the door with
Willy.
That was fantastic, Brainstorm Man, said Willy. Yesterday, I felt lost. Today, we have
enough ideas for several new lines of pushchairs and I feel so inspired, I am sure we will
have more ideas. How can I ever repay you?
No worries, you'll soon get our invoice which will be reward enough. Good luck. They
shook hands and Brainstorm Man hopped into a taxi.
Over the next few days, Willy, the brainstormers and others evaluated and reviewed
their ideas. Several prototypes were made incorporating more than 20 ideas from the
brainstorming event. Another dozen ideas were considered worth developing for future
implementation.
The following year's pushchairs sold better than ever before and BabiGo gained
substantial market share over other quality pushchair manufacturers.
All in all, everyone lived happily ever after. Oh, and the invoice wasn't nearly as bad as
Willy had feared. He even hired Brainstorm Man again to brainstorm new product
launches. But that's another story.

VISUAL BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming verbally frequently does not work. Visual brainstorming , that is
brainstorming with images, objects and actions frequently works spectacularly

well.

Why Verbal Brainstorming Fails

The ugly truth about brainstorming is that more often than not it leads to mediocre
results. In fact, if you've been involved in brainstorming sessions, you've probably
experienced more than your share of events in which few truly creative ideas were
suggested.
There are several reasons why a brainstorming session might fail to generate great
creative ideas.
1. Badly formulated challenge. Any proper brainstorming event starts with a
creative challenge that is the focus for idea generation. Unfortunately, few people
appreciate how important a well formulated challenge is. They'd rather go right
to the idea generation part of the brainstorming. Unfortunately, if you get the
challenge wrong, the best ideas in the world probably will not solve your
problem.
2. Poor facilitation. Even trained facilitators who do not understand creative
problem solving (CPS) are often unable to manage properly a brainstorming
event.
3. Squelching. Criticising ideas during the idea generation phase of brainstorming
demotivates everyone. It tells participants that wacky ideas will get you in
trouble. The thing is: the wackiest ideas are the most creative. So, any
squelching basically communicates to participants that creative ideas are not
wanted. And participants oblige by suggesting uninspiring and predictable ideas.
4. Dominating personalities. If one person dominates the brainstorming session,
her ideas inevitably become the focus and other participants' ideas are pushed
to the side. Unfortunately, this means that only one person is really doing any
brainstorming - and that makes nonsense of bringing a brainstorming group
together. Worse, dominating people are usually more interested in power than in
discovering the best ideas.
5. Topic fixation. When someone suggests an obviously good idea in a
brainstorming event, other people tend to focus on similar ideas. The result is
that other avenues of possibility are ignored.
6. Too much noise. In a good brainstorming event, a lot of people are sharing
ideas loudly. That means everyone has to listen to other ideas before sharing
their own. The result is more time and energy is spent on listening and
interpreting than ideas than on generating ideas. Worse, quiet or shy people

tend to keep to themselves when brainstorming gets noisy - so you lose their
ideas.
The bad news is that one any of these flaws can spoil a brainstorming event and lead to
poor, unimaginative ideas. The good news is that non-verbal brainstorming -- based on
images, objects, actions or any combination of these -- not only avoids almost all of the
flaws listed above, but seems more reliably to result in better, more usable ideas.
Visual Brainstorming
Visual brainstorming is about collaboratively generating ideas without using the spoken
or written word. You might use objects which teams put together to solve problems. You
might use arts and crafts materials such as coloured construction paper, tape, string,
card, pens and the like. You might use people to create improvisational role plays.
An Example
Let's imagine your company manufactures farm machinery. You want to brainstorm new
product improvement ideas for your best selling tractors. Rather than running a
brainstorming session where people shout out ideas or write ideas on post-it's and stick
them to the wall, you set up a visual brainstorming activity.
The first step, of course, is to frame the creative challenge, for example: "What new
features might we add to our Super Bull Tractors?" This done, you bring together a
diverse group of a dozen people from various divisions in the company as well as a few
typical customers. You provide them with a huge pile of Lego building bricks and have
them work together to build a model tractor with their new feature ideas. Instead of
shouting out ideas, the team works together to build a tractor out of Lego. As with
verbal brainstorming, each member should be encouraged to participate and try out
new ideas. Likewise, criticism must be forbidden. Talking, on the other hand, is
perfectly acceptable. But, bear in mind that ideas must be implemented in the Lego
model and not simply vocalised.
The tractor that the team builds will probably look nothing like the company's existing
tractors. But it will probably be bursting with ideas. (Note: actually, in the author's
experience, the team will probably break off into sub-teams each building their own
tractors - but that's okay. Indeed, if the initial team is large the facilitator should
separate it into multiple diverse teams anyway).
Once the model is completed, speaking is allowed. The team presents its ideas, explains
the features and, where relevant, the logic behind those features. Finally, all of the ideas
together with images of the Lego tractor are compiled into a report -- unless the
company's management is open minded enough to accept a Lego model in lieu of a
report!
The advantages to visual brainstorming in the example given include..

There are fewer distractions. No one needs to wait for someone else to speak.
Everyone can focus on building.

No one can sit quietly in the background. unlike in a verbal brainstorming event
where quiet people hide behind the noise, in a visual brainstorming event, it is
obvious who is participating and who is not.

It is harder for anyone to dominate when everyone is building bits and pieces.
People who attempt to dominate vocally will be unable to keep pace with the
visual development of the ideas and so, will actually, provide less involvement
with the end result.

In the author's experience, there is far less squelching in visual brainstorming.

Probably this is because visual brainstorming is fun, requires a high level of
personal concentration and people find it harder to criticise visual ideas than
verbal ideas.

Various Approaches
Visual brainstorming need not be limited to physical objects such as new products. You
may also use it to brainstorm processes, services and activities. All you need is a little
imagination and the ability to visualise problems. Here are a few examples.

A software company wants to speed up the process by which new features are
specified, approved and implemented.
A collection of small dolls, building blocks and satay sticks allow brainstormers
to simulate people, places, tools and workflow. The dolls, of course, represent
people. The building blocks can be made to represent computers, buildings and
other structures. The satay sticks can show workflow direction. Thus, the team
can build a model of the current process and modify it to improve efficiency.
Alternatively, they might tear the entire model apart and start from scratch.

A multinational wants to improve internal communications

Lego can be used to create representations of divisions, communications
methods and the strength of communications. Alternatively, construction paper,
tape and small crafts tools can be used to build representations of divisions and
string can be used to show the path of communications. As with the above
example, the brainstormers can modify the existing model to improve it - or start
from scratch and build a better system.

A retail chain wishes to attract younger customers to its shops.

Role-play is probably the way to go. Have the brainstormers break up into
teams, where one team represents target customers. The other represents the
company. Design a number of improvisational role plays where the customers

interact with the company. Discuss the results, how they can be improved and
role play again. You will probably need to do this several times. Although this
approach is verbal, it also focuses uses movement, gesture and more.
Clearly, there is substantial room for creative thinking in the approach you take to
visually brainstorming a problem. And it is worth investing your time in devising a good
approach. After all, a creative brainstorming approach is likely to motivate participants
to be extra creative in their ideas.
The tools you use in visual brainstorming might include...

Children's construction toys such as building blocks, Lego, etc.

Dolls and action figures to represent people.
String, wire, yarn to represent connections
Satay sticks to represent directions
Construction paper
Tape
Modeling clay
Cups
Bits of fabric, buttons and other sewing materials
Pipe cleaners
Wire mesh
Boxes of various sizes
Toy cars

And anything else you can get your hands on. Children's toys, in particular, can be
useful as well as encourage creative thinking. Indeed, you would do well to spend some
time in a toy shop when planning your visual brainstorming activity.
Evaluation and Implementation
The first step of evaluating ideas from visual brainstorming is to have the team or teams
present their models -- or results in the case of role-play -- to a wider audience. This
should open discussion on the ideas, their viability and their potential value. At this
stage, the facilitator should encourage positive feedback. Instead of criticising
weaknesses, the audience should be encouraged to remark upon potential weaknesses
and challenge the team to improve upon their ideas. In the example above, an audience
member might remark: "The automatic gearbox is a good idea, but I am worried it would
not be as reliable as our customers expect our products to be. How could you ensure a
high level of reliability?"
The next step is typically to put the results in a written report. At this stage, traditional
idea evaluation approaches such as criteria based evaluation matrices, SWOT analyses,
business cases and the like may be applied.
Implementation of good ideas should be the result of any brainstorming activity.
Surprisingly, many great ideas never reach the implementation stage. Don't let that

happen to your ideas! The Creative Idea Implementation Plan is a useful tool for
planning idea implementation.
Conclusion
The author has seen considerable success with visual brainstorming, including..

Higher levels of participation

More divergence of thinking (ie. more creativity)
More fun

That said, visual brainstorming requires a higher level of creativity in the planning stage
in terms of devising an effective approach and appropriate tools. Moreover, socially
conservative business people may be reluctant to play with children's toys and may
need to be convinced of the value of the activity.
Your best approach would be to run some trail visual brainstorming events with friends,
sympathetic colleagues, students or other groups who can provide useful feedback.

Brainstorming
Generating many radical, creative ideas
Brainstorming is a popular tool that helps you generate creative solutions to a
problem.
It is particularly useful when you want to
break out of stale, established patterns of
thinking, so that you can develop new ways Brainstorm better with James Manktelow
&
of looking at things. It also helps you
Amy Carlson.
overcome many of the issues that can make
group problem-solving a sterile and unsatisfactory process.
Used with your team, it helps you bring the diverse experience of all team
members into play during problem solving. This increases the richness of ideas
explored, meaning that you can find better solutions to the problems you face.
It can also help you get buy in from team members for the solution chosen
after all, they were involved in developing it. Whats more, because

brainstorming is fun, it helps team members bond with one-another as they

solve problems in a positive, rewarding environment.
Why Use Brainstorming?
Conventional group problem-solving can be fraught with
problems. Confident, "big-ego" participants can drown out
and intimidate quieter group members. Less confident
participants can be too scared of ridicule to share their ideas
freely. Others may feel pressurized to conform with the group
view, or are held back by an excessive respect for authority.
As such, group problem-solving is often ineffective and
sterile.
By contrast, brainstorming provides a freewheeling
environment in which everyone is encouraged to participate.
Quirky ideas are welcomed, and many of the issues of group
problem-solving are overcome. All participants are asked to
contribute fully and fairly, liberating people to develop a rich
array of creative solutions to the problems they're facing.
Brainstorming 2.0
The original approach to brainstorming was developed by
Madison Avenue advertising executive, Alex Osborn, in the
1950s. Since then, many researchers have explored the
technique, and have identified issues with it.
The steps described here seek to take account of this
research, meaning that the approach described below differs
subtly from Osborn's original one.
What Is Brainstorming?
Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem-solving with
lateral thinking. It asks that people come up with ideas and thoughts that can
at first seem to be a bit crazy. The idea here is that some of these ideas can be
crafted into original, creative solutions to the problem you're trying to solve,
while others can spark still more ideas. This approach aims to get people
unstuck, by "jolting" them out of their normal ways of thinking.
During brainstorming sessions there should therefore be no criticism of ideas:
You are trying to open up possibilities and break down wrong assumptions
about the limits of the problem. Judgments and analysis at this stage stunt
idea generation.

Ideas should only be evaluated at the end of the brainstorming session this is
the time to explore solutions further using conventional approaches.
Individual Brainstorming
While group brainstorming is often more effective at generating ideas than
normal group problem-solving, study after study has shown that when
individuals brainstorm on their own, they come up with more ideas (and often
better quality ideas) than groups of people who brainstorm together.
Partly this occurs because, in groups, people arent always strict in following
the rules of brainstorming, and bad group behaviors creep in. Mostly, though,
this occurs because people are paying so much attention to other peoples ideas
that they're not generating ideas of their own or they're forgetting these ideas
while they wait for their turn to speak. This is called "blocking".
When you brainstorm on your own, you'll tend to produce a wider range of ideas
than with group brainstorming you do not have to worry about other people's
egos or opinions, and can therefore be more freely creative. For example, you
might find that an idea youd be hesitant to bring up in a group session
develops into something quite special when you explore it with individual
brainstorming. Nor do you have to wait for others to stop speaking before you
contribute your own ideas.
You may not, however, develop ideas as fully when you brainstorm on your own,
as you do not have the wider experience of other members of a group to help
you.

Tip:
When Brainstorming on your own, consider using Mind
Maps to arrange and develop ideas.
Group Brainstorming
When it works, group brainstorming can be very effective for bringing the full
experience and creativity of all members of the group to bear on an issue. When
individual group members get stuck with an idea, another member's creativity
and experience can take the idea to the next stage. Group brainstorming can
therefore develop ideas in more depth than individual brainstorming.
Another advantage of group brainstorming is that it helps everyone involved to
feel that theyve contributed to the end solution, and it reminds people that

other people have creative ideas to offer. Whats more, brainstorming is fun, and
it can be great for team-building!
Brainstorming in a group can be risky for individuals. Valuable but strange
suggestions may appear stupid at first sight. Because of this, you need to chair
sessions tightly so that ideas are not crushed, and so that the usual issues with
group problem-solving dont stifle creativity.
How to Use the Tool:
You can often get the best results by combining individual and group
brainstorming, and by managing the process carefully and according to the
"rules" below. That way, you get people to focus on the issue without
interruption (this comes from having everyone in a dedicated group meeting),
you maximize the number of ideas you can generate, and you get that great
feeling of team bonding that comes with a well-run brainstorming session!
To run a group brainstorming session effectively, do the following:

Find a comfortable meeting environment, and set it up ready for the

session.

Appoint one person to record the ideas that come from the session.
These should be noted in a format than everyone can see and refer to.
Depending on the approach you want to use, you may want to record
ideas on flip charts, whiteboards, or computers with data projectors.
If people arent already used to working together, consider using an
appropriate warm-up exercise or ice-breaker.
Define the problem you want solved clearly, and lay out any criteria to be
met. Make it clear that that the objective of the meeting is to generate as
many ideas as possible.
Give people plenty of time on their own at the start of the session to
generate as many ideas as possible.
Ask people to give their ideas, making sure that you give everyone a fair
opportunity to contribute.
Encourage people to develop other people's ideas, or to use other ideas to
create new ones.
Encourage an enthusiastic, uncritical attitude among members of the
group. Try to get everyone to contribute and develop ideas, including the
quietest members of the group.
Ensure that no one criticizes or evaluates ideas during the session.
Criticism introduces an element of risk for group members when putting
forward an idea. This stifles creativity and cripples the free running
nature of a good brainstorming session.

Taking Your Brainstorming

Further...

Let people have fun brainstorming.

Encourage them to come up with as
many ideas as possible, from solidly
practical ones to wildly impractical
ones. Welcome creativity!
Ensure that no train of thought is
followed for too long. Make sure that
you generate a sufficient number of
different ideas, as well as exploring
individual ideas in detail.
In a long session, take plenty of
breaks so that people can continue to
concentrate.

Where possible, participants in the

brainstorming process should come from as
wide a range of disciplines as possible. This
brings a broad range of experience to the
session and helps to make it more creative.
However, dont make the group too big as
with other types of teamwork, groups of
between 5 and 7 people are often most
effective.
Key Points:
Brainstorming is a useful way of generating
radical solutions to problems, just as long
as it's managed well. During the
brainstorming process there is no criticism
of ideas, and free rein is given to people's
creativity (criticism and judgment cramp
creativity.)

If you're still not getting the

ideas you want, try using these
approaches to increase the
number of ideas that you
generate:
The Stepladder Technique
This improves the contribution
of quieter members of the
group.
Brainwriting A written
approach to brainstorming.
The Crawford's Slip Approach
This helps you get plenty of
ideas from all participants in
your session, and gives you a
view of the popularity of each
idea.
The techniques below help you
in specific brainstorming
situations:
Reverse Brainstorming This is
useful for improving a product
or service.
Starbursting Brainstorm the
questions you need to ask to
evaluate a proposal.
Charette Procedure This
procedure helps you brainstorm
effectively with large groups of
people.

This tends to make group brainstorming sessions enjoyable experiences, which

are great for bringing team members together. Using brainstorming also helps
people commit to solutions, because they have participated in the development
of these solutions.
The best approach to brainstorming combines individual and group
brainstorming. Group brainstorming needs formal rules for it to work smoothly.

brainstorming process
brainstorming technique for problemsolving, team-building and creative
process
Brainstorming with a group of people is a powerful technique.
Brainstorming creates new ideas, solves problems, motivates
and develops teams. Brainstorming motivates because it
involves members of a team in bigger management issues, and
it gets a team working together. However, brainstorming is not
simply a random activity. Brainstorming needs to be
structured and it follows brainstorming rules. The
brainstorming process is described below, for which you will
need a flip-chart or alternative. This is crucial as
Brainstorming needs to involve the team, which means that
everyone must be able to see what's happening. Brainstorming
places a significant burden on the facilitator to manage the
process, people's involvement and sensitivities, and then to
manage the follow up actions. Use Brainstorming well and you
will see excellent results in improving the organization,
performance, and developing the team.
N.B. There has been some discussion in recent years - much of
it plainly daft - that the term 'brainstorming' might be 'political

incorrect' by virtue of possible perceived reference to brainrelated health issues. It was suggested by some that the
alternative, but less than catchy 'thought-showers' should be
used instead, which presumably was not considered to be
offensive to raindrops (this is serious). Happily recent
research among relevant groups has dispelled this non-pc
notion, and we can continue to use the brainstorming
expression without fear of ending up in the law courts

brainstorming process
1. Define and agree the objective.
2. Brainstorm ideas and suggestions having agreed a time
limit.
3. Categorise/condense/combine/refine.
4. Assess/analyse effects or results.
5. Prioritise options/rank list as appropriate.
6. Agree action and timescale.
7. Control and monitor follow-up.
In other words:

plan and agree the brainstorming aim

Ensure everyone participating in the brainstorm session
understands and agrees the aim of the session (eg, to
formulate a new job description for a customer services clerk;
to formulate a series of new promotional activities for the next
trading year; to suggest ways of improving cooperation between
the sales and service departments; to identify costs saving
opportunities that will not reduce performance or morale, etc).
Keep the brainstorming objective simple. Allocate a time limit.
This will enable you to keep the random brainstorming activity
under control and on track.

manage the actual brainstorming

activity
Brainstorming enables people to suggest ideas at random.
Your job as facilitator is to encourage everyone to participate,
to dismiss nothing, and to prevent others from pouring scorn
on the wilder suggestions (some of the best ideas are initially
the daftest ones - added to which people won't participate if
their suggestions are criticised). During the random collection
of ideas the facilitator must record everysuggestion on the flipchart. Use Blu-Tack or sticky tape to hang the sheets around
the walls. At the end of the time limit or when ideas have been
exhausted, use different coloured pens to categorise, group,
connect and link the random ideas. Condense and refine the
ideas by making new headings or lists. You can diplomatically
combine or include the weaker ideas within other themes to
avoid dismissing or rejecting contributions (remember
brainstorming is about team building and motivation too - you
don't want it to have the reverse effect on some people). With
the group, assess, evaluate and analyse the effects and validity
of the ideas or the list. Develop and prioritise the ideas into a
more finished list or set of actions or options.

implement the actions agreed from the

brainstorming
Agree what the next actions will be. Agree a timescale, who's
responsible. After the session circulate notes, monitor and give
feedback. It's crucial to develop a clear and positive outcome,
so that people feel their effort and contribution was
worthwhile. When people see that their efforts have resulted in
action and change, they will be motivated and keen to help
again.

personal brainstorming
for creativity, planning, presentations,
decision-making, and organizing your
ideas
Personal brainstorming - just by yourself - is very useful for
the start of any new project, especially if you can be prone to
put things off until tomorrow.
Planning a new venture, a presentation, or any new initiative,
is generally much easier if you begin simply by thinking of
ideas - in no particular order or structure - and jotting them
down on a sheet of paper or in a notebook. Basically this is
personal brainstorming, and it can follow the same process as
described above for groups, except that it's just you doing it.
Sometimes it's very difficult to begin planning something new because you don't know where and how to start. Brainstoming
is a great way to begin. The method also generates lots of
possibilities which you might otherwise miss by getting into
detailed structured planning too early.

A really useful tool for personal

brainstorming - and note-taking generally is the wonderful Bic 4-colour ballpen.
The pen enables you quickly to switch
colours between red, blue, black and green,
without having to walk around with a
pocket-full of biros.
Using different colours in your creative
jottings and written records helps you to
make your notes and diagrams clearer, and
dramatically increases the ways in which
you can develop and refine your ideas and
notes on paper. To prove the point, review
some previous notes in black or blue ink
using a red pen - see how you can
organize/connect the content, still keeping
it all clear and legible.
This simple pen is therefore a brilliant tool
for organizing your thoughts on paper
much more clearly and creatively than by
being limited to a single colour - especially
if you think in visual terms and find
diagrams helpful.
For example, using different colours
enables you to identify and link common
items within a random list, or to show
patterns and categories, or to over-write
notes without making a confusing mess,
and generally to generate far more value
from your thoughts and ideas. Keeping

connected notes and ideas on a single

sheet of paper greatly helps the brain to
absorb and develop them. Try it - you'll be
surprised how much more useful your
notes become.
The principle is the same as using different
colours of marker pens on a flip-chart.
Other manufacturers produce similar pens,
but the Bic is reliable, widely available, and
very inexpensive.
The usefulness of different colours in written notes is further
illustrated (please correct me or expand on this if you know
more) in a wider organizational sense in the UK health
industry. Apparently, black is the standard colour; green is
used by pharmacy services, red is used after death and for
allergies, and blue tends to be avoided due to poorer
reprographic qualities (thanks M Belcher). As I say, correct me
if this is wrong, and in any event please let me know any other
examples of different coloured inks being used to organize or
otherwise clarify written communications within corporations,
institutions or industries.
Additionally I am informed (thanks T Kalota, Oct 2008) of a
useful brainstorming/organizing technique using coloured
pens when reviewing a written specification, or potentially any
set of notes for a design or plan.
Underline or circle the words according to the following:
nouns/people/things
verbs
('doing'/functional
words)

black (entities)
red

(relationships)

adjectives/adverbs
(describing words)

blue

(attributes)

This technique was apparently used for clarifying written

specifications or notes for a database design, and was termed
'extended relational architecture', advocated by a company of
the same name, at one time. (I've been unable to find any
further details about the company or this application. If you
know more please tell me.)
This method of colour-coding notes (using underlines or circles
or boxes) to help clarification/prioritization/organization/etc
can itself naturally be extended and adapted, for example:
nouns/people/things

black

(entities)

verbs ('doing'/functional
words)

red

(relationships)

adjectives (describing a
noun/thing/etc)

blue

(attributes)

adverbs (describing a
verb/function)

green

(degrees/range/etc)

timings/costs/quantities yellow (measures)

The colours and categories are not a fixed industry standard.
It's an entirely flexible technique. You can use any colours you
want, and devise your own coding structures to suit the
situation.

In relation to the group brainstorming process above, see also

the guidelines for running workshops. Workshops provide
good situations for group brainstorming, and brainstorming
helps to make workshops more productive, motivational and
successful.

To create more structured brainstorming activities which

illustrate or address particular themes, methods, media, etc.,
there is a helpfulset of reference points on the team building
games section. Unless you have special reasons for omitting
control factors, ensure you retain the the essence of the rules
above, especially defining the task, stating clear timings,
organising participants and materials, and managing the
review and follow-up.

see also
The following tools and models can be used within the
brainstorming process to build and create a context for
brainstorming, and a framework for brainstorming actions.
When using any of these tools or models within the
brainstorming process, select models appropriate to the group,
and the desired development and outcomes for the
brainstorming session:

SWOT analysis - for assessing the strength of a company,

department, proposition or idea.
PEST analysis - for measuring the attractiveness and
potential of a market.
The McKinsey Seven-S's - criteria for a successful
company
Adizes corporate life-cycle model - phases of company
development
Delegation model - successful task delegation and staff
development through delegation
Tuckman's group development model - forming, storming,
norming, performing

Kolb's learning styles - for training the trainers, coaching

the coaches, and management development
Leadership attributes - for developing leadership among
managers
Negotiation process - for sales and commercial staff and
optimising on profitable outcomes and customer
relationships
Cherie Carter-Scott's rules of life - behaviour and attitude
development and soft skills development
The Four Agreements - behaviour and attitude
development and soft skills development
Advanced 'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' technique

swot analysis
SWOT analysis method and examples,
with free SWOT template
The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for
understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations
in business and organizations. SWOT is an acronym for
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Information
about the origins and inventors of SWOT analysis is below. The
SWOT analysis headings provide a good framework for
reviewing strategy, position and direction of a company or
business proposition, or any other idea. Completing a SWOT
analysis is very simple, and is a good subject for workshop
sessions. SWOT analysis also works well
in brainstorming meetings. Use SWOT analysis for business
planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing,

business and product development and research reports. You

can also use SWOT analysis exercises for team building games.
See also PEST analysis, which measures a business's market
and potential according to external factors; Political,
Economic, Social and Technological. It is often helpful to
complete a PEST analysis prior to a SWOT analysis. See
also Porter's Five Forces model, which is used to analyse
competitive position.
Here is a free SWOT analysis template worksheet (in MSWord).
And the same free SWOT analysis tool in pdf format.
If you have difficulty opening the above doc file here are two
other formats:

SWOT Analysis Template doc file using table format

instead of text-boxes (portrait layout)
SWOT Analysis Template doc for Apple Mac (thanks U
Weissbach)

A SWOT analysis measures a business unit, a proposition or

idea; a PEST analysis measures a market.
A SWOT analysis is a subjective assessment of data which is
organized by the SWOT format into a logical order that helps
understanding, presentation, discussion and decision-making.
The four dimensions are a useful extension of a basic two
heading list of pro's and con's (free pro's and con's template
here).
SWOT analysis can be used for all sorts of decision-making,
and the SWOT template enables proactive thinking, rather
than relying on habitual or instinctive reactions.
The SWOT analysis template is normally presented as a grid,
comprising four sections, one for each of the SWOT headings:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The free

SWOT template below includes sample questions, whose

answers are inserted into the relevant section of the SWOT
grid. The questions are examples, or discussion points, and
obviously can be altered depending on the subject of the
SWOT analysis. Note that many of the SWOT questions are
also talking points for other headings - use them as you find
most helpful, and make up your own to suit the issue being
analysed. It is important to clearly identify the subject of a
SWOT analysis, because a SWOT analysis is a perspective of
one thing, be it a company, a product, a proposition, and idea,
a method, or option, etc.
Here are some examples of what a SWOT analysis can be used
to assess:

a company (its position in the market, commercial

viability, etc)
a method of sales distribution
a product or brand
a business idea
a strategic option, such as entering a new market or
launching a new product
a opportunity to make an acquisition
a potential partnership
changing a supplier
outsourcing a service, activity or resource
an investment opportunity

Be sure to describe the subject for the SWOT analysis clearly

so that people contributing to the analysis, and those seeing
the finished SWOT analysis, properly understand the purpose
of the SWOT assessment and implications.

SWOT analysis template

Subject of SWOT analysis: (define the

subject of the analysis here)
strengths

Advantages of
proposition?
Capabilities?
Competitive advantages?
USP's (unique selling
points)?
Resources, Assets,
People?
Experience, knowledge,
data?
Financial reserves, likely
returns?
Marketing - reach,
distribution, awareness?
Innovative aspects?
Location and
geographical?
Price, value, quality?
Accreditations,
qualifications,
certifications?
Processes, systems, IT,
communications?
Cultural, attitudinal,

weaknesses

Disadvantages of
proposition?
Gaps in capabilities?
Lack of competitive
strength?
Reputation, presence and
reach?
Financials?
Own known
vulnerabilities?
Timescales, deadlines
and pressures?
Cashflow, start-up cashdrain?
Continuity, supply chain
robustness?
Effects on core activities,
distraction?
Reliability of data, plan
predictability?
Morale, commitment,
leadership?
Accreditations, etc?
Processes and systems,

behavioural?

Management cover,
succession?

etc?

Management cover,
succession?

opportunities

Market developments?
Competitors'
vulnerabilities?
Industry or lifestyle
trends?
Technology development
and innovation?
Global influences?
New markets, vertical,
horizontal?
Niche target markets?
Geographical, export,
import?
New USP's?
Tactics - surprise, major
contracts, etc?
Business and product
development?
Information and
research?
Partnerships, agencies,
distribution?
Volumes, production,
economies?
Seasonal, weather,
fashion influences?

threats

Political effects?
Legislative effects?
Environmental effects?
IT developments?
Competitor intentions various?
Market demand?
New technologies,
services, ideas?
Vital contracts and
partners?
Sustaining internal
capabilities?
Obstacles faced?
Insurmountable
weaknesses?
Loss of key staff?
Sustainable financial
backing?
Economy - home, abroad?
Seasonality, weather
effects?

free SWOT analysis template worksheet

version in MSWord
swot analysis example
This SWOT analysis example is based on an imaginary
situation. The scenario is based on a business-to-business
manufacturing company, who historically rely on distributors
to take their products to the end user market. The
opportunity, and therefore the subject for the SWOT analysis,
is for the manufacturer to create a new company of its own to
distribute its products direct to certain end-user sectors,
which are not being covered or developed by its normal
distributors.

Subject of SWOT analysis example: the

creation of own distributor company
to access new end-user sectors not
currently being developed.
strengths

End-user sales control

and direction.
Right products, quality

weaknesses

Customer lists not tested.

Some gaps in range for
certain sectors.

and reliability.
Superior product
performance vs
competitors.
Better product life and
durability.
Spare manufacturing
capacity.
Some staff have
experience of end-user
sector.
Have customer lists.
Direct delivery capability.
Product innovations
ongoing.
Can serve from existing
sites.
Products have required
accreditations.
Processes and IT should
cope.

We would be a small
player.
No direct marketing
experience.
We cannot supply endusers abroad.
Need more sales people.
Limited budget.
No pilot or trial done yet.
Don't have a detailed
plan yet.
Delivery-staff need
training.
Customer service staff
need training.
Processes and systems,
etc
Management cover
insufficient.

Management is
committed and confident.

opportunities

Could develop new

products.
Local competitors have
poor products.
Profit margins will be
good.
End-users respond to

threats

Legislation could impact.

Environmental effects
would favour larger
competitors.
Existing core business
distribution risk.
Market demand very

new ideas.
Could extend to overseas.
New specialist
applications.
Can surprise
competitors.
Support core business
economies.

Could seek better

supplier deals.

seasonal.
Retention of key staff
critical.
Could distract from core
business.
Possible negative
publicity.
Vulnerable to reactive
attack by major
competitors.

See also the free PEST analysis template and method, which
measures a business according to external factors; Political,
Economic, Social and Technological. It is often helpful to
complete a PEST analysis prior to competing a SWOT analysis.
See also Porter's Five Forces model.

more on the difference and relationship

between PEST and SWOT
PEST is useful before SWOT - not generally vice-versa - PEST
definitely helps to identify SWOT factors. There is overlap
between PEST and SWOT, in that similar factors would appear
in each. That said, PEST and SWOT are certainly two different
perspectives:
PEST assesses a market, including competitors, from the
standpoint of a particular proposition or a business.

SWOT is an assessment of a business or a proposition,

whether your own or a competitor's.
Strategic planning is not a precise science - no tool is
mandatory - it's a matter of pragmatic choice as to what helps
best to identify and explain the issues.
PEST becomes more useful and relevant the larger and more
complex the business or proposition, but even for a very small
local businesses a PEST analysis can still throw up one or two
very significant issues that might otherwise be missed.
The four quadrants in PEST vary in significance depending on
the type of business, eg., social factors are more obviously
relevant to consumer businesses or a B2B business close to
the consumer-end of the supply chain, whereas political
factors are more obviously relevant to a global munitions
supplier or aerosol propellant manufacturer.
All businesses benefit from a SWOT analysis, and all
businesses benefit from completing a SWOT analysis of their
main competitors, which interestingly can then provide some
feed back into the economic aspects of the PEST analysis.

the origins of the SWOT analysis model

This remarkable piece of history as to the origins of SWOT
analysis was provided by Albert S Humphrey, one of the
founding fathers of what we know today as SWOT analysis. I
am indebted to him for sharing this fascinating contribution.
Albert Humphrey died on 31 October 2005. He was one of the
good guys.

SWOT analysis came from the research conducted at Stanford

Research Institute from 1960-1970. The background to SWOT
stemmed from the need to find out why corporate planning
failed. The research was funded by the fortune 500 companies
to find out what could be done about this failure. The
Research Team were Marion Dosher, Dr Otis Benepe, Albert
Humphrey, Robert Stewart, Birger Lie.
It all began with the corporate planning trend, which seemed
to appear first at Du Pont in 1949. By 1960 every Fortune 500
company had a 'corporate planning manager' (or equivalent)
and 'associations of long range corporate planners' had sprung
up in both the USA and the UK.
However a unanimous opinion developed in all of these
companies that corporate planning in the shape of long range
planning was not working, did not pay off, and was an
expensive investment in futility.
It was widely held that managing change and setting realistic
objectives which carry the conviction of those responsible was
difficult and often resulted in questionable compromises.
The fact remained, despite the corporate and long range
planners, that the one and only missing link was how to get
the management team agreed and committed to a
comprehensive set of action programmes.
To create this link, starting in 1960, Robert F Stewart at SRI in
Menlo Park California lead a research team to discover what
was going wrong with corporate planning, and then to find
some sort of solution, or to create a system for enabling
management teams agreed and committed to development
work, which today we call 'managing change'.
The research carried on from 1960 through 1969. 1100
companies and organizations were interviewed and a 250-item

questionnaire was designed and completed by over 5,000

executives. Seven key findings lead to the conclusion that in
corporations chief executive should be the chief planner and
that his immediate functional directors should be the planning
team. Dr Otis Benepe defined the 'Chain of Logic' which
became the core of system designed to fix the link for
obtaining agreement and commitment.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Values
Appraise
Motivation
Search
Select
Programme
Act
Monitor and repeat steps 1 2 and 3

We discovered that we could not change the values of the team

nor set the objectives for the team so we started as the first
step by asking the appraisal question ie what's good and bad
about the operation. We began the system by asking what is
good and bad about the present and the future. What is good
in the present is Satisfactory, good in the future is an
Opportunity; bad in the present is a Fault and bad in the
future is a Threat. This was called the SOFT analysis.
When this was presented to Urick and Orr in 1964 at the
Seminar in Long Range Planning at the Dolder Grand in
Zurich Switzerland they changed the F to a W and called it
SWOT Analysis.
SWOT was then promoted in Britain by Urick and Orr as an
exercise in and of itself. As such it has no benefit. What was
necessary was the sorting of the issues into the programme
planning categories of:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Product (what are we selling?)

Process (how are we selling it?)
Customer (to whom are we selling it?)
Distribution (how does it reach them?)
Finance (what are the prices, costs and investments?)
Administration (and how do we manage all this?)

The second step then becomes 'what shall the team do' about
the issues in each of these categories. The planning process
was then designed through trial and error and resulted finally
in a 17 step process beginning with SOFT/SWOT with each
issue recorded separately on a single page called a planning
issue.
The first prototype was tested and published in 1966 based on
the work done at 'Erie Technological Corp' in Erie Pa. In 1970
the prototype was brought to the UK, under the sponsorship of
W H Smith & Sons plc, and completed by 1973. The
operational programme was used to merge the CWS milling
and baking operations with those of J W French Ltd.
The process has been used successfully ever since. By 2004,
now, this system has been fully developed, and proven to cope
with today's problems of setting and agreeing realistic annual
objectives without depending on outside consultants or
expensive staff resources.

the seven key research findings

The key findings were never published because it was felt they
were too controversial. This is what was found:
1) A business was divided into two parts. The base business
plus the development business. This was re-discovered by Dr

Peter Senge at MIT in 1998 and published in his book the 5th
Dimension. The amount of development business which
become operational is equal to or greater than that business
on the books within a period of 5 to 7 years. This was a major
surprise and urged the need for discovering a better method
for planning and managing change.
2) Dr Hal Eyring published his findings on 'Distributive
Justice' and pointed out that all people measure what they get
from their work and divide it by what they give to the work and
this ratio is compared to others. If it is not equal then the
person first re-perceives and secondly slows down if added
demands are not met. (See for interest Adams Equity
Theory and the Equity Theory Diagram pdf)
3) The introduction of a corporate planner upset the sense of
fair play at senior level, making the job of the corporate
planner impossible.
4) The gap between what could be done by the organisation
and what was actually done was about 35%.
5) The senior man will over-supervise the area he comes from.
Finance- Finance, Engineering-Engineering etc.
6) There are 3 factors which separate excellence from
mediocrity:
a. Overt attention to purchasing
b. Short-term written down departmental plans for
improvement
c. Continued education of the Senior Executive
7) Some form of formal documentation is required to obtain
approval for development work. In short we could not solve the
problem by stopping planning.

in conclusion
By sorting the SWOT issues into the 6 planning categories one
can obtain a system which presents a practical way of
assimilating the internal and external information about the
business unit, delineating short and long term priorities, and
allowing an easy way to build the management team which
can achieve the objectives of profit growth.
This approach captures the collective agreement and
commitment of those who will ultimately have to do the work
of meeting or exceeding the objectives finally set. It permits the
team leader to define and develop co-ordinated, goal-directed
actions, which underpin the overall agreed objectives between
levels of the business hierarchy.
Albert S Humphrey
August 2004

translating SWOT issues into actions

under the six categories
Albert Humphrey advocated that the six categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Product (what are we selling?)

Process (how are we selling it?)
Customer (to whom are we selling it?)
Distribution (how does it reach them?)
Finance (what are the prices, costs and investments?)

6. Administration (and how do we manage all this?)

provide a framework by which SWOT issues can be developed
into actions and managed using teams.
This can be something of a 'leap', and so the stage warrants
further explanation. Translating the SWOT issues into actions,
are best sorted into (or if necessary broken down into) the six
categories, because in the context of the way that business
and organizations work, this makes them more quantifiable
and measurable, responsible teams more accountable, and
therefore the activities more manageable. The other pivotal
part in the process is of course achieving the commitment
from the team(s) involved, which is partly explained in the item
summarising Humphrey's TAM model and process.
As far as identifying actions from SWOT issues is concerned, it
all very much depends on your reasons and aims for using
SWOT, and also your authority/ability to manage others,
whom by implication of SWOT's breadth and depth, are likely
to be involved in the agreement and delivery of actions.
Depending on pretext and situation, a SWOT analysis can
produce issues which very readily translate into (one of the
six) category actions, or a SWOT analysis can produce issues
which overlay a number of categories. Or a mixture. Whatever,
SWOT essentially tells you what is good and bad about a
business or a particular proposition. If it's a business, and the
aim is to improve it, then work on translating:
strengths (maintain, build and leverage),
opportunities (prioritise and optimise),
weaknesses (remedy or exit),
threats (counter)

into actions (each within one of the six categories) that can be
agreed and owned by a team or number of teams.
If the SWOT analysis is being used to assess a proposition,
then it could be that the analysis shows that the proposition is
too weak (especially if compared with other SWOT's for
alternative propositions) to warrant further investment, in
which case further action planning, other than exit, is not
required.
If the proposition is clearly strong (presumably you will have
indicated this using other methods as well), then proceed as
for a business, and translate issues into category actions with
suitable ownership by team(s).
This is my understanding of Albert Humphrey's theory relating
to developing SWOT issues into organizational change actions
and accountabilities. (I'm pleased to say that Albert kindly
confirmed that this is indeed correct.)
There are other ways of applying SWOT of course, depending
on your circumstances and aims, for instance if concentrating
on a department rather than a whole business, then it could
make sense to revise the six categories to reflect the functional
parts of the department, or whatever will enable the issues to
be translatable into manageable, accountable and owned
aims.

pest market analysis tool

PEST analysis method and examples,
with free PEST template

The PEST analysis is a useful tool for understanding market

growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and
direction for a business. A PEST analysis is a business
measurement tool. PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic,
Social and Technological factors, which are used to assess the
market for a business or organizational unit. The PEST
analysis headings are a framework for reviewing a situation,
and can also, like SWOT analysis, and Porter's Five Forces
model, be used to review a strategy or position, direction of a
company, a marketing proposition, or idea. Completing a PEST
analysis is very simple, and is a good subject for workshop
sessions. PEST analysis also works well
in brainstorming meetings. Use PEST analysis for business
and strategic planning, marketing planning, business and
product development and research reports. You can also
use PEST analysis exercises for team building games. PEST
analysis is similar to SWOT analysis - it's simple, quick, and
uses four key perspectives. As PEST factors are essentially
external, completing a PEST analysis is helpful prior to
completing a SWOT analysis (a SWOT analysis - Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats - is based broadly on half
internal and half external factors).

free pest analysis template tool

PEST analysis template - doc format (thanks N Silva)
PEST analysis template - pdf format

pest variations
The PEST model, like most very good simple concepts, has
prompted several variations on the theme. For example, the
PEST acronym is sometimes shown as STEP, which obviously

represents the same factors. Stick with PEST - nearly everyone

else does.
More confusingly (and some would say unnecessarily) PEST is
also extended to seven or even more factors, by adding
Ecological (or Environmental), Legislative (or Legal), and
Industry Analysis, which produces the PESTELI model. Other
variations on the theme include STEEP and PESTLE, which
allow for a dedicated Ethical section. STEEPLED is another
interpretation which includes pretty well everything except the
kitchen sink: Political, Economic, Social and Technological plus Ecological or Environmental, Ethical, Demographic and
Legal.
It's a matter of personal choice, but for most situations the
original PEST analysis model arguably covers all of the
'additional' factors within the original four main sections. For
example Ecological or Environmental factors can be positioned
under any or all of the four main PEST headings, depending
on their effect. Legislative factors would normally be covered
under the Political heading since they will generally be
politically motivated. Demographics usually are an aspect of
the larger Social issue. Industry Analysis is effectively covered
under the Economic heading. Ethical considerations would
typically be included in the Social and/or Political areas,
depending on the perspective and the effect. Thus we can
often see these 'additional' factors as 'sub-items' or
perspectives within the four main sections.
Keeping to four fundamental perspectives also imposes a
discipline of considering strategic context and effect. Many
potential 'additional' factors (ethical, legislative, environmental
for example) will commonly be contributory causes which act
on one or some of the main four headings, rather than be big
strategic factors in their own right.

The shape and simplicity of a four-part model is also somehow

more strategically appealing and easier to manipulate and
convey.
Ultimately you must use what version works best for you, and
importantly for others who need to understand you, which is
another good reason perhaps for sticking with PEST, because
everyone knows it, and you'll not need to spend half the
presentation explaining the meaning of STEEPLED or some
other quirky interpretation.
If you have come across any other weird and wonderful
extended interpretations of PEST I'd love to see them.
On which point (thanks D Taylor) I am informed of one such
variation, which featured in some 2010 coursework: PEST
LIED. The PEST element represents the usual factors Political, Economic, Social and Technological. The LIED add-on
stands for Legal, International, Environment and Demography.
Suggestions of origin gratefully received, and any other
variations of the PEST model.

pest or swot
A PEST analysis most commonly measures a market;
a SWOT analysis measures a business unit, a proposition or
idea.
Generally speaking a SWOT analysis measures a business unit
or proposition, whereas a PEST analysis measures the market
potential and situation, particularly indicating growth or
decline, and thereby market attractiveness, business potential,
and suitability of access - market potential and 'fit' in other
words. PEST analysis uses four perspectives, which give a

logical structure, in this case organized by the PEST format,

that helps understanding, presentation, discussion and
decision-making. The four dimensions are an extension of a
basic two heading list of pro's and con's (free pro's and con's
template here).
PEST analysis can be used for marketing and business
development assessment and decision-making, and the PEST
template encourages proactive thinking, rather than relying on
habitual or instinctive reactions.
Here the PEST analysis template is presented as a grid,
comprising four sections, one for each of the PEST headings:
Political, Economic, Social and Technological.
As previously explained, extended variations of PEST (eg.,
PESTELI and STEEP, etc) include other factors, such as
Environmental, Ethical, Legal or Legislative, etc., however in
most situations you will find that these 'additional' factors are
actually contributory causes or detailed perspectives which
then manifest or take effect in the form or one or several of the
original four main PEST factors. For example, Ethical and
Environmental factors will always tend to produce an effect in
at least one of the main four headings (Political, Economic,
Social, Technological), but it will tend not to work the other
way. Hence why the basic PEST model is often the most
powerful - it puts more pressure on strategic appreciation and
analysis than a longer list of headings. When you next see a
PESTELI or a STEEPLED analysis ask yourself (or the author):
"Okay, I understand that customers tend to be more ethically
minded now, but what does that mean in terms of the basic
four PEST factors - what's the effect going to be?..." or: "Okay
we know that carbon emissions is an issue, but tell me where
in the main four PEST factors will it impact..?

You will gather I am not a fan nor a particular advocate of

extending the PEST model. It works great as it is - why make it
more complicated and less specific? If you are worried about
missing or forgetting a crucial point of ethics or legislation (or
anything else) keep a reference list of these headings, and only
build them into the model if you are sure that doing so will
make it work better as a strategic tool.
The free PEST template below includes sample questions or
prompts, whose answers are can be inserted into the relevant
section of the PEST grid. The questions are examples of
discussion points, and obviously can be altered depending on
the subject of the PEST analysis, and how you want to use it.
Make up your own PEST questions and prompts to suit the
issue being analysed and the situation (ie., the people doing
the work and the expectations of them). Like SWOT analysis, it
is important to clearly identify the subject of a PEST analysis,
because a PEST analysis is four-way perspective in relation to
a particular business unit or proposition - if you blur the focus
you will produce a blurred picture - so be clear about the
market that you use PEST to analyse.
A market is defined by what is addressing it, be it a product,
company, brand, business unit, proposition, idea, etc, so be
clear about how you define the market being analysed,
particularly if you use PEST analysis in workshops, team
exercises or as a delegated task. The PEST subject should be a
clear definition of the market being addressed, which might be
from any of the following standpoints:

a company looking at its market

a product looking at its market
a brand in relation to its market
a local business unit
a strategic option, such as entering a new market or
launching a new product

a potential acquisition
a potential partnership
an investment opportunity

Be sure to describe the subject for the PEST analysis clearly so

that people contributing to the analysis, and those seeing the
finished PEST analysis, properly understand the purpose of
the PEST assessment and implications.

PEST analysis template

Other than the four main headings, the questions and issues
in the template below are examples and not exhaustive - add
your own and amend these prompts to suit your situation, the
experience and skill level of whoever is completing the
analysis, and what you aim to produce from the analysis.
Ensure you consider the additional PESTELI/STEEPLED
headings, and any others you feel are relevant, but avoid
building these into the final analysis model unless you gain
some strategic planning or presentation benefit from doing so.
If helpful refer to a list of these other 'headings', for example:
Ecological/ Environmental, Legislative/or Legal, Demographic,
Ethical, Industry Analysis. Apply some strategic consideration
and pressure to the points you list under these 'additional'
headings. Ask yourself what the effects of each will be on the
'big four' (Political, Economic, Social, Technological). Often
your answers will persuade you that the original four-part
PEST model is best and that using a more complex series of
headings makes it more difficult to complete the analysis fully
and strategically.

The analysis can be converted into a more scientific

measurement by scoring the items in each of the sections.
There is are established good or bad reference points - these
are for you to decide. Scoring is particularly beneficial if more
than one market is being analysed, for the purpose of
comparing which market or opportunity holds most potential
and/or obstacles. This is useful when considering business
development and investment options, ie, whether to develop
market A or B; whether to concentrate on local distribution or
export; whether to acquire company X or company Y, etc. If
helpful when comparing more than one different market
analysis, scoring can also be weighted according to the more
or less significant factors.

(insert subject for PEST analysis market, business, proposition, etc.)

political

ecological/environmental
issues
current legislation home
market
future legislation
international legislation
regulatory bodies and
processes
government policies
government term and
change

economic

home economy situation

home economy trends
overseas economies and
trends
general taxation issues
taxation specific to
product/services
seasonality/weather
issues
market and trade cycles
specific industry factors

trading policies
funding, grants and
initiatives
home market
lobbying/pressure groups
international pressure
groups

wars and conflicts

market routes and

distribution trends
customer/end-user
drivers
interest and exchange
rates
international
trade/monetary issues

technological
social

lifestyle trends
demographics
consumer attitudes and
opinions
media views
law changes affecting
social factors
brand, company,
technology image
consumer buying patterns
fashion and role models
major events and
influences
buying access and trends
ethnic/religious factors
advertising and publicity
ethical issues

competing technology
development
research funding
associated/dependent
technologies
replacement
technology/solutions
maturity of technology
manufacturing maturity
and capacity
information and
communications
consumer buying
mechanisms/technology
technology legislation
innovation potential
technology access,
licencing, patents
intellectual property
issues
global communications

more on the difference and relationship

between PEST and SWOT
PEST is useful before SWOT - not generally vice-versa - PEST
definitely helps to identify SWOT factors. There is overlap
between PEST and SWOT, in that similar factors would appear
in each. That said, PEST and SWOT are certainly two different
perspectives:
PEST assesses a market, including competitors, from the
standpoint of a particular proposition or a business.
SWOT is an assessment of a business or a proposition,
whether your own or a competitor's.
Strategic planning is not a precise science - no tool is
mandatory - it's a matter of pragmatic choice as to what helps
best to identify and explain the issues.
PEST becomes more useful and relevant the larger and more
complex the business or proposition, but even for a very small
local businesses a PEST analysis can still throw up one or two
very significant issues that might otherwise be missed.
The four quadrants in PEST vary in significance depending on
the type of business, eg., social factors are more obviously
relevant to consumer businesses or a B2B business close to
the consumer-end of the supply chain, whereas political
factors are more obviously relevant to a global munitions
supplier or aerosol propellant manufacturer.
All businesses benefit from a SWOT analysis, and all
businesses benefit from completing a SWOT analysis of their
main competitors, which interestingly can then provide some
feed back into the economic aspects of the PEST analysis.

tom peters - in search of

excellence
Tom Peters and Robert H Waterman Jr In Search Of Excellence summary
The seminal management book In Search of Excellence, by
Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, was published in 1982, and
remains one of the one of the biggest selling and widely read
business books ever. Peters and Waterman found eight
common themes which they argued were responsible for the
success of the chosen corporations, which have become
pointers for managers ever since. In Search of Excellence
didn't start out as a book, as Tom Peters explained when
interviewed in 2001 to mark the 20th anniversary of In Search
of Excellence: Peters and Waterman were both consultants on
the margins of McKinsey, based in the San Francisco office. In
1977 McKinsey director Ron Daniel launched two projects; the
first and major one, the Business Strategy project, was
allocated to top consultants at McKinsey's New York corporate
HQ and was given star billing. Nothing came of it. The second
'weak-sister' project (as Peters called it) concerned
Organisation - structure and people. The Organisation project
was seen as less important, and was allocated to Peters and
Waterman at San Francisco. Peters travelled the world on an
infinite budget, with licence to talk to as many interesting
business people he could find about teams and organisations
in business. He had no particular aim or theory in mind. In
1979 McKinsey's Munich office requested Peters to present his

findings to Siemens, which provided the spur for Peters to

create a 700-slide two-day presentation. Word of the meeting
reached the US and Peters was invited to present also to
PepsiCo, but unlike the hyper-organised Siemens, the PepsiCo
management required a tighter format than 700 slides, so
Peters produced the eight themes.
The platform for Peters and Waterman onto which the In
Search Of Excellence research and theorising was built, was
the McKinsey 7-S model:

McKinsey 7-S model elements

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

structure
strategy
systems
style of management
skills - corporate strengths
staff
shared values

Peters and Waterman examined 43 of Fortune 500's top

performing companies. They started with a list of 62 of the
best performing McKinsey clients and then applied
performance measures to weed out what they thought to be
the weaker companies. General Electric was one of the
casualties which failed to make the cut. Peters says that one of
his personal drivers in carrying out his research was to prove
that certain established methods - particularly heavily
systemised philosophies and practices - were wrong, notably
those used by Xerox, and advocated by Peter Drucker and
Robert McNamara. Peters says that he wanted - with a passion
- to prove how crucial people are to business success , and to
release business from the 'tyranny of the bean counters'.

As Peters explained in 2001: 'Start with Taylorism, add a layer

of Druckerism and a dose of McNamaraism, and by the late
1970's you had the great American corporation that was being
run by bean counters...'
Contrast this with what Peters says became the essential
message of In Search of Excellence, simply:

People
Customers
Action

Peters says that In Search of Excellence turned these 'soft'

factors into hard ones, when previously the only 'hard factors
were considered to be the 'numbers'.
Peters also said in 2001 that other than certain wrong
companies highlighted - Atari and Wang for instance - In
Search of Excellence 'absolutely nailed the eight points of the
compass for business at that time' (1982), but that its central
flaw was in suggesting that these points would apply for ever,
when they most certainly have not.
Peters said finally in his 2001 interview that were he to write
In Search of Excellence today, he would not tamper with any of
the eight themes, but he would add to them: capabilities
concerning ideas, liberation, and speed.
Here is a summary of the 'In Search of Excellence' eight
themes, which also form the eight chapters of the book.

In Search of Excellence - the eight

themes
1. A bias for action, active decision making - 'getting on

with it'.

2. Close to the customer - learning from the people served

3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.

by the business.
Autonomy and entrepreneurship - fostering innovation
and nurturing 'champions'.
Productivity through people - treating rank and file
employees as a source of quality.
Hands-on, value-driven - management philosophy that
guides everyday practice - management showing its
commitment.
Stick to the knitting - stay with the business that you
know.
Simple form, lean staff - some of the best companies
have minimal HQ staff.
Simultaneous loose-tight properties - autonomy in
shop-floor activities plus centralised values.

ichak adizes - corporate life

cycle model
dr ichak adizes ten stages of corporate
life cycle
Dr Ichak Adizes is a renowned business guru and theorist,
and founder of the Adizes Institute, now the home of the
Adizes organisational development methodology and its related
services. Adizes' simple ten-stage corporate life cycle model is
an elegant way to learn and understand the typical life-cycle
stages that many businesses pass through, from conception to

cessation, and is an example of the fine work and thinking of

the Adizes Institute and its founder, which extend considerably
beyond this model.
There is no pre-set timescale for this corporate life-cycle, and
many organisations do not fit this model. However the lifecycle stages that Ichak Adizes describes in his model provide a
useful basis for understanding a fundamental perspective of
organisational change, and the principle that organisational
ageing, with all that this implies, is inevitable.
One of the main challenges for mature corporations is
therefore to seek reinvention through new business
development, before it's too late, often through acquisition of
other businesses in infancy stage, or by developing new 'infant'
business divisions within the parent corporation.
The model also provides a basis for useful team training
activities - see for example the Life-Cycle Exercise, for teaching
people about organisational development stages, which is
helpful for selling, management and understanding
organisational cultures and systems.

adizes' ten stages of corporate life-cycle

The single-word Adizes descriptions are actually quite selfexplanatory for many people's understanding, which is part of
the model's appeal and elegance. Below this first list I've
extended the model with some brief interpretation and
descriptive examples of each stage.
1. courtship
2. infancy

3. go-go
4. adolescence
5. prime
6. stability
7. aristocracy
8. recrimination
9. bureaucracy
10.
death

Terms explanations and examples:

1. courtship (the initial development or creation of the
proposition/model/business/formation/etc)
2. infancy (after launch - start of active trading)
3. go-go (frantic energetic early growth and sometimes
chaos)
4. adolescence (still developing but more established and
defined)
5. prime (the business or organisation at its fittest,
healthiest and most competitive, popular and profitable)
6. stability (still effective, popular, can still be very
profitable, but beginning to lose leading edge vulnerability creeping in maybe)
7. aristocracy (strong by virtue of market presence and
consolidated accumulated successes, but slow and
unexciting, definitely losing market share to competitors
and new technologies, trends, etc)
8. recrimination (doubts, problems, threats and internal
issues overshadow the original purposes)
9. bureaucracy (inward-focused administration,
cumbersome, seeking exit or divestment, many operating
and marketing challenges)

10.
death (closure, sell-off, bankruptcy, bought for asset
value or customer-base only)

ichak adizes
Ichak Adizes PhD describes himself as "one of the worlds
leading experts on improving the performance of business and
government by making fundamental changes without the
chaos and destructive conflict that plague many efforts". He is
also a lecturer and author of several books. Notably,
'Corporate Lifecycles: How Organizations Grow and Die and
What to Do About It' (1988) is regarded by some as a classic in
management theory. A revised edition was published under
the title Managing Corporate Lifecycles in 1999. Adizes other
books include the Pursuit of Prime (1996), Mastering Change:
The Power of Mutual Trust and Respect in Personal Life,
Family, Business and Society (1992), How to Solve the
Mismanagement Crisis (1979), and Self-Management (1975).
Adizes has a Ph.D. and M.B.A. from Columbia University and
a B.A. from Hebrew University. His website profile also states
that he works in English, Spanish, Hebrew, Serbian, Croatian
and Bosnian, and that he understands Bulgarian and
Portuguese. Adizes is a very clever fellow indeed.
Adizes approach is a "proprietary, structured, pragmatic
system for accelerating organisational change" which was
developed by Adizes, and has been applied by the Licensees of
his Institute since 1975. So it's not just a philosophy - the
Adizes ten phases is a business and methodology in its own
right. Seemingly, when practicing the 'methodology', Adizes'
associates implement one or more of the 11 phases

summarized below. These phases are "a systematic approach

designed to help a client accelerate their development from one
Lifecycle phase to the next on their path to 'Prime'.

the 11 phases of the adizes methodology

1. Organisational Diagnosis (by the organisation's own
management team)
2. Team Building (addressing the priorities from phase 1)
3. Change Management (introducing new processes and
systems to improve organisational responsiveness and
adaptability).
4. Vision/Mission/Values (developing strategic priorities
and plan)
5. Structural Realignment (to better support the new
strategy)
6. Management Information Systems (reviewed and
developed to ensure they meet new requirements, with a
strong emphasis on accountability)
7. Adizes 'Technology Transfer' (enabling and licensing the
organisation to cascade the Adizes methods down to each
level, providing for self-sustaining progression)
8. Peak Performance 'Stretching' (optimising performance)
9. Strategic Resource Allocation (to evaluate the long-term
direction and viability of each organisational unit and
identify new directions for replacing discontinued
activities)
10.
Systemic 'Cybernetic' Structure (to enable
continuous adaptability by formalising the change
management system of phase 3, and integrate it with the
structures of phases 4 and 5)

11.
Synergistic Rewards Systems (ensuring rewards and
compensation are relevant and appropriate to the new
business shape and strategy)

The Adizes Institute is a change management organisation that

offers its services around the world through a network of
accredited practitioners. For a fuller explanation of the Adizes
methodology and the activities of the Adizes institute see
the Adizes Institute website.

delegation
delegating authority skills, tasks and the
process of effective delegation
Delegation is one of the most important management skills.
These logical rules and techniques will help you to delegate
well (and will help you to help your manager when you are
being delegated a task or new responsibility - delegation is a
two-way process!). Good delegation saves you time, develops
you people, grooms a successor, and motivates. Poor
delegation will cause you frustration, demotivates and
confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or
purpose itself. So it's a management skill that's worth
improving. Here are the simple steps to follow if you want to

get delegation right, with different levels of delegation freedom

that you can offer.
This delegation skills guide deals with general delegation
principles and process, which is applicable
to individuals and teams, or tospecially formed groups of
people for individual projects (including 'virtual teams').
Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning,
personal development - and seeking and encouraging
promotion. It's how we grow in the job - delegation enables us
to gain experience to take on higher responsibilities.
Effective delegation is actually crucial for effective succession.
For the successor, and for the manager too: the main task of a
manager in a growing thriving organization is ultimately to
develop a successor. When this happens everyone can move on
to higher things. When it fails to happen the succession and
progression becomes dependent on bringing in new people
from outside.
Delegation can be used to develop your people people and
yourself - delegation is not just a management technique for
freeing up the boss's time. Of course there is a right way to do
it. These delegation tips and techniques are useful for bosses and for anyone seeking or being given delegated
responsibilities.
As a giver of delegated tasks you must ensure delegation
happens properly. Just as significantly, as the recipient of
delegated tasks you have the opportunity to 'manage
upwards' and suggest improvements to the delegation process
and understanding - especially if your boss could use the help.
Managing the way you receive and agree to do delegated tasks
is one of the central skills of 'managing upwards'. Therefore
while this page is essentially written from the manager's

standpoint, the principles are just as useful for people being

managed.

delegation and SMART, or SMARTER

A simple delegation rule is the SMART acronym, or better still,
SMARTER. It's a quick checklist for proper delegation.
Delegated tasks must be:

Specific
Measurable
Agreed
Realistic
Timebound
Ethical
Recorded

Traditional interpretations of the SMARTER acronym use

'Exciting' or 'Enjoyable', however, although a high level of
motivation often results when a person achieves and is given
recognition for a particular delegated task, which in itself can
be exciting and enjoyable, in truth, let's be honest, it is not
always possible to ensure that all delegated work is truly
'exciting' or 'enjoyable' for the recipient. More importantly, the
'Ethical' aspect is fundamental to everything that we do,
assuming you subscribe to such philosophy.
The delegation and review form is a useful tool for the
delegation process.
Also helpful tools for delegation, see the goal planning tips and
template, and the activity management template.

The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum model proviodes

extra guidance on delegating freedom to, and developing, a
team.
The Tuckman 'Forming, Storming, Norming Performing'
model is particularly helpful when delegating to teams and
individuals within teams.
Below are:
The steps of successful delegation - step-by-step guide.
The levels of delegation freedom - choose which is most
appropriate for any given situation.

the steps of successful delegation

1 Define the task
Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be
delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating?

2 Select the individual or team

What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team?
What are they going to get out of it? What are you going to get
out of it?

3 Assess ability and training needs

Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the

task? Do they understand what needs to be done. If not, you
can't delegate.

4 Explain the reasons

You must explain why the job or responsibility is being
delegated. And why to that person or people? What is its
importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall
scheme of things?

5 State required results

What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting
feedback from the other person. How will the task be
measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide
that the job is being successfully done.

6 Consider resources required

Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done.
Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money,
materials, other related activities and services.

7 Agree deadlines
When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when
are the review dates? When are the reports due? And if the
task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the
priorities?
At this point you may need to confirm understanding with the
other person of the previous points, getting ideas and

interpretation. As well as showing you that the job can be

done, this helps to reinforce commitment.
Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the
other person. Failing to agree this in advance will cause this
monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust.

8 Support and communicate

Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and
inform them. Involve the other person in considering this so
they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the
person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility.
Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or
protocol. Inform your own boss if the task is important, and of
sufficient profile.

9 Feedback on results
It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and
whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you must review
with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the
problems. You must absorb the consequences of failure, and
pass on the credit for success.

levels of delegation
Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to
do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can
confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable
the other person is, then the more freedom you can give. The
more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be
about extending a lot of freedom, especially if your job or

reputation depends on getting a good result. Take care to

choose the most appropriate style for each situation. For each
example the statements are simplified for clarity; in reality you
would choose a less abrupt style of language, depending on
the person and the relationship. At the very least, a "Please"
and "Thank-you" would be included in the requests.
It's important also to ask the other person what level of
authority they feel comfortable being given. Why guess? When
you ask, you can find out for sure and agree this with the
other person. Some people are confident; others less so. It's
your responsibility to agree with them what level is most
appropriate, so that the job is done effectively and with
minimal unnecessary involvement from you. Involving the
other person in agreeing the level of delegated freedom for any
particular responsibility is an essential part of the 'contract'
that you make with them.
These levels of delegation are not an exhaustive list. There are
many more shades of grey between these black-and-white
examples. Take time to discuss and adapt the agreements and
'contracts' that you make with people regarding delegated
tasks, responsibility and freedom according to the situation.
Be creative in choosing levels of delegated responsibility, and
always check with the other person that they are comfortable
with your chosen level. People are generally capable of doing
far more than you imagine.
The rate and extent of responsibility and freedom delegated to
people is a fundamental driver of organisational growth and
effectiveness, the growth and well-being of your people, and of
your own development and advancement.

levels of delegation - examples

These examples of different delegation levels progressively
offer, encourage and enable more delegated freedom. Level 1 is
the lowest level of delegated freedom (basically none). Level 10
is the highest level typically (and rarely) found in
organisations.

1 "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I

say." or "Follow these instructions
precisely."
This is instruction. There is no delegated freedom at all.

2 "Look into this and tell me the

situation. I'll decide."
This is asking for investigation and analysis but no
recommendation. The person delegating retains responsibility
for assessing options prior to making the decision.

3 "Look into this and tell me the

situation. We'll decide together."
This is has a subtle important difference to the above. This
level of delegation encourages and enables the analysis and

decision to be a shared process, which can be very helpful in

coaching and development.

4 "Tell me the situation and what help

you need from me in assessing and
handling it. Then we'll decide."
This is opens the possibility of greater freedom for analysis
and decision-making, subject to both people agreeing this is
appropriate. Again, this level is helpful in growing and defining
coaching and development relationships.

5 "Give me your analysis of the situation

(reasons, options, pros and cons) and
recommendation. I'll let you know
whether you can go ahead."
Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the
thinking before deciding.

6 "Decide and let me know your

decision, and wait for my go-ahead
before proceeding."
The other person is trusted to assess the situation and options
and is probably competent enough to decide and implement

too, but for reasons of task importance, or competence, or

perhaps externally changing factors, the boss prefers to keep
control of timing. This level of delegation can be frustrating for
people if used too often or for too long, and in any event the
reason for keeping people waiting, after they've inevitably
invested time and effort, needs to be explained.

7 "Decide and let me know your

decision, then go ahead unless I say
not to."
Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle
increase in responsibility saves time. The default is now
positive rather than negative. This is a very liberating change
in delegated freedom, and incidentally one that can also be
used very effectively when seeking responsibility from above or
elsewhere in an organisation, especially one which is strangled
by indecision and bureaucracy. For example, "Here is my
analysis and recommendation; I will proceed unless you tell
me otherwise by (date)."

8 "Decide and take action - let me know

what you did (and what happened)."
This delegation level, as with each increase up the scale, saves
even more time. This level of delegation also enables a degree
of follow-up by the manager as to the effectiveness of the
delegated responsibility, which is necessary when people are
being managed from a greater distance, or more 'hands-off'.

The level also allows and invites positive feedback by the

manager, which is helpful in coaching and development of
course.

9 "Decide and take action. You need not

check back with me."
The most freedom that you can give to another person when
you still need to retain responsibility for the activity. A high
level of confidence is necessary, and you would normally
assess the quality of the activity after the event according to
overall results, potentially weeks or months later. Feedback
and review remain helpful and important, although the
relationship is more likely one of mentoring, rather than
coaching per se.

10 "Decide where action needs to be

taken and manage the situation
accordingly. It's your area of
responsibility now."
The most freedom that you can give to the other person, and
not generally used without formal change of a person's job
role. It's the delegation of a strategic responsibility. This gives
the other person responsibility for defining what changes
projects, tasks, analysis and decisions are necessary for the
management of a particular area of responsibility, as well as
the task or project or change itself, and how the initiative or
change is to be implemented and measured, etc. This amounts

to delegating part of your job - not just a task or project. You'd

use this utmost level of delegation (for example) when
developing a successor, or as part of an intentional and agreed
plan to devolve some of your job accountability in a formal
sense.

contracts - 'psychological contracts',

'emotional contracts'
Variously called 'contracts' or 'psychological contracts' or
'emotional contracts', these expressions describe the process
of agreeing with the other person what they should do and the
expectations linked to the responsibility. It all basically means
the same, whatever you call it. The point is that people cannot
actually be held responsible for something to which they've not
agreed. The point is also that everyone is more committed to
delivering a responsibility if they've been through the process
of agreeing to do it. This implies that they might have some
feelings about the expectations attached, such as time-scale,
resources, budget, etc., even purpose and method. You must
give the other person the opportunity to discuss, question and
suggest issues concerning expectations attached to a delegated
task. This is essential to the contracting process.
Certain general responsibilities of course are effectively agreed
implicitly within people's job roles or job descriptions or
employment contracts, but commonly particular tasks,
projects, etc., that you need to delegate are not, in which case
specific discussion must take place to establish proper
agreement or 'contract' between you and the other person.

tuckman forming storming

norming performing model
Bruce Tuckman's 1965 Forming
Storming Norming Performing teamdevelopment model
Dr Bruce Tuckman published his Forming Storming Norming
Performing model in 1965. He added a fifth stage, Adjourning,
in the 1970s. The Forming Storming Norming Performing
theory is an elegant and helpful explanation of team
development and behaviour. Similarities can be seen with
other models, such as Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum
and especially with Hersey and Blanchard's Situational
Leadership model, developed about the same time.
Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity
and ability, relationships establish, and the leader changes
leadership style. Beginning with a directing style, moving
through coaching, then participating, finishing delegating and
almost detached. At this point the team may produce a
successor leader and the previous leader can move on to
develop a new team. This progression of team behaviour and
leadership style can be seen clearly in the Tannenbaum and
Schmidt Continuum - the authority and freedom extended by
the leader to the team increases while the control of the leader
reduces. In Tuckman's Forming Storming Norming Performing
model, Hersey's and Blanchard's Situational Leadership
model and in Tannenbaum and Schmidt's Continuum, we see
the same effect, represented in three ways.

tuckman's forming storming norming

performing four-stage model
The progression is:
1. forming
2. storming
3. norming
4. performing
Here are the features of each phase:

forming - stage 1
High dependence on leader for guidance and direction. Little
agreement on team aims other than received from leader.
Individual roles and responsibilities are unclear. Leader must
be prepared to answer lots of questions about the team's
purpose, objectives and external relationships. Processes are
often ignored. Members test tolerance of system and leader.
Leader directs (similar to Situational Leadership 'Telling'
mode).

storming - stage 2
Decisions don't come easily within group. Team members vie
for position as they attempt to establish themselves in relation
to other team members and the leader, who might receive
challenges from team members. Clarity of purpose increases
but plenty of uncertainties persist. Cliques and factions form
and there may be power struggles. The team needs to be
focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by
relationships and emotional issues. Compromises may be

required to enable progress. Leader coaches (similar to

Situational Leadership 'Selling' mode).

norming - stage 3
Agreement and consensus is largely forms among team, who
respond well to facilitation by leader. Roles and responsibilities
are clear and accepted. Big decisions are made by group
agreement. Smaller decisions may be delegated to individuals
or small teams within group. Commitment and unity is strong.
The team may engage in fun and social activities. The team
discusses and develops its processes and working style. There
is general respect for the leader and some of leadership is
more shared by the team. Leader facilitates and enables
(similar to the Situational Leadership 'Participating' mode).

performing - stage 4
The team is more strategically aware; the team knows clearly
why it is doing what it is doing. The team has a shared vision
and is able to stand on its own feet with no interference or
participation from the leader. There is a focus on overachieving goals, and the team makes most of the decisions
against criteria agreed with the leader. The team has a high
degree of autonomy. Disagreements occur but now they are
resolved within the team positively and necessary changes to
processes and structure are made by the team. The team is
able to work towards achieving the goal, and also to attend to
relationship, style and process issues along the way. team
members look after each other. The team requires delegated
tasks and projects from the leader. The team does not need to
be instructed or assisted. Team members might ask for
assistance from the leader with personal and interpersonal

development. Leader delegates and oversees (similar to the

Situational Leadership 'Delegating' mode).

tuckman's forming storming norming

performing model

Better
quality
diagrams
are
available as
separate
files:
Tuckman
'forming
storming'
diagram
(doc
format)
Tuckman
'forming
storming'
diagram
(pdf format)
(Thanks S
Doran for

suggestion.
And thanks
also C
Lloyd for
pointing
out the
error in
these
diagrams,
duly
corrected
Aug 2008 storming
and
norming
were
inverted.)

Tuckman's fifth stage - Adjourning

Bruce Tuckman refined his theory around 1975 and added a
fifth stage to the Forming Storming Norming Performing model
- he called it Adjourning, which is also referred to as
Deforming and Mourning. Adjourning is arguably more of an
adjunct to the original four stage model rather than an
extension - it views the group from a perspective beyond the
purpose of the first four stages. The Adjourning phase is
certainly very relevant to the people in the group and their
well-being, but not to the main task of managing and
developing a team, which is clearly central to the original four
stages.

adjourning - stage 5
Tuckman's fifth stage, Adjourning, is the break-up of the
group, hopefully when the task is completed successfully, its
purpose fulfilled; everyone can move on to new things, feeling
good about what's been achieved. From an organizational
perspective, recognition of and sensitivity to people's
vulnerabilities in Tuckman's fifth stage is helpful, particularly
if members of the group have been closely bonded and feel a
sense of insecurity or threat from this change. Feelings of
insecurity would be natural for people with high 'steadiness'
attributes (as regards the 'four temperaments' or DISC model)
and with strong routine and empathy style (as regards
the Benziger thinking styles model, right and left basal brain
dominance).

Hersey and Blanchard's Situational

Leadership model

The classic Situational Leadership model of management and

leadership style also illustrates the ideal development of a
team from immaturity (stage 1) through to maturity (stage 4)
during which management an leadership style progressively
develops from relatively detached task-directing (1), through
the more managerially-involved stages of explanation (2) and
participation (3), to the final stage of relatively detached
delegation (4), at which time ideally the team is largely selfmanaging, and hopefully contains at least one potential
management/leadership successor.
The aim of the leader or manager is therefore to develop the
team through the four stages, and then to move on to another
role.

Ironically this outcome is feared by many managers. However,

good organisations place an extremely high value on leaders
and managers who can achieve this.
The model also illustrates four main leadership and
management styles, which a good leader is able to switch
between, depending on the sitution (ie., the team's maturity
relating to a particular task, project or challenge.)
Situational Leadership is a trademark of the Center for
Leadership Studies, which represents the interests and
products of Dr Paul Hersey. Ken Blanchard (who incidentally
wrote 'The One Minute Manager') went on to develop the
Situational Leadership system into what he called Situational
Leadership II, and which now covers a range of products
marketed by his organization, The Ken Blanchard Companies.
Use of material relating to Situational Leadership and/or
Situational Leadership II requires licence and agreement
from the respective companies.

Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum

The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum also correlates in a
way to the models above - esentially that management style
tends to offer more freedom as the group matures.
The diagonal line loosely equates to the dotted line on the
other two models. As the team matures and becomes more
self-suffient and self-directing, so the manager's style should
react accordingly, ideally becoming more detached, more
delegating, encouraging and enablung the group to run itself,
and for a successor (or if you are a good manager or a lucky
one, for more than one successor) to emerge.

See the Tannenbum and Schmidt page for more detailed notes
about this model.

This is merely an overview of the Tuckman forming storming

performing norming model - if you need to know more there
are various detailed Tuckman model pages on the web.
There is also an excellent free test at Don Clark's Big Dog site,
to indicate whether your team is forming, storming, norming
or performing.
Refer also to the Johari Window model for personal and intergroup communications and awareness development.
For an additional and useful perspective on human
development see Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory.
The personality models and theories section explores
behaviour and style of individuals, with obvious implications
for managing groups, as does the learning styles and multiple
intelligences section.

kolb learning styles

David Kolb's learning styles model and
experiential learning theory (ELT)
Having developed the model over many years prior, David Kolb
published his learning styles model in 1984. The model gave
rise to related terms such as Kolb's experiential learning
theory (ELT), and Kolb's learning styles inventory (LSI). In his
publications - notably his 1984 book 'Experiential Learning:
Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development' Kolb
acknowledges the early work on experiential learning by others
in the 1900's, including Rogers, Jung, and Piaget. In turn,
Kolb's learning styles model and experiential learning theory
are today acknowledged by academics, teachers, managers and
trainers as truly seminal works; fundamental concepts
towards our understanding and explaining human learning
behaviour, and towards helping others to learn. See
also Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and VAK learnings styles
models, which assist in understanding and using Kolb's
learning styles concepts.
In addition to personal business interests (Kolb is founder and
chairman of Experience Based Learning Systems), David Kolb
is still (at the time I write this, 2005) Professor of
Organizational Development at Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio, where he teaches and researches
in the fields of learning and development, adult development,
experiential learning, learning style, and notably 'learning
focused institutional development in higher education'.

kolb's experiential learning theory

(learning styles) model
Kolb's learning theory sets out four distinct learning
styles (or preferences), which are based on a four-stage
learning cycle. (which might also be interpreted as a 'training
cycle'). In this respect Kolb's model is particularly elegant,
since it offers both a way to understand individual people's
different learning styles, and also an explanation of a cycle
of experiential learning that applies to us all.
Kolb includes this 'cycle of learning' as a central principle his
experiential learning theory, typically expressed as four-stage
cycle of learning, in which 'immediate or concrete
experiences' provide a basis for 'observations and
reflections'. These 'observations and reflections' are
assimilated and distilled into 'abstract concepts' producing
new implications for action which can be 'actively tested' in
turn creating new experiences.
Kolb says that ideally (and by inference not always) this
process represents a learning cycle or spiral where the learner
'touches all the bases', ie., a cycle of experiencing, reflecting,
thinking, and acting. Immediate or concrete experiences lead
to observations and reflections. These reflections are then
assimilated (absorbed and translated) into abstract concepts
with implications for action, which the person can actively test
and experiment with, which in turn enable the creation of new
experiences.
Kolb's model therefore works on two levels - a four-stage
cycle:
1. Concrete Experience - (CE)

2. Reflective Observation - (RO)

3. Abstract Conceptualization - (AC)
4. Active Experimentation - (AE)
and a four-type definition of learning styles, (each
representing the combination of two preferred styles, rather
like a two-by-two matrix of the four-stage cycle styles, as
illustrated below), for which Kolb used the terms:
1. Diverging (CE/RO)
2. Assimilating (AC/RO)
3. Converging (AC/AE)
4. Accommodating (CE/AE)

diagrams of kolb's learning styles

Here is a new improved (May 2006) free diagram illustrating
Kolb's learning cycle and learning types (MSWord). (Also as
a pdf.)
Kolb diagrams also in colour (like the image below): Kolb
learning styles colour diagram MSWord, and Kolb colour
diagram PDF.
(Kolb diagrams updated May 2006)

See also the personality styles and models section for help
with understanding how Kolb's theory correlates with other
personality models and psychometrics (personality testing).

learning styles
(This interpretation was amended and revised March 2006)
Kolb explains that different people naturally prefer a certain
single different learning style. Various factors influence a
person's preferred style: notably in his experiential learning
theory model (ELT) Kolb defined three stages of a person's

development, and suggests that our propensity to reconcile

and successfully integrate the four different learning styles
improves as we mature through our development stages. The
development stages that Kolb identified are:
1. Acquisition - birth to adolescence - development of basic
abilities and 'cognitive structures'
2. Specialization - schooling, early work and personal
experiences of adulthood - the development of a
particular 'specialized learning style' shaped by 'social,
educational, and organizational socialization'
3. Integration - mid-career through to later life - expression
of non-dominant learning style in work and personal life.
Whatever influences the choice of style, the learning style
preference itself is actually the product of two pairs of
variables, or two separate 'choices' that we make, which Kolb
presented as lines of axis, each with 'conflicting' modes at
either end:
Concrete Experience - CE (feeling) -----V-----Abstract
Conceptualization - AC (thinking)
Active Experimentation - AE (doing)-----V----- Reflective
Observation - RO (watching)
A typical presentation of Kolb's two continuums is that the
east-west axis is called the Processing Continuum (how we
approach a task), and the north-south axis is called the
Perception Continuum (our emotional response, or how we
think or feel about it).
These learning styles are the combination of two lines of axis
(continuums) each formed between what Kolb calls
'dialectically related modes' of 'grasping experience' (doing or
watching), and 'transforming experience' (feeling or thinking):

The word 'dialectically' is not widely understood, and yet

carries an essential meaning, namely 'conflicting' (its ancient
Greek root means 'debate' - and I thank P Stern for helping
clarify this precise meaning). Kolb meant by this that we
cannot do both at the same time, and to an extent our urge to
want to do both creates conflict, which we resolve through
choice when confronted with a new learning situation. We
internally decide whether we wish to do or watch, and at the
same time we decide whether to think or feel.
The result of these two decisions produces (and helps to form
throughout our lives) the preferred learning style, hence the
two-by-two matrix below. We choose a way of 'grasping the
experience', which defines our approach to it, and we choose a
way to 'transform the experience' into something meaningful

and usable, which defines our emotional response to the

experience. Our learning style is a product of these two choice
decisions:
1. how to approach a task - ie., 'grasping experience' preferring to (a) watch or (b) do , and
2. our emotional response to the experience ie., 'transforming experience' - preferring to (a) think or
(b) feel.

In other words we choose our approach to the task or

experience ('grasping the experience') by opting for 1(a) or
1(b):

1(a) - though watching others involved in the experience

and reflecting on what happens ('reflective observation' 'watching') or
1(b) - through 'jumping straight in' and just doing it
('active experimentation' - 'doing')

And at the same time we choose how to emotionally

transform the experience into something meaningful and
useful by opting for 2(a) or 2(b):

2(a) - through gaining new information by thinking,

analyzing, or planning ('abstract conceptualization' 'thinking') or
2(b) - through experiencing the 'concrete, tangible, felt
qualities of the world' ('concrete experience' - 'feeling')

The combination of these two choices produces a preferred

learning style. See the matrix below.

kolb's learning styles - matrix view

It's often easier to see the construction of Kolb's learning styles
in terms of a two-by-two matrix. The diagram also highlights
Kolb's terminology for the four learning styles; diverging,
assimilating, and converging, accommodating:

watching
doing (Active
(Reflective
Experimentation - AE)
Observation - RO)
feeling (Concrete
Experience - CE)

accommodating diverging
(CE/AE)
(CE/RO)

thinking (Abstract
Conceptualization
- AC)

converging
(AC/AE)

assimilating
(AC/RO)

Thus, for example, a person with a dominant learning style

of 'doing' rather than 'watching' the task, and 'feeling' rather
than 'thinking' about the experience, will have a learning
style which combines and represents those processes, namely
an 'Accommodating'learning style, in Kolb's terminology.

kolb learning styles definitions and

descriptions

Knowing a person's (and your own) learning style enables

learning to be orientated according to the preferred method.
That said, everyone responds to and needs the stimulus of all
types of learning styles to one extent or another - it's a matter
of using emphasis that fits best with the given situation and a
person's learning style preferences.
Here are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:

Diverging (feeling and watching - CE/RO) - These

people are able to look at things from different perspectives.
They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do,
tending to gather information and use imagination to solve
problems. They are best at viewing concrete situations
several different viewpoints. Kolb called this style 'Diverging'
because these people perform better in situations that
require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming. People
with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests
and like to gather information. They are interested in people,
tend to be imaginative and emotional, and tend to be strong
in the arts. People with the Diverging style prefer to work in
groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal
feedback.
Assimilating (watching and thinking - AC/RO) - The
Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical
approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than
people. These people require good clear explanation rather
than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding
wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical
format. People with an Assimilating learning style are less
focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract
concepts. People with this style are more attracted to
logically sound theories than approaches based on practical
value. These learning style people is important for
effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal

learning situations, people with this style prefer readings,

lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to
think things through.
Converging (doing and thinking - AC/AE) - People with
a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use
their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They
prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people
and interpersonal aspects. People with a Converging
learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and
theories. They can solve problems and make decisions by
finding solutions to questions and problems. People with a
Converging learning style are more attracted to technical
tasks and problems than social or interpersonal issues. A
Converging learning style enables specialist and technology
abilities. People with a Converging style like to experiment
with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical
applications.
Accommodating (doing and feeling - CE/AE) - The
Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on', and relies on
intuition rather than logic. These people use other people's
analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential
approach. They are attracted to new challenges and
experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act
on 'gut' instinct rather than logical analysis. People with an
Accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for
information than carry out their own analysis. This learning
style is prevalent and useful in roles requiring action and
initiative. People with an Accommodating learning style
prefer to work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets
and actively work in the field trying different ways to achieve
an objective.

As with any behavioural model, this is a guide not a strict set

of rules.
Nevertheless most people clearly exhibit clear strong
preferences for a given learning style. The ability to use or
'switch between' different styles is not one that we should
assume comes easily or naturally to many people.
Simply, people who have a clear learning style preference, for
whatever reason, will tend to learn more effectively if learning
is orientated according to their preference.
For instance - people who prefer the 'Assimilating' learning
style will not be comfortable being thrown in at the deep end
without notes and instructions.
People who like prefer to use an 'Accommodating' learning
style are likely to become frustrated if they are forced to read
lots of instructions and rules, and are unable to get hands on
experience as soon as possible.

relationships between kolb and other

behavioural/personality theories
As with many behavioural and personality models, interesting
correlations exist between Kolb's theory and other concepts.
For example, Kolb says that his experiential learning theory,
and therefore the learning styles model within it, builds on
Carl Jung's assertion that learning styles result from people's
preferred ways of adapting in the world.
Among many other correlations between definitions, Kolb
points out that Jung's 'Extraversion/Introversion' dialectical
dimension - (which features and is measured in the Myers-

Briggs Type Indicator [MBTI]) correlates with the

'Active/Reflective' (doing/watching) dialectic (east-west
continuum) of Kolb's model.
Also, the MBTI 'Feeling/Thinking' dimension correlates with
the Kolb model Concrete Experience/Abstract
Conceptualization dimension (north-south continuum).

honey and mumford's variation on the

kolb system
Various resources (including this one in the past) refer to the
terms 'activist', 'reflector', 'theorist', and 'pragmatist'
(respectively representing the four key stages or learning steps)
in seeking to explain Kolb's model. In fact, 'activist', 'reflector',
'theorist', and 'pragmatist' are from a learning styles model
developed by Honey and Mumford, which although based on
Kolb's work, is different. Arguably therefore the terms 'activist',
'reflector', 'theorist', and 'pragmatist' effectively 'belong' to the
Honey and Mumford theory.
Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed their learning styles
system as a variation on the Kolb model while working on a
project for the Chloride corporation in the 1970's. Honey and
Mumford say of their system:
"Our description of the stages in the learning cycle originated
from the work of David Kolb. Kolb uses different words to
describe the stages of the learning cycle and four learning
styles..."
And, "...The similarities between his model and ours are
greater than the differences.." (Honey & Mumford)

In summary here are brief descriptions of the four H&M key

stages/styles, which incidentally are directly mutually
corresponding and overlaid, as distinct from the Kolb model in
which the learning styles are a product of combinations of the
learning cycle stages. The typical presentation of these H&M
styles and stages would be respectively at north, east, south
and west on a circle or four-stage cyclical flow diagram.
1. 'Having an Experience' (stage 1), and Activists (style 1):
'here and now', gregarious, seek challenge and immediate
experience, open-minded, bored with implementation.
2. 'Reviewing the Experience' (stage 2)
and Reflectors (style 2): 'stand back', gather data,
ponder and analyse, delay reaching conclusions, listen
before speaking, thoughtful.
3. 'Concluding from the Experience' (stage 3)
and Theorists (style 3): think things through in logical
steps, assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories,
rationally objective, reject subjectivity and flippancy.
4. 'Planning the next steps' (stage 4)
and Pragmatists (style 4): seek and try out new ideas,
practical, down-to-earth, enjoy problem solving and
decision-making quickly, bored with long discussions.
There is arguably a strong similarity between the Honey and
Mumford styles/stages and the corresponding Kolb learning
styles:

Activist = Accommodating
Reflector = Diverging
Theorist = Assimilating
Pragmatist = Converging

Here are free diagrams interpreting Kolb's learning styles

model. They are all essentially the same thing with slight
differences in presentation, available each in doc or PDF file
fomats:

Basic - 'compass' diagram - Basic Kolb learning styles

diagram (doc file) or as a pdf file
Improved diagram, emphasising cycle - Improved diagram
illustrating Kolb's learning cycle and learning types (doc) - or
as a pdf
Improved diagram, colour version - Improved colour
diagram of Kolb's learning cycle and learning styles (doc
file) - or Kolb colour diagram PDF

eadership
leadership development methods and
tips
Explaining and understanding the nature of good leadership is
probably easier than practising it. Good leadership requires
deep human qualities, beyond conventional notions of
authority.
In the modern age good leaders are an enabling force, helping
people and organizations to perform and develop, which
implies that a sophisticated alignment be achieved - of people's
needs, and the aims of the organization.
The traditional concept of a leader being the directing chief at
the top of a hierachy is nowadays a very incomplete
appreciation of what true leadership must be.

Effective leadership does not necessarily require great

technical or intellectual capacity. These attributes might help,
but they are not pivotal.
Good leadership in the modern age more importantly
requires attitudes and behaviours which characterise and
relate to humanity.
Leadership is centrally concerned with people. Of course
leadership involves decisions and actions relating to all sorts
of other things, but leadership is special compared to any
other role because of its unique responsibilty for people i.e., the followers of the leader - in whatever context leadership
is seen to operate.
Many capabilities in life are a matter of acquiring skills and
knowledge and then applying them in a reliable way.
Leadership is quite different. Good leadership demands
emotional strengths and behavioural characteristics which can
draw deeply on a leader's mental and spiritual reserves.
The leadership role is an inevitable reflection of people's needs
and challenges in modern life. Leadership is therefore a
profound concept, with increasingly complex implications,
driven by an increasingly complex and fast-changing world.
Leadership and management are commonly seen as the same
thing, which they are not. Leadership is also misunderstood to
mean directing and instructing people and making important
decisions on behalf of an organization. Effective leadership is
much more than these.
Good leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and
respect them, rather than the skills they possess. Leadership
is about behaviour first, skills second.

This is a simple way to see how leadership is different to

management:

Management is mostly about processes.

Leadership is mostly about behaviour.

We could extend this to say:

Management relies heavily on tangible measurable

capabilities such as effective planning; the use of
organizational systems; and the use of appropriate
communications methods.
Leadership involves many management skills, but
generally as a secondary or background function of true
leadership. Leadership instead relies most strongly on less
tangible and less measurable things like trust, inspiration,
attitude, decision-making, and personal character. These are
not processes or skills or even necessarily the result of
experience. They are facets of humanity, and are enabled
mainly by the leader's character and especially his/her
emotional reserves.

Another way to see leadership compared with management, is

that leadership does not crucially depend on the type of
management methods and processes a leaders uses;
leadership instead primarily depends on the ways in which
the leader uses management methods and processes.
Good leadership depends on attitudinal qualities, not
management processes.
Humanity is a way to describe these qualities, because this
reflects the leader's vital relationship with people.
Qualities critical for a leader's relationship with his/her people
are quite different to conventional skills and processes:

examples of highly significant leadership

qualities

integrity
honesty
humility
courage
commitment
sincerity
passion
confidence
positivity
wisdom
determination
compassion
sensitivity

People with these sort of behaviours and attitudes tend to

attract followers. Followers are naturally drawn to people who
exhibit strength and can inspire belief in others. These
qualities tend to produce a charismatic effect. Charisma tends
to result from effective leadership and the qualities which
enable effective leadership. Charisma is by itself no guarantee
of effective leadership.
Some people are born more naturally to leadership than
others. Most people don't seek to be a leader, but many more
people are able to lead, in one way or another and in one
situation or another, than they realize.
People who want to be a leader can develop leadership ability.
Leadership is not the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and
educated.

Leadership is a matter of personal conviction and believing

strongly in a cause or aim, whatever it is.
Leadership sometimes comes to people later in life, and this is
no bad thing. Humanity tends to be generational
characteristic. There is no real obstacle to people who seek to
become leaders if leadership is approached with proper
integrity. Anyone can be a leader if he/she is suitably driven to
a particular cause.
And many qualities of effective leadership, like confidence and
charisma, continue to grow from experience in the leadership
role. Even initially surprised modest leaders can become great
ones, and sometimes the greatest ones.
Leadership can be performed with different styles. Some
leaders have one style, which is right for certain situations and
wrong for others. Some leaders can adapt and use different
leadership styles for given situations.
Adaptability of style is an increasingly significant aspect of
leadership, because the world is increasingly complex and
dynamic. Adaptability stems from objectivity, which in turn
stems from emotional security and emotional maturity. Again
these strengths are not dependent on wealth or education, or
skills or processes.
Good leaders typically have a keen understanding of
relationships within quite large and complex systems and
networks. This may be from an intuitive angle, or a
technical/learned angle, or both.
A very useful way to explore this crucial aspect of leadership
with respect to wider relationships and systems is offered
by the Psychological Contract and how that theory relates to
organizations and leadership.

People new to leadership (and supervision and management)

often feel under pressure to lead in a particularly dominant
way. Sometimes this pressure on a new leader to impose their
authority on the team comes from above. Dominant leadership
is rarely appropriate however, especially for mature teams.
Misreading this situation, and attempting to be overly
dominant, can then cause problems for a new leader.
Resistance from the team becomes a problem, and a cycle of
negative behaviours and reducing performance begins. Much
of leadership is counter-intuitive. Leadership is often more
about serving than leading. Besides which, individuals and
teams tend not to resist or push against something in which
they have a strong involvement/ownership/sense of control.
People tend to respond well to thanks, encouragement,
recognition, inclusiveness, etc. Tough, overly dominant
leadership gives teams a lot to push against and resist. It also
prevents a sense of ownership and self-control among the
people being led. And it also inhibits the positive rewards and
incentives (thanks, recognition, encouragement, etc) vital for
teams and individuals to cope with change, and to enjoy
themselves. Leaders of course need to be able to make tough
decisions when required, but most importantly leaders should
concentrate on enabling the team to thrive, which is actually a
'serving' role, not the dominant 'leading' role commonly
associated with leadership.
Today ethical leadership is more important than ever. The
world is more transparent and connected than it has ever
been. The actions and philosophies of organisations are
scrutinised by the media and the general public as never
before. This coincides with massively increased awareness and
interest among people everywhere in corporate responsibility
and the many related concepts, such as social and community
responsibility (see the ethical leadership and ethical
organisations page). The modern leader needs to understand

and aspire to leading people and achieving greatness in all

these areas.
Here is (was..) an Excellent 30 minute BBC Radio 4 Discussion
about Modern Leadership - (first broadcast 2 Sept 2006, part
of the 'Sound Advice' series). Its mere existence is evidence of
changed attitudes to leadership. Such a programme would not
have warranted BBC airtime a generation ago due to lack of
audience interest. Today there is huge awareness of, and
interest in, more modern leadership methods. The radio
discussion highlighted the need for effective modern leaders to
have emotional strength and sensitivity, far beyond traditional
ideas of more limited autocratic leadership styles. I'm sorry (if
still) this linked item is unavailable from the BBC website,
especially if the recording is lost forever in the BBC's archives.
If you know a suitably influential executive at the Beeb who
can liberate it please contact me.
Incidentally as a quick case-study, the BBC illustrates an
important aspect of leadership, namely philosophy.
Philosophy (you could call it 'fundamental purpose') is the
foundation on which to build strategy, management,
operational activities, and pretty well everything else that
happens in an organization.
Whatever the size of the organization, operational activities
need to be reconcilable with a single congruent (fitting,
harmonious) philosophy.
Executives, managers, staff, customers, suppliers,
stakeholders, etc., need solid philosophical principles (another
term would be a 'frame of reference') on which to base their
expectations, decisions and actions. In a vast complex
organization like the BBC, leadership will be very challenging
at the best of times due to reasons of size, diversity, political

and public interest, etc. Having a conflicting philosophy

dramatically increases these difficulties for everyone, not least
the leader, because the frame of reference is confusing.
For leadership to work well, people (employees and interested
outsiders) must be able to connect their expectations, aims
and activities to a basic purpose or philosophy of the
organization. This foundational philosophy should provide vital
reference points for employees' decisions and actions - an
increasingly significant factor in modern 'empowered'
organizations. Seeing a clear philosophy and purpose is also
essential for staff, customers and outsiders in assessing
crucial organizational characteristics such as integrity, ethics,
fairness, quality and performance. A clear philosophy is vital
to the 'psychological contract' - whether stated or unstated
(almost always unstated) - on which people (employees,
customers or observers) tend to judge their relationships and
transactions.
The BBC is an example (it's not the only one) of an
organization which has a confusing organizational philosophy.
At times it is inherently conflicting. For example: Who are its
owners? Who are its customers? What are its priorities and
obligations? Are its commercial operations a means to an end,
or an end in themselves? Is its main aim to provide
commercial mainstream entertainment, or non-commercial
education and information? Is it a public service, or is it a
commercial provider? Will it one day be privatised in part or
whole? If so will this threaten me or benefit me? As an
employee am I sharing in something, or being exploited? As a
customer (if the description is apt) am I also an owner? Or am
I funding somebody else's gravy train? What are the
organization's obligations to the state and to government?
Given such uncertainties, not only is there a very unclear
basic philosophy and purpose, but also, it's very difficult to

achieve consistency for leadership messages to staff and

customers. Also, how can staff and customers align their
efforts and expectations with such confusing aims and
principles?
The BBC is just an example. There are many organizations,
large and small, with conflicting and confusing fundamental
aims. The lesson is that philosophy - or underpinning purpose
- is the foundation on which leadership (for strategy,
management, motivation, everything) is built. If the foundation
is not solid and viable, and is not totally congruent with what
follows, then everything built onto it is prone to wobble, and at
times can fall over completely.
Get the philosophy right - solid and in harmony with the
activities - and the foundation is strong.
Again, the Psychological Contract provides a helpful
perspective for aligning people and organizational philosopy.
This of course gives rise to the question of what to do if you
find yourself leading a team or organization which lacks clarity
of fundamental philosophy and purpose, and here lies an
inescapable difference between managing and leading:
As a leader your responsibility extends beyond leading the
people. True leadership also includes - as far as your
situation allows - the responsibility to protect or refine
fundamental purpose and philosophy.
See also the notes and processes for
incorporating fundamental philosophy within strategic
business development and marketing.

allegiance and leadership

Different leaders have different ideas about leadership. For

example, see below Jack Welch's perspective, which even
though quite modern compared to many leaders, is
nevertheless based on quite traditional leadership principles.
First here is a deeper more philosophical view of effective
modern leadership which addresses the foundations of
effective leadership, rather than the styles and methods built
on top, which are explained later.
A British government initiative surfaced in March 2008, which
suggested that young people should swear an oath of
allegiance to 'Queen and Country', seemingly as a means of
improving national loyalty, identity, and allegiance.
While packaged as a suggestion to address 'disaffection'
among young people, the idea was essentially concerned with
leadership - or more precisely a failing leadership.
The idea was rightly and unanimously dismissed by all
sensible commentators as foolhardy nonsense, but it does
provide a wonderful perspective by which to examine and
illustrate the actual important principles of leadership:
1. Always, when leaders say that the people are not
following, it's the leaders who are lost, not the people.
2. Leaders get lost because of isolation, delusion, arrogance,
plain stupidity, etc., but above all because they become
obsessed with imposing their authority, instead of truly
leading.
3. Incidentally, leading is helping people achieve a shared
vision, not telling people what to do.
4. It is not possible for a leader to understand and lead
people when the leader's head is high in the clouds or
stuck firmly up his backside.
5. That is to say - loyalty to leadership relies on the leader
having a connection with and understanding of people's

needs and wishes and possibilities. Solutions to

leadership challenges do not lie in the leader's needs and
wishes. Leadership solutions lie in the needs and wishes
of the followers.
6. The suggestion that loyalty and a following can be built
by simply asking or forcing people to be loyal is not any
basis for effective leadership.
7. Prior to expecting anyone to follow, a leader first needs to
demonstrate a vision and values worthy of a following.
8. A given type of leadership inevitably attracts the same
type of followers. Put another way, a leadership cannot
behave in any way that it asks its people not to.
9. In other words, for people to embrace and follow modern
compassionate, honest, ethical, peaceful, and fair
principles, they must see these qualities demonstrated by
their leadership.
10.
People are a lot cleverer than most leaders think.
11.
People have a much keener sense of truth than
most leaders think.
12.
People quickly lose faith in a leader who behaves as
if points 10 and 11 do not exist.
13.
People generally have the answers which elude the
leaders - they just have better things to do than help the
leader to lead - like getting on with their own lives.
14.
A leadership which screws up in a big way should
come clean and admit their errors. People will generally
forgive mistakes but they do not tolerate being treated
like idiots by leaders.
15.
And on the question of mistakes, a mistake is an
opportunity to be better, and to show remorse and a
lesson learned. This is how civilisation progresses.
16.
A leader should be brave enough to talk when lesser
people want to fight. Anyone can resort to threats and
aggression. Being aggressive is not leading. It might have

been a couple of thousand years ago, but it's not now.

The nature of humankind and civilisation is to become
more civilised. Leaders should enable not obstruct this
process.

traditional leadership tips - jack welch

style..
Jack Welch, respected business leader and writer is quoted as
proposing these fundamental leadership principles (notably
these principles are expanded in his 2001 book 'Jack: Straight
From The Gut'):
1. There is only one way - the straight way. It sets the tone
of the organisation.
2. Be open to the best of what everyone, everywhere, has to
offer; transfer learning across your organisation.
3. Get the right people in the right jobs - it is more
important than developing a strategy.
4. An informal atmosphere is a competitive advantage.
5. Make sure everybody counts and everybody knows they
count.
6. Legitimate self-confidence is a winner - the true test of
self-confidence is the courage to be open.
7. Business has to be fun - celebrations energise and
organisation.
8. Never underestimate the other guy.
9. Understand where real value is added and put your best
people there.
10.
Know when to meddle and when to let go - this is
pure instinct.

As a leader, your main priority is to get the job done, whatever

the job is. Leaders make things happen by:

knowing your objectives and having a plan how to achieve

them
building a team committed to achieving the objectives
helping each team member to give their best efforts

As a leader you must know yourself. Know your own strengths

and weaknesses, so that you can build the best team around
you.
However - always remember the philosophical platform this ethical platform is not a technique or a process - it's
the foundation on which all the techniques and
methodologies are based.
Plan carefully, with your people where appropriate, how you
will achieve your aims. You may have to redefine or develop
your own new aims and priorities. Leadership can be daunting
for many people simply because no-one else is issuing the
aims - leadership often means you have to create your own
from a blank sheet of paper. Set and agree clear standards.
Keep the right balance between 'doing' yourself and managing
others 'to do'.
Build teams. Ensure you look after people and that
communications and relationships are good. Select good
people and help them to develop. Develop people via training
and experience, particularly by agreeing objectives and
responsibilities that will interest and stretch them, and always
support people while they strive to improve and take on extra
tasks. Follow the rules about delegation closely - this process
is crucial. Ensure that your managers are applying the same
principles. Good leadership principles must cascade down
through the whole organisation. This means that if you are

leading a large organisation you must check that the processes

for managing, communicating and developing people are in
place and working properly.
Communication is critical. Listen, consult, involve, explain
why as well as what needs to be done.
Some leaders lead by example and are very 'hands on'; others
are more distanced and let their people do it. Whatever - your
example is paramount - the way you work and conduct
yourself will be the most you can possibly expect from your
people. If you set low standards you are to blame for low
standards in your people.
"... Praise loudly, blame softly." (Catherine the Great). Follow
this maxim.
If you seek one singlemost important behaviour that will
rapidly earn you respect and trust among your people, this is
it: Always give your people the credit for your achievements
and successes. Never take the credit yourself - even if it's all
down to you, which would be unlikely anyway. You must
however take the blame and accept responsibility for any
failings or mistakes that your people make. Never never never
publicly blame another person for a failing. Their failing is
your responsibility - true leadership offers is no hiding place
for a true leader.
Take time to listen to and really understand people. Walk the
job. Ask and learn about what people do and think, and how
they think improvements can be made.
Accentuate the positive. Express things in terms of what
should be done, not what should not be done. If you
accentuate the negative, people are more likely to veer towards
it. Like the mother who left her five-year-old for a minute

unsupervised in the kitchen, saying as she left the room,

"...don't you go putting those beans up your nose..."
Have faith in people to do great things - given space and air
and time, everyone can achieve more than they hope for.
Provide people with relevant interesting opportunities, with
proper measures and rewards and they will more than repay
your faith.
Take difficult decisions bravely, and be truthful and sensitive
when you implement them.
Constantly seek to learn from the people around you - they
will teach you more about yourself than anything else. They
will also tell you 90% of what you need to know to achieve your
business goals.
Embrace change, but not for change's sake. Begin to plan your
own succession as soon as you take up your new post, and in
this regard, ensure that the only promises you ever make are
those that you can guarantee to deliver.
Here are some processes and tips for training and developing
leadership.

leadership behaviours and development

of leadership style and skills
Leadership skills are based on leadership behaviour. Skills
alone do not make leaders - style and behaviour do. If you are
interested in leadership training and development - start with
leadership behaviour.
The growing awareness and demand for idealist principles in
leadership are increasing the emphasis (in terms of leadership

characteristics) on business ethics, corporate responsibility,

emotional maturity, personal integrity, and what is popularly
now known as the 'triple bottom line' (abbreviated to TBL or
3BL, representing 'profit, people, planet').
For many people (staff, customers, suppliers, investors,
commentators, visionaries, etc) these are becoming the most
significant areas of attitude/behaviour/appreciation required
in modern business and organisational leaders.
3BL (triple bottom line - profit, people, planet) also provides an
excellent multi-dimensional framework for explaining,
developing and assessing leadership potential and capability,
and also links strongly with psychology aspects if for instance
psychometrics (personality testing) features in leadership
selection and development methods: each of us is more
naturally inclined to one or the other (profit, people, planet) by
virtue of our personality, which can be referenced to Jung,
Myers Briggs, etc.
Much debate persists as to the validity of 'triple bottom line
accounting', since standards and measures are some way from
being clearly defined and agreed, but this does not reduce the
relevance of the concept, nor the growing public awareness of
it, which effectively and continuously re-shapes markets and
therefore corporate behaviour. Accordingly leaders need to
understand and respond to such huge attitudinal trends,
whether they can be reliably accounted for or not at the
moment.
Adaptability and vision - as might be demonstrated via project
development scenarios or tasks - especially involving modern
communications and knowledge technologies - are also critical
for certain leadership roles, and provide unlimited scope for
leadership development processes, methods and activities.

Cultural diversity is another topical and very relevant area

requiring leadership involvement, if not mastery. Large
organisations particularly must recognise that the marketplace, in terms of staff, customers and suppliers, is truly
global now, and leaders must be able to function and
appreciate and adapt to all aspects of cultural diversification.
A leaders who fails to relate culturally well and widely and
openly inevitably condemns the entire organisation to adopt
the same narrow focus and bias exhibited by the leader.
Bear in mind that different leadership jobs (and chairman)
require different types of leaders - Churchill was fine for war
but not good for peacetime re-building. There's a big difference
between short-term return on investment versus long-term
change. Each warrants a different type of leadership style, and
actually very few leaders are able to adapt from one to the
other. (Again see the personality stylessection: short-term
results and profit require strong Jungian 'thinking'
orientation, or frontal left brain dominance; whereas long-term
vision and change require 'intuition' orientation, or frontal
right brain dominance).
If it's not clear already, leadership is without doubt mostly
about behaviour, especially towards others. People who strive
for these things generally come to be regarded and respected
as a leader by their people:

Integrity - the most important requirement; without it

everything else is for nothing.
Having an effective appreciation and approach towards
corporate responsibility, (Triple Bottom Line, Fair Trade, etc),
so that the need to make profit is balanced with wider social
and environmental responsibilities.
Being very grown-up - never getting emotionally negative
with people - no shouting or ranting, even if you feel very
upset or angry.

Leading by example - always be seen to be working

harder and more determinedly than anyone else.
Helping alongside your people when they need it.
Fairness - treating everyone equally and on merit.
Being firm and clear in dealing with bad or unethical
behaviour.
Listening to and really understanding people, and show
them that you understand (this doesn't mean you have to
agree with everyone - understanding is different to agreeing).
Always taking the responsibility and blame for your
people's mistakes.
Always giving your people the credit for your successes.
Never self-promoting.
Backing-up and supporting your people.
Being decisive - even if the decision is to delegate or do
nothing if appropriate - but be seen to be making fair and
balanced decisions.
Asking for people's views, but remain neutral and
objective.
Being honest but sensitive in the way that you give bad
news or criticism.
Always doing what you say you will do - keeping your
promises.
Working hard to become expert at what you do
technically, and at understanding your people's technical
abilities and challenges.
Encouraging your people to grow, to learn and to take on
as much as they want to, at a pace they can handle.
Always accentuating the positive (say 'do it like this', not
'don't do it like that').
Smiling and encouraging others to be happy and enjoy
themselves.

Relaxing - breaking down the barriers and the leadership

awe - and giving your people and yourself time to get to know
and respect each other.
Taking notes and keeping good records.
Planning and prioritising.
Managing your time well and helping others to do so too.
Involving your people in your thinking and especially in
managing change.
Reading good books, and taking advice from good people,
to help develop your own understanding of yourself, and
particularly of other people's weaknesses (some of the
best books for leadership are not about business at all - they
are about people who triumph over adversity).
Achieve the company tasks and objectives, while
maintaining your integrity, the trust of your people, are a
balancing the corporate aims with the needs of the world
beyond.

great leadership quotes and inspirational

quotes
Some of these quotes are available as free motivational posters.
"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.... The
leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader
leads and the boss drives." (Theodore Roosevelt)
"The marksman hitteth the target partly by pulling, partly by
letting go. The boatsman reacheth the landing partly by
pulling, partly by letting go." (Egyptian proverb)

"No man is fit to command another that cannot command

himself." (William Penn)
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who
gets the credit." (President Harry S Truman)
"I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow."
(Woodrow Wilson)
"What should it profit a man if he would gain the whole world
yet lose his soul." (The Holy Bible, Mark 8:36)
"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a
deadline." (Harvey Mackay)
"Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to look after
them, and pretty soon you have a dozen." (John Steinbeck)
"I keep six honest serving-men, They taught me all I knew;
Their names are What and Why and When, And How and
Where and Who." (Rudyard Kipling, from 'Just So Stories',
1902.)
"A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther
than the giant himself." (Didacus Stella, circa AD60 - and, as a
matter of interest, abridged on the edge of an English 2 coin)
"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and
knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."
(Samuel Johnson 1709-84)
"The most important thing in life is not to capitalise on your
successes - any fool can do that. The really important thing is
to profit from your mistakes." (William Bolitho, from 'Twelve
against the Gods')
"Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to
pole, I thank whatever gods may be, For my unconquerable
soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor

cried aloud: Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is

bloody but unbowed . . . . . It matters not how strait the gait,
how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of
my fate: I am the captain of my soul." (WE Henley, 1849-1903,
from 'Invictus')
"Everybody can get angry - that's easy. But getting angry at
the right person, with the right intensity, at the right time, for
the right reason and in the right way - that's hard." (Aristotle)
"Management means helping people to get the best out of
themselves, not organising things." (Lauren Appley)
"It's not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how
the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the sweat and
dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up
short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the
great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and
who, at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who
at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that
his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
know neither victory nor defeat." (Theodore Roosevelt.)
"Behind an able man there are always other able men."
(Chinese Proverb.)
"I praise loudly. I blame softly." (Catherine the Great, 17291796.)
"Experto Credite." ("Trust one who has proved it." Virgil, 2,000
years ago.)

More leadership and inspirational quotes

See also the free motivational posters for leadership quotes.

leadership development exercises and

games
The are various games and exercises on the free team building
games section that work well for demonstrating, assessing and
developing leadership. See particularly the 'leading or
managing' exercise, which is a flexible activity for illustrating
the differences between managing and leading. As regards
leadership exercises for experiential development of leadership
abilities, focus on the leadership challenge of leading and
managing a team - the task itself is secondary - so virtually
any team game is suitable provided you give each leader a
team of four or more people to lead. The more people, the
bigger the test of leadership. You do not need a complicated
exercise to create a leadership challenge. The leadership
challenge is produced by having to organise, plan and motivate
a team of people. In fact, if the task is too complex it will
obscure the team leadership issues, by distracting from or
hampering leadership skills and qualities. For leadership
development choose exercises that includes an enjoyable and
achievable challenge - even very basic games like newspaper
towers will be a good test of leadership if you create teams of
four or more for the leader to lead. Use games that you feel will
produce variety, fun and a mixture of activities. The round
tables exercise is particularly suitable to test and develop
leadership skills. Choose a mixture of exercises which
encourage the leaders think about using a different approach,
and different people's strengths, for each challenge.

leadership articles and leadership

development justification
Many articles appear in the press and trade journals about
leadership; look out for them, they can teach you a lot.
Newspaper articles - particularly those that appear in the
serious press - about leadership and management,
organizational and business culture, are an excellent source of
ideas, examples and references for developing leadership.
A journalist could have spent a week researching the subject,
talking to leading business leaders, academics and writers,
and preparing useful statistics. This is valuable material.
Learn from it, use it and keep it, because finding specific detail
like this is usually quite difficult.
Serious relevant articles in the newspapers, trade press, or
online equivalent, cost little or nothing, and yet they can be
invaluable in developing your own ideas about leadership, and
in providing compelling justification to organizations and
managers for the need to adopt new ideas and different
approach to leadership development.
Particularly powerful are articles which describe corporate
failings, many with huge liabilities, arising from poor
leadership behaviour and decisions, and which appear in the
news virtually every week. Recent history is also littered with
all sorts of corporate disasters and scandals, and while these
high-profile examples are of a grander scale than usually
applies in typical organisations, the same principles apply - an
organisation is only as good as its leadership - at all levels.
Business disasters and failures - be their nature
environmental, financial, safety, commercial or people-related are invariably traceable back to a failure in leadership, and so

any boardroom that says "That sort of thing wouldn't happen

to us.." or "Our managers all know how to lead without being
taught.." is probably riding for a fall.
Finding specific examples of cost and return on investment
relating to leadership development is not easy (measuring
leadership 'cause and effect' is not as simple as more tangible
business elements), which is why it's useful to keep any such
articles when you happen to see them.
Certain leadership development organisations are sometimes
able to provide ROI justification and/or case studies, which is
another possible source of evidence for reports and
justification studies.
And given the growing significance of corporate ethics and
responsibility, we can expect to see increasing ROI data
relating to 'Triple Bottom Line' and 'Corporate Responsibility',
which being strongly linked to leadership therefore will provide
a further source of evidence and justification for leadership
development.

negotiation skills training

negotiation techniques for sales,
contracts, debts, buying, selling and
training
These negotiation techniques are primarily for sales, but apply
also to other negotiations, such as debt negotiation, contracts
negotiating, buying negotiations, salary and employment

contracts negotiations, and to an extent all other negotiating

situations. Negotiation is vital for an organization's overall
effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness is a product of
activities within a system - internal and external. Negotiation
is critical to establishing the internal system (structure,
people, functions, plans, measures, etc), and the
organization's relationship to the external system (markets,
suppliers, technology, etc). Negotiation is also critical to
optimising the performance of activities internally and
externally (principally through communication, by people).
Good sales negotiation - the rules of which feature below - can
easily add 10% to sales revenues, which arguably goes straight
to the bottom line as incremental profit. Good purchasing
negotiation can easily save 10% of the cost of bought in
products and services, which again arguably goes straight to
the bottom line as extra profit. Good negotiation by managers
in dealing with staff can easily reduce staff turnover by 5-10%,
which reduces recruitment and training costs by at least the
same %, as well as improving quality, consistency and
competitive advantage, which for many companies is the
difference between ultimate success and failure. Good
negotiation by executives with regulatory and planning
authorities enables opening new markets, developing new
technologies, and the choice of where the business operates
and is based, all of which individually can make the difference
between a business succeeding or failing.
Successful debt negotiation with creditors enables a business
to continue trading. Failure to negotiate debts often leads to
business closure. See the notes on debt negotiation for
business creditors and personal debts such as credit cards, in
the debt negotiation article below.
Salary negotiation affects individuals and organizations, and
good negotiation skills on both sides produce positive

outcomes for all. See also the tips on asking for a salary rise,
and dealing with salary increase requests on the pay rise page.
These negotiation techniques deal mainly with sales
negotiation and are written from the point of view of the
'seller'. If you are 'buying', or want to know how buyers tend to
behave look at the note alongside the headings. Sales
negotiation is an increasingly important part of the sales
process. Negotiation starts when buyer and seller are
conditionally committed to the sale (not sooner if you are the
sales person; the sooner the better if you are the buyer).
Negotiation generally results in a price compromise between
seller and buyer - ie., the seller reduces and the buyer
increases from their starting positions. Clever buyers will
attempt to negotiate before giving any kind of buying
commitment. Clever sales people will resist this. Here are the
rules of sales negotiating, which imply also the rules for
successful negotiating when buying.

modern collaborative approaches to

negotiating
In modern times, the aim of negotiation (and therefore in
training negotiating and negotiation role-plays) should focus
on creative collaboration, rather than traditional
confrontation, or a winner-takes-all result. The modern and
ideal aim of negotiations - which should be reinforced in
training situations - is for those involved in the negotiation
process to seek and develop new ways of arriving at better
collaborative outcomes, by thinking creatively and working in
cooperation with the other side. Negotiating should develop a

'partnership' approach - not an adversarial one. As such,

negotiating teams and staff responsible for negotiating can be
encouraged to take a creative and cooperative approach to
finding better solutions than might first appear possible or
have historically been achieved in practice.
Every negotiation, when viewed creatively, entrepreneurially
and collaboratively, provides an excellent opportunity to
develop and improve synergies between and benefiting both
sides, within the negotiated outcome.
You might find it useful to refer to Sharon Drew Morgen's
concepts regarding collaborative facilitation, which although
developed primarily for front-end of the selling process, are
also extremely useful for cooperative negotiating. Each side is
uniquely positioned to see how the other side can more
effectively contribute to the combined solution - it can be a
strange concept to appreciate initially, but is extremely
powerful in any situation where two people or sides seek to
reach agreement to work together, which is essentially what
negotiation is all about.
That said, it is still important to understand and to master the
traditional techniques and principles of negotiation, if only to
provide a defence and strategy where the other side is firmly
committed to an old-style confrontational approach, and these
techniques are explained below:

negotiation tips, techniques and

principles

First and most importantly, positioning is everything in

negotiation. The way that the situation is initially approached,
and when, are more influential on outcomes than all of the
other negotiating tactics and techniques combined.
Rules 1 and 2 are absolutely critical even before you start a
negotiation.

1. have an alternative - negotiate with

freedom of choice
If selling be unique, and have lots of other potential
customers, and so be able to walk away; if buying
definitely be able to walk away.
Whether you are buying or selling, if you can't walk away
because you need the deal so badly or because the other side
is the only game in town, then you are at a serious
disadvantage. If the other side believes you are the only game
in town then you have the advantage. No other factor is so
important: the more you need to secure the deal, the weaker
your position, so avoid negotiating when you need the
business badly (for the same reason, never find a new house
and fall in love with it before you sell your own). The same will
apply to your customer, which is why buyers almost always
give you the impression that they can go somewhere else even if they can't or don't want to.
This also means that when selling you must create an
impression that there is no alternative comparable supplier.
You have to create the impression that your product or service
is unique, and that the other person has nowhere else to go.
The way you sell yourself and your product must convince the

other person that he has nowhere else to go, and that he

cannot afford to walk away.
This positioning of uniqueness is the most important tactic,
and it comes into play before you even start to negotiate.
If your product offer is not unique remember that you are part
of it. You can still create a unique position for yourself by the
way that you conduct yourself, build trust, rapport, and
empathy with the other person.
Establishing a position (or impression) of uniqueness is the
singlemost effective technique when you are selling, whereas
denying uniqueness is the most powerful tactic of the buyer.

2. negotiate when the sale is

conditionally agreed, not before (if
buying the opposite applies)
Negotiate when the sale is conditionally agreed, and no
sooner (buyers tend to try to negotiate before giving you
any commitment - don't let them)
Or, put another way, don't get drawn into negotiating until
you've got agreement in principle to do business.
If you start to negotiate before receiving this commitment you'll
concede ground and the customer will attain a better starting
point. This would put pressure on you to find more
concessions later, and ensure a better finishing point for the
customer.

If you are not sure that the customer is conditionally

committed to the sale, then ask (a conditional closing
question), eg "If we can agree the details will you go ahead?"
If you're buying, then the opposite applies: start to negotiate
for concessions before agreeing you want to buy (try this when
you next buy something - you'll be amazed at what you can
secure without giving any commitment in return).

3. aim high
Aim for the best outcome (buyers aim low, and they tend
not to go first either)
(If you're buying, aim very - even ridiculously - low - but do it
politely.) Whatever you're doing, your first stake in the sand
sets the limit on your best possible outcome. There's no
moving it closer to where you want to go; it'll only move the
other way. Your opening position also fixes the other person's
minimum expectation, and the closer your start point is to the
eventual finishing point the more difficult it is to give the other
person concessions along the way and ultimately arrive at a
win-win outcome.
Many negotiations are little more than a split-the-difference
exercise. They shouldn't be, but that's often the underlying
psychology and expectation. So it's logical that to achieve the
best possible finishing position you should start as
ambitiously as you can (without losing credibility of course).
If you have the option to hear the other person's offer first,
then do so. It's a fact that whoever makes the opening offer is
at a disadvantage. If you go first, the other person can choose
to disregard it and ask for a better offer. And the other person

avoids the risk of making an offer themselves that is more

beneficial than you would have been prepared to accept. It's
amazing how often a buyer is prepared to pay more than an
asking price, but avoids having to do so because they keep
quiet and let the seller go first.
Vice-versa, the seller can often achieve a higher selling price
than he anticipates if he hears what the buyer is prepared to
offer first.

4. let the other side go first

Try to avoid 'going first' on price if you can. (Buyers will
often be trying the same tactic.)
If you know the other person's starting point before you have
to give your own, then this is clearly an advantage to you. For
example, if selling, ask the other side if they have an 'outline
budget'.
Sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised at what the other
side expects to pay (or sell at), which obviously enables you to
adjust your aim. Letting the other side go first is a simple and
effective tactic that is often overlooked.
Letting the other side go first on price or cost also enables you
to use another tactic, whereby you refuse to even accept the
invitation to start negotiating, which you should do if the price
or cost point is completely unacceptable or a 'silly offer'. This
then forces the other side to 'go again' or at least re-think their
expectations or stance, which can amount to a huge
movement in your favour, before you have even started.

5. list all of the other side's

requirements before negotiating
Get the other person's full 'shopping list' before you start
to negotiate (buyers usually do the opposite - they like to
pick concessions up one by one - indefinitely)
Establish in your own mind what the other person needs,
including personal and emotional aspects. Everything that is
part of or related to a deal has a value. Everything has a cost
to you or your organization, even if it's not on the price list.
Negotiation isn't just about price and discount. It's about
everything that forms the deal. It's about specification, colour,
size, lead-time, consumables, contract length, penalty
payments, get-out clauses, delivery dates, stock-holding, reorder lead-times, after-sales support product, product
training, technical back-up, breakdown service, call-out costs,
parts costs, parts availability, payment type, payment date,
payment terms. All these and more are called variables, and
each one affects the cost. Some affect the cost more than
others, and buyers and sellers nearly always place a different
value on each. It's critical therefore to know exactly what your
buyer wants before you start to negotiate. Get the full list of
issues written down and commit him to it. This is vital if you
are to keep a track on the values of the deal and the eventual
outcome. You also avoid your position being eroded bit by bit
by the late introduction of concessions required.
Your buyer's personal and political requirements are important
too, and the bigger the deal the more significant these factors
are. You need to understand what they are, particularly the
political and procedural needs within the other person's

organization or situation that affect the deal. These issues will

concern the way that the organizations relate to each other;
who talks to whom; how justifications and reports are
prepared; arrangements for future reviews; provision of
information; product development collaboration; issues
involving intellectual property, future mutual business
opportunities, etc.
Remember that when you sell to someone in an organization
or group, your buyer is staking his personal reputation within
his situation on you, and will not do so lightly, so you need to
understand all of his needs and concerns.
Only then you can begin to understand what the implications,
costs and perceived values are.

6. trade concessions - don't give them

away
Never give away a concession without getting something in
return (buyers tend to resist giving any concessions at all)
This is a matter of discipline and control. It's simple. Never
give anything away without getting something in return. If you
do you are not negotiating you are simply conceding.
A commitment from the other person can be a suitable
concession to get in return for something of relatively low
value. The simplest and most elegant concession to secure is
agreement to proceed with the deal now - use it to close.

7. keep the whole picture in your mind

Keep the whole package in mind all of the time (buyers

tend to divide and erode your position, bit by bit)
The buyer's tactic will be to separate out single issues, or
introduce new ones later. If you allow this to happen your
position will be eroded.
Think about the knock-on effects to the whole situation every
time a concession is requested. The overall value and
profitability of a deal or contract depends on it's component
parts. When you change one element, you change the whole,
so keep the whole situation in mind - keep assessing effects on
the total arrangement, understand the effects, and explain
how each change or demand affects the whole thing.

8. prepare and keeping looking for

variables (tradable concessions for
both sides)
Keep searching for variables, concessions, 'bargaining
chips', incentives. (Buyers will look for your concessions
but will tend not to offer their own)
A variable or tradable is any factor that can be altered and
which has a real or perceived value. You are not a mind-reader
and the other person may not be totally open, or even fully
aware of all the possible variables that are of interest, so keep
looking for them.
Prepare and estimate values of real and perceived variables
before the negotiation, and keep looking for new ones during
the negotiation.

If the other side is cooperative involve them in looking for

variables too - for both sides.
The more variables you find the less you will have to give on
price, and the more added-value you can build into the deal.
The buyer will not offer his own concessions normally, so you
can look for his possible concessions as well as your own (ie
variables within the buyer's situation as well as your own).

9. keep accurate notes

Keep accurate notes, and show that you are doing it (the
buyer stands to benefit from any lack of record, and some
buyers conveniently forget things that are not in their
favour, even concessions you've won from them)
Controlling the negotiation is vital. the other person may
forget, misunderstand, or attempt to distort interpretation of
what was discussed and agreed. Keeping notes shows that you
are in control, professional, can't be out-flanked, and enables
you to summarise and assess continually.

10. summarise and clarify the

negotiation as you go
Summarise and confirm understanding continually (see
above - it's your loss, not the buyer's, if you allow
misunderstandings to develop)
This avoids misunderstandings developing, accidentally or
otherwise. Misunderstandings can be catastrophic, not so

much because of the way they affect the financial structure of

the unfolding deal, but because they undermine the rapport
and the trust, which is critical to being able to do business in
the first place.
Getting positive agreement throughout the process also is
psychologically important; it strengthens trust and
commitment, and helps to ease the other person into an
agreeable frame of mind.
After the negotiation obviously it is essential to give the other
person clear written confirmation of the deal.

negotiation - more information

These days we are much more determined to press for
concessions and the best possible price. Buyers, particularly
consumers, are more confident and financially aware.
Where competitive pressures exist, prices are driven
downwards. Where one supplier offers a certain concession or
discount, customers expect all others to follow suit.
Suppliers' prices are more visible, so customers know what's
on offer elsewhere, and they use this knowledge to secure the
best possible deal.
In the face of these increasing pressures we need to have:

very good negotiating skills

commercial understanding (to appreciate the value and
implications of each element within a deal, and for giving
justification and explanation, etc.)
very good communication skills - empathy - (so as to able
to communicate a commercial position whilst maintaining a
good relationship)

a consistent corporate policy and authorisation structure

covering discounting and giving concessions

Organizations that have several points or people through

which negotiations can take place must perform well in these
areas. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Organizations with inconsistent or vague negotiation practices
are vulnerable. Customers are able to find and exploit
weaknesses and precedents to drive prices down, force
concessions and discount levels up, resulting in erosion of
margins for the company. This happens because the company
loses control over its starting positions (first stance), and
unwittingly provides precedents for generous finishing
positions.
Negotiating a deal, whether you are buying or selling, is a
strange business.
In a selling role for a company, good negotiation requires a
careful combination of empathy for the other person's
situation and feelings, with our own responsibilities to secure
the best possible commercial outcome for the company.
On occasions there can be a personal dilemma, particularly if
our selling style is one that uses a lot of relationship-building
and trust. We can feel torn between the interests of the
customer - with whom it is of course essential to build an
understanding - and the needs of the company.
So it is essential to remember our fundamental responsibility
as a sales person, which helps to avoid being drawn into the
dilemma territory; remember:
You work for your company, not for the customer.

By the same token, the customer is out to secure the best

possible deal for themselves and their organization, not for
your company. (Have you ever known a customer refuse a
discount or concession on the basis that it isn't in the best
interest of the supplier? Of course not.)
Another factor is our responsibility to existing customers. We
undermine our relationships with existing customers if we
offer preferential terms to new customers, just to get the deal.
Giving too much away, or referring a negotiation to a higher
authority has a demoralising, undermining effect, and
customers don't respect it - they take advantage of it. The urge
to sustain a friendly, highly amenable relationship with the
customer above all else is a trap that we must be alert to, it's
human nature, but lots of customers will use it to their
advantage. It is entirely possible to maintain a friendly helpful
relationship while at the same time being very firm in
negotiating the business.
Deep down we all respect someone who takes a firm approach
to business, as long as it is delivered in an understanding and
empathic way, with proper explanation and justification for the
stance taken.
Good negotiating builds our own confidence and natural
authority, not to mention the fun we can have outside work,
when we are the buyer.
It's extremely important to make an assessment of where the
other person is coming from; what the real and perceived
issues are, and to separate the psychological factors from the
practical ones.
A person's need to feel that they've succeeded in squeezing out
a good deal is far different from the practical issue of simply

whether they have enough money to afford the transaction, or

whether the timings and availability can possibly fit together.
The purpose of negotiation is to reach a fair and reasonable
compromise, not to try to do the impossible.
If a reasonable and commercially acceptable compromise is
within reach we must use all our skills to achieve it through
negotiation.
If the other person's demands are not reasonable,
commercially acceptable, or if any aspects of each side's
position do not fit, negotiation is not the answer.
This is why at times the most important word to use in any
negotiation is 'NO'.

when not to negotiate (ways of saying

'no')
People say a lots of different things when they really know the
answer is "No."
"I'll see what I can do."
"I'll let you know.""
"Maybe."
"I'll ask."
"I'll find out."

"You could call head office and ask; they have more authority
than me."
If the demand or request is not possible, too commercially
demanding, or not reasonable for any reason we must kill it
there and then, or it will come back to haunt you. Do not
negotiate if there are unrealistic demands being made at any
stage. This is for three reasons.

It prevents you having to concede substantial ground

unnecessarily.
It avoids raising false hopes, which would make it
difficult for us later to satisfy later.
It stamps your personal authority and professionalism on
the situation.

A clear and honest "No, I'm afraid not," with suitable

explanation and empathy for the other person's situation is all
it takes.

notes on debt negotiation

Whether debts are business or personal, these debt
negotiation skills should help you to improve your situation.
Negotiation of debts for business, or personal debts such as
credit cards, or debts with other creditors, start with one
simple rule that is often overlooked:

debt negotiation skill 1:

negotiate!
Amazingly many people who find themselves confronted by
personal or business debts and pressure from creditors fail to
think of negotiation as an option. Understandably fearful or
embarrassed, people and businesses with debt problems
usually fail to confront the situation until it's too late. Fear not
- most people and businesses get into serious debt at some
stage in their lives. Many of the most successful business
owners and tycoons have been bankrupt or presided over
insolvent businesses at some time - getting onto debt is part of
experience and risk-taking in business, and it's part of life in
the process of growing up. You are not alone. The important
thing is what you do about it. When you know you have a
problem, start negotiating. Debtors often think there's no
point, that negotiation isn't an option, but it is, and here's
why:
Creditors most fear losing their money and having to write off
the debt altogether. That's why creditors generally are very
happy to begin the negotiation process when debts have
become a problem for the debtor. To a creditor, negotiating a
debt means that they have a chance of recovering some or all
of the debt. If a creditor fails to begin a debt negotiation with
the debtor, the creditor faces costs of debt recovery (solicitor's
letters and debt collection agency fees, etc), and a real risk
that the debtor will for whatever reason be unable to pay any
of the debt (insolvency, bankruptcy, deliberate avoidance, etc),
which leaves the creditor no option other than to write off the
debt, losing everything, and having to pay debt recovery costs.
Where there is negotiation there is hope of partial or complete
debt recovery, and the avoidance of debt collection costs,
which is why creditors generally welcome the offer to negotiate
from a debtor in difficulty.

debt negotiation skill 2:

Seek advice and help. Whether for a personal or business
debt, don't try to do it all by yourself. Getting into debt can be
a lonely and threatening experience, so seek a friendly
shoulder to cry on, someone to share your thoughts with, and
ideally someone who has a bit of experience and wisdom, who
can help you see a way forward. Try to avoid paying for this
sort of help - avoid the unknown, especially the pariahs out
there who will take advantage of your vulnerability given half a
chance. If you have personal debts such as credit cards
contact an advisory service - there are plenty who can help
depending where you are in the world. If your business has
debts, contact your trade association, or local business
support centre, again there are various organizations
depending on where you are. At the very least call on a friend
to help find some support and advice. Linked to the points
above and below, the creditor is often a really good source of
help and advice - remember, the creditor wants you to
succeed, not fail.

debt negotiation skill 3:

The third skill is to ask the creditor for help. Options usually
appear straight away when a creditor realises there is a debt
problem, because the creditor wants to help keep the debtor
solvent. Options typically extended by creditors include:

renegotiated credit and supply terms, enabling the

business debtor to continue to trade.
extension of the period by which the debt has to be
settled.
price, product and supply arrangement review, to
determine whether future economies can be found for the

debtor, to avoid increasing the debt any more than

absolutely unavoidable.
debtor stock-holding review, to assess possibility of
returning stock to the creditor, and reducing the debt.
Creative creditors may come up with more ideas - the
important thing is to talk and work together to resolve the
problem constructively.

debt negotiation skill 4:

The third debt negotiation skill is about behaviour and style.
Work with the creditor. Be open and positive, and build trust
with the creditor. If the creditor trusts you and believes that
you wish to resolve the debt honestly and as fully as you can,
then the creditor will be positive and flexible in return. They
want to help you work your way through the difficulties,
because if you fail, the likelihood is that the debt will have to
be written off altogether. The people negotiating for the
creditors spend their lives dealing with debtors who are
dishonest, elusive, and distrustful. When a debtor
demonstrates willingness to co-operate and negotiate fairly the
creditor will respond in kind. Debts are a threat to the
creditor's business too, which is why debt recovery people can
be firm and aggressive. You will reduce the creditor's need to
be aggressive if you co-operate and build trust.

debt negotiation skill 5:

Make changes. Debts build up because something has gone
wrong, so understand what it is and take steps to prevent it
happening again or continuing. Debts don't generally happen
by accident, they happen because plans are wrong, controls
are too relaxed or non-existent, or because spending isn't
properly monitored and measured. Identify what's wrong and

put it right. Tell the creditor what you are doing so they they
understand you have taken steps to ensure the problem won't
get worse or re-occur.

debt negotiation skill 6:

Keep smiling. Not easy, but try to keep things in perspective.
Aim to honour your commitments and obligations as best you
can, but keep things in proportion. Do your best for the
creditor(s), but be fair to yourself. If you are still reading this
you'll not be the sort of person who deliberately and
maliciously gets into debt and then seeks to avoid
responsibility. So try to keep a calm detachment, and don't eat
and sleep your debt difficulties. Do what you can to resolve
your debt problems, but make sure you spend time re-fuelling
your spirit and strength. Business is a bit like a game, it's a
means to an end. It's not life and death. Money is a means to
an end too. It's not life and death.

A negotiation story (light relief for

negotiating training sessions or debt
negotiation meetings)
A sales-woman is driving home in the rain when she sees a
little old lady walking by the roadside, heavily laden with
shopping. Being a kindly soul, the sales-woman stops the car
and invites the old lady to climb in. During their small talk,

the old lady glances surreptitiously at a brown paper bag on

the front seat between them. "If you are wondering what's in
the bag," offers the sales-woman, "It's a bottle of wine. I got it
for my husband." The little old lady is silent for a while, nods
several times, and says ........ "Good trade."
(ack C Byrd)

cherie carter scott

cherie carter-scott's rules of life
Cherie Carter-Scott PhD is a very modern guru. Her theories
explain our attitudes and behaviour with a special clarity, and
provide a practical guide to behaviour and self development.
Dr. Carter-Scott achieved her PhD in human and
organisational development and for the nearly 30 years has
been an international lecturer, consultant and author. She
founded the MMS (Motivation Management Service)
Institute and has been called a guardian angel to CEO's.
Carter-Scott's book 'If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules' is
essential reading if you are interested in behaviour,
relationships, communications, and human personality.
Cherie Carter-Scott's rules for life - also known as 'The Ten
Rules For Being Human' and referenced in her book with Jack
Canfield: 'Chicken Soup For The Soul' - are a map for
understanding and pursuing personal development, and for
helping others to understand and develop too. 'If Life Is A
Game, These Are The Rules' is also commonly referenced book
in the life-coaching industry.

Here is a brief summary and explanation of Cherie CarterScott's 'rules of life'.

cherie carter-scott's rules of life

(Carter Scott references this quotation:) "Life is a succession of
lessons which must be lived to be understood." (Helen Keller)
Rule One - You will receive a body. Whether you love it or
hate it, it's yours for life, so accept it. What counts is what's
inside.
Rule Two - You will be presented with lessons. Life is a
constant learning experience, which every day provides
opportunities for you to learn more. These lessons specific to
you, and learning them 'is the key to discovering and fulfilling
the meaning and relevance of your own life'.
Rule Three - There are no mistakes, only lessons. Your
development towards wisdom is a process of experimentation,
trial and error, so it's inevitable things will not always go to
plan or turn out how you'd want. Compassion is the remedy
for harsh judgement - of ourselves and others. Forgiveness is
not only divine - it's also 'the act of erasing an emotional debt'.
Behaving ethically, with integrity, and with humour especially the ability to laugh at yourself and your own
mishaps - are central to the perspective that 'mistakes' are
simply lessons we must learn.
Rule Four - The lesson is repeated until learned. Lessons
repeat until learned. What manifest as problems and
challenges, irritations and frustrations are more lessons - they
will repeat until you see them as such and learn from them.
Your own awareness and your ability to change are requisites
of executing this rule. Also fundamental is the acceptance that
you are not a victim of fate or circumstance - 'causality' must

be acknowledged; that is to say: things happen to you because

of how you are and what you do. To blame anyone or anything
else for your misfortunes is an escape and a denial; you
yourself are responsible for you, and what happens to you.
Patience is required - change doesn't happen overnight, so give
change time to happen.
Rule Five - Learning does not end. While you are alive there
are always lessons to be learned. Surrender to the 'rhythm of
life', don't struggle against it. Commit to the process of
constant learning and change - be humble enough to always
acknowledge your own weaknesses, and be flexible enough to
adapt from what you may be accustomed to, because rigidity
will deny you the freedom of new possibilities.
Rule Six - "There" is no better than "here". The other side of
the hill may be greener than your own, but being there is not
the key to endless happiness. Be grateful for and enjoy what
you have, and where you are on your journey. Appreciate the
abundance of what's good in your life, rather than measure
and amass things that do not actually lead to happiness.
Living in the present helps you attain peace.
Rule Seven - Others are only mirrors of you. You love or
hate something about another person according to what love
or hate about yourself. Be tolerant; accept others as they are,
and strive for clarity of self-awareness; strive to truly
understand and have an objective perception of your own self,
your thoughts and feelings. Negative experiences are
opportunities to heal the wounds that you carry. Support
others, and by doing so you support yourself. Where you are
unable to support others it is a sign that you are not
adequately attending to your own needs.
Rule Eight - What you make of your life is up to you. You
have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with

them is up to you. Take responsibility for yourself. Learn to let

go when you cannot change things. Don't get angry about
things - bitter memories clutter your mind. Courage resides in
all of us - use it when you need to do what's right for you. We
all possess a strong natural power and adventurous spirit,
which you should draw on to embrace what lies ahead.
Rule Nine - Your answers lie inside of you. Trust your
instincts and your innermost feelings, whether you hear them
as a little voice or a flash of inspiration. Listen to feelings as
well as sounds. Look, listen, and trust. Draw on your natural
inspiration.
Rule Ten - You will forget all this at birth. We are all born
with all of these capabilities - our early experiences lead us
into a physical world, away from our spiritual selves, so that
we become doubtful, cynical and lacking belief and confidence.
The ten Rules are not commandments, they are universal
truths that apply to us all. When you lose your way, call upon
them. Have faith in the strength of your spirit. Aspire to be
wise - wisdom the ultimate path of your life, and it knows no
limits other than those you impose on yourself.

This summary is merely a brief outline and simply does not do

the book justice, nor the wisdom within it. If you are interested
in making the most of your life, and helping others do the
same, buy Cherie Carter-Scott's book 'If Life Is A Game, These
Are The Rules'.

Businessballs does not receive a commission for

recommending these books - buy from any bookseller you
like.

if life is a game these are

the rules - cherie carterscott
Such a simple little book, with so much
common sense about how to get the best
out of yourself and life in general. In a
cynical world the teachings of books like
these do much to encourage truly grown
up, giving, behaviour.

if love is a game these are

the rules - cherie carterscott
Companion book to the rules of life. As with
the rules of life book, most readers will say
it changes their outlook forever.

More information at Cherie Carter Scott's website.

'If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules' and the structures
within it are the intellectual property of Cherie Carter-Scott.
No attempt is made here to exploit it - merely to review and
inform. With thanks to Carole Byrd, who reminded me of
Cherie Carter-Scott's wonderful principles.

the four agreements - don

miguel ruiz
Don Miguel Ruiz's - The Four
Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz's book, The Four Agreements was published
in 1997. For many, The Four Agreements is a life-changing
book, whose ideas come from the ancient Toltec wisdom of the
native people of Southern Mexico. The Toltec were 'people of
knowledge' - scientists and artists who created a society to
explore and conserve the traditional spiritual knowledge and
practices of their ancestors. The Toltec viewed science and
spirit as part of the same entity, believing that all energy material or ethereal - is derived from and governed by the
universe. Don Miguel Ruiz, born and raised in rural Mexico,
was brought up to follow his family's Toltec ways by his
mother, a Toltec faith healer, and grandfather, a Toltec 'nagual',
a shaman. Despite this, Don Miguel decided to pursue a
conventional education, which led him to qualify and practice
for several years as a surgeon. Following a car crash, Don
Miguel Ruiz reverted to his Toltec roots during the late 1970's,
first studying and learning in depth the Toltec ways, and then
healing, teaching, lecturing and writing during the 1980's and
90's, when he wrote The Four Agreements (published in 1997),
The Mastery of Love (1999), The Four Agreements Companion
Book (2000), and Prayers (2001). Don Miguel Ruiz survived a
serious heart attack 2002, since when his teachings have been
largely channelled through seminars and classes run by his

followers, notably his sons Don Jose Luis and Don Miguel Ruiz
Junior. Like many gurus and philosophical pioneers, Ruiz has
to an extent packaged, promoted and commercialised his work,
nevertheless the simplicity and elegance of his thinking
remains a source of great enlightenment and aspiration. The
simple ideas of The Four Agreements provide an inspirational
code for life; a personal development model, and a template for
personal development, behaviour, communications and
relationships. Here is how Don Miguel Ruiz summarises 'The
Four Agreements':

the four agreements - don miguel ruiz's

code for life
agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only
what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or
to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction
of truth and love.

agreement 2
Dont take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of
you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality,
their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and
actions of others, you wont be the victim of needless suffering.

agreement 3
Dont make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and
to express what you really want. Communicate with others as
clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and
drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely
transform your life.

agreement 4
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment
to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to
sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will
avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

the four agreements - don

miguel ruiz
A life-changing book. Don Miguel Ruiz's
simple guidance for life. This book - the
original in the series - is widely available.
Everyone should read it.
'The Four Agreements' summary is the intellectual property of
Don Miguel Ruiz. No attempt is made here to exploit it - merely
to review and inform.

More about The Four Agreements ideology, The Four

Agreements book, Don Miguel Ruiz and Toltec philosophy
at Don Miguel Ruiz's website.

kaleidoscope brainstorming
process
advanced brainstorming technique for
problem-solving, team-building and
creative process
Brainstorming is a powerful technique for problem-solving,
learning and development, planning and team building.
Brainstorming creates new ideas, motivates and develops
teams because it involves team members in bigger
management issues, and it gets the brainstorming participants
working together. Brainstorming is not a random activity; it
follows a process. See the process for basic brainstorming.
Below is an more innovative advanced method of
brainstorming - called 'Silent Brainstorming' or 'Kaleidoscope
Brainstorming' - developed by Dr KRS Murthy of Nisvara Inc,
and the contribution of this model is gratefully acknowledged.
Dr Murthy also refers to the brainstorming technique as
'Multiple Mind Conferencing'. Kaleidoscope Brainstorming, Dr
Murthy suggests, not only produces vastly more ideas than
conventional brainstorming, but also acts at a deep level to
build teams and harmonious work groups.

As with the basic brainstorming process, the facilitator has a

big responsibility to manage the activity, people's involvement
and sensitivities, and then to manage the follow up actions.
Use Brainstorming well and you will see excellent results in
improving the organization, performance, and developing the
team. It is useful to review the Johari Window
concept and Johari model diagram along with this article, and
when using the process. This is because much of the value of
this concept lies in developing awareness of self, others, and
what others think of oneself.

kaleidoscope brainstorming technique

Have you attended any brain storming sessions in your life?
The sessions are normally run by a facilitator, who introduces
the purpose of the session to the participants, explains the
ground rules and coordinates the process. A note taker or
scribe may be used to document all the ideas generated in the
session. Generally, the session is open to any ideas. Important
guideline is that no idea is too simple, stupid or wild. See
the basic brainstorming technique if you've not already done
so - it contains fundamental brainstorming principles.
Kaleidoscope advanced brainstorming techniques are
applicable to any subject or situation, and any type of forum
where people can work as a group, including internet-based
conferencing and communications.
This is a new approach to the brainstorming process,
including different variations as to its use.
Dr Murthy regards 'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' (KBS) or
Multiple Mind Conferencing (MMC) as a "...Romantic interplay
between silence and interaction.... a heavenly marriage of
thesis and antithesis.."

The process makes efficient use of silence and communication,

which are interleaved in the brainstorming session. The
various degrees and modes of silence and communication
effectively use as 'tools' in the Kaleidoscope brainstorming
approach. Notably the power of silence is used to supplement
the communications-oriented parts of the session.
The technique may seem 'anti-thematic' at the first glance.
However, the intention is to make the brainstorming process
more 'holistic', by exploiting the different modes and degrees of
silence, absence of communication and a variety of
communication and interaction.

the kaleidoscope brainstorming process

1 - initial ideas generation brainstorming
session
The session should start with a facilitator detailing the process
steps used for the particular session. The session is conducted
in a normal fashion with the participants speaking out their
ideas in a round robin or random fashion for an agreed period.
The facilitator can use any normal brainstorming format for
this session. It is a good idea to use a format that is
comfortable for the facilitator and the participants. See the
example of a standard brainstorming session if you've not done
so already.

2 - silent brainstorming session

The silent brainstorming session stage requires all team

members or participants to stop talking, and to think of ideas,
but not speak out. The facilitator can ring a bell or use
another method to indicate the start and end of this part of
the exercise. Ideas are to written down by each brainstorming
participant. In addition, the participants must guess the ideas
that others may be thinking and writing down. Ideally
participants should guess the ideas of the other participants
for each person, one after the other. For example, if the
participants are A, B, C, D, E, F and G, then A would not only
write his or her her ideas, but also afterwards guess what B,
C, D, E, F, and G may have as their ideas. Participants should
do this using deep thinking, and base their guesses on the
manner that other participants answered during the first
speaking part of the session. Participants should be
encouraged to think how each of the other participants' minds
are working - to empathise, to 'put themselves in the other
person's shoes' - as a method of guessing as intuitively and
accurately as possible. 'Think how the other person will be
thinking' is the sort of guidance that the facilitator can give.
At this stage what's happening is that each participant is
coming up with ideas from their own perspective of how each
of the other participants is thinking. All participants work on
this stage of the session at the same time. You can imagine the
multiplicity of ideas and perspectives that this stage produces.
Each participant should logically end up with a list of ideas
alongside, or below, the names of each participant, including
themselves.
After a reasonable period, when it is clear that participants
have completed their lists, the facilitator can ring the bell
again, indicating the end of the silent brainstorming stage.

3 - presentation of brainstorming ideas

session
In this session, each of of the delegates reads out or shows
their own ideas and also their best guesses of the ideas for
others. The presentation made by A would look like the
following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Ideas generated by A
Guess of ideas of B
Guess of ideas of C
Guess of ideas of D
Guess of ideas of E
Guess of ideas of F
Guess of ideas of G

During A's presentation, others simply listen. In turn each

delegate gives a similar presentation. It is best if there is no
discussion during the presentations. The facilitator should
encourage delegates to make notes which people can raise
later.

4 - discussion of brainstorming ideas

session
The presentations are followed by a detailed discussion
session. In this session, the participants may discuss why and
how they guessed about others. Each participant can also
comment on the guesses of the other participants, and
validate or clarify. The highlights and conclusions resulting
from discussion should be noted by the facilitator or an
appointed 'scribe'. The individual participants can be
encouraged also make their own notes, which might for

example contain their mental models and appropriate

revisions of the creative thinking process of others. In this
sense the activity helps open hidden areas of awareness (self
and others), which in turn promotes better understanding,
relationships, communications, team-building and cooperation. (See and refer to the Johari Window to help explain
these benefits).

5 - further silent and speaking sessions the kaleidoscope effect

Further sessions can repeat and extend the silent session so
that participants increase the depth and complexity of their
thinking still more. Specifically participants should now think
about and guess how other delegates are thinking about the
ideas of of others. This again is done silently, together. Each
delegate will be thinking in deeper levels about each of the
other participant's thinking. These complexities of thinking
result, for example:

A is thinking and noting down of any of his/her own new

ideas
A is also (as in stage 4) thinking afresh about and noting
down any thoughts as to what B, C, D, E, F and G are
thinking
and, A is now additionally thinking of what B is
thinking of A, C, D, E, F and G, plus what C is thinking
of A, B, D, E, F and G, and so on.

Obviously the exercise at this stage has expanded massively.

From a simple individual brainstorming activity involving say
seven people and seven sets of personal ideas (seven
perspectives), the session has expanded to entail seven people
each considering six other people's thoughts about the ideas

of six other people's ideas (that's 242 perspectives!). Clearly it

is not reasonable to expect delegates to formulate 242 lists, so
it is useful to place certain limits on people's activities, which
can include for example:

allowing delegates to leave blanks against certain

delegates names
limiting the number of ideas required to be guessed for
each delegate
stating a maximum number of perspectives
allocating responsibility to each delegate to think about
certain named delegates
and in any event giving a time limit for each stage of the
activity

As with any team building or team working activity, the

facilitator needs to be able to assess progress and to adapt,
adjust and give clarifying or steadying guidelines during the
activity to maintain the group's focus and effectiveness.
At the fifth stage, all participants will in their own way be
thinking in a highly complex fashion. The participants minds
are acting as mirrors creating multiple reflections of each
other, rather like the few small objects inside a kaleidoscope
creating wonderful arrays and patterns. Hence the
'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' description.
It is easy to imagine how using this process the number of
ideas generated are many times more than when using normal
brainstorming techniques.
Dr Murthy reports that typically after a number of
Kaleidoscope Brainstorming sessions a group experiences an

'asymptotic approximation of their thinking process'.

(Asymptotic refers to the 'asymptotic' effect whereby two or
more things increasingly converge as if to become joined and
together, but never actually join or become one). He says this
is enabled by successive convergence and cross-fertilization
among a group or team of each members thinking process,
thoughts and ideas. He adds interestingly that groups
ultimately do not need to be talking to each other for their
minds to be conferencing with each other. In fact, they can be
as far geographically apart as they need to be for their routine
life, but still efficiently conferencing and in tune with each
other.
Dr Murthy adds: "The most important aspect is the discipline
developed by the silent brainstorming paradigm. Regular
teams or 'virtual' teams can be brought together to practice
this technique. It is a good idea for the team members to
branch out and form new groups with new members to extend
the practice. It is also a good idea to have new members or
visitors to the Kaleidoscope Brainstorming team inducted
routinely. Diversity of backgrounds is the key to freshness of
ideas. True diversity in gender, age, ethnic background,
educational levels, race, and personality types will ensure
Brainstorming teams and activities are kept as fertile as
possible. It is like any ecological system. Stability of a
Kaleidoscope Brainstorming team ecology is good, but as well,
aberrations and perturbations can guarantee long-term
growth."

dr krs murthy - biography

Dr KRS Murthy graduated from high school at the age of 12

and obtained two master degrees by the age of 20. Dr Murthy
is an experienced corporate executive, entrepreneur, inventor,
speaker, author, and a poet of some repute. He has given
keynote speeches in numerous international technology,
business and management conferences around the world. He
has invented and developed a number of novel paradigms in
various disciplines encompassing science, technology,
business, marketing, corporate governance, music, poetry,
other genres of literature, theatre, social science and even the
sport of cricket. His poems are taught in universities and
colleges in USA alongside legendry poets including Blake,
Emerson, Milton, and Shakespeare. Dr Murthy is now
president and chairman of Nisvara Inc., a Santa Clara,
California-based leading computer technology development
organization.
If you have questions about the Kaleidoscope Brainstorming
technique Dr Murthy would welcome your enquiries to
[email protected], or by phone to his offices in the US:
408-464-3333.

For good order, here's a reminder of the basic brainstorming

principles, which are always worth remembering so as to keep
the more advanced Kaleidoscope Brainstorming activities from
becoming too chaotic, and to retain a sense of purpose, and
focus on outcomes and actions.

conventional brainstorming process

principles
1. Define and agree the objective.

2. Brainstorm ideas and suggestions having agreed a time

limit.
3. Categorise/condense/combine/refine.
4. Assess/analyse effects or results.
5. Prioritise options/rank list as appropriate.
6. Agree action and timescale.
7. Control and monitor follow-up.

See the full brainstorming basic principles.

See also the guidelines for running workshops. Workshops
provide good situations for brainstorming, and brainstorming
helps to make workshops more productive, motivational and
successful.
To create more structured brainstorming activities which
illustrate or address particular themes, methods, media, etc.,
there is a helpfulset of reference points on the team building
games section.
Unless you have special reasons for omitting control factors,
ensure you retain the the essence of the rules above, especially
defining the task, stating clear timings, organising participants
and materials, and managing the review and follow-up.

johari window
Ingham and Luft's Johari Window model
diagrams and examples - for selfawareness, personal development,

group development and

understanding relationships
The Johari Window model is a simple and useful tool for
illustrating and improving self-awareness, and mutual
understanding between individuals within a group. The Johari
Window model can also be used to assess and improve a
group's relationship with other groups. The Johari Window
model was devised by American psychologists Joseph Luft and
Harry Ingham in 1955, while researching group dynamics at
the University of California Los Angeles. The model was first
published in the Proceedings of the Western Training
Laboratory in Group Development by UCLA Extension Office
in 1955, and was later expanded by Joseph Luft. Today the
Johari Window model is especially relevant due to modern
emphasis on, and influence of, 'soft' skills, behaviour,
empathy, cooperation, inter-group development and
interpersonal development.
The Johari Window concept is particularly helpful to
understanding employee/employer relationships within the
Psychological Contract.
Over the years, alternative Johari Window terminology has
been developed and adapted by other people - particularly
leading to different descriptions of the four regions, hence the
use of different terms in this explanation. Don't let it all
confuse you - the Johari Window model is really very simple
indeed.

free johari window model diagram (pdf landscape)

free johari window model diagram (pdf portrait)

(The Johari Window diagram is also available in MSWord
format from the free resources section.)
Luft and Ingham called their Johari Window model 'Johari'
after combining their first names, Joe and Harry. In early
publications the word appears as 'JoHari'. The Johari Window
soon became a widely used model for understanding and
training self-awareness, personal development, improving
communications, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics,
team development and inter-group relationships.
The Johari Window model is also referred to as a
'disclosure/feedback model of self awareness', and by some
people an 'information processing tool'. The Johari Window
actually represents information - feelings, experience, views,
attitudes, skills, intentions, motivation, etc - within or about a
person - in relation to their group, from four perspectives,
which are described below. The Johari Window model can also
be used to represent the same information for a group in
relation to other groups. Johari Window terminology refers to
'self' and 'others': 'self' means oneself, ie, the person subject to
the Johari Window analysis. 'Others' means other people in
the person's group or team.
N.B. When the Johari Window model is used to assess and
develop groups in relation to other groups, the 'self' would be
the group, and 'others' would be other groups. However, for
ease of explanation and understanding of the Johari Window
and examples in this article, think of the model applying to an
individual within a group, rather than a group relating to
other groups.

The four Johari Window perspectives are called 'regions' or

'areas' or 'quadrants'. Each of these regions contains and
represents the information - feelings, motivation, etc - known
about the person, in terms of whether the information is
known or unknown by the person, and whether the
information is known or unknown by others in the group.
The Johari Window's four regions, (areas, quadrants, or
perspectives) are as follows, showing the quadrant numbers
and commonly used names:

johari window four regions

1. what is known by the person about him/herself and is

also known by others - open area, open self, free area,

free self, or 'the arena'
2. what is unknown by the person about him/herself but
which others know - blind area, blind self, or
'blindspot'
3. what the person knows about him/herself that others do
not know - hidden area, hidden self, avoided area,
avoided self or 'facade'
4. what is unknown by the person about him/herself and is
also unknown by others - unknown area or unknown
self

johari window four regions - model

diagram
Like some other behavioural models (eg, Tuckman,
Hersey/Blanchard), the Johari Window is based on a four-

square grid - the Johari Window is like a window with four

'panes'. Here's how the Johari Window is normally shown,
with its four regions.
This is the
standard
representation
of the Johari
Window model,
showing each
quadrant the
same size.
The Johari
Window 'panes'
can be changed
in size to reflect
the relevant
proportions of
each type of
'knowledge'
of/about a
particular
person in a
given group or
team situation.
In new groups
or teams the
open free space
for any team
member is
small (see the
Johari Window

new team
member
example below)
because shared
awareness is
relatively
small.
As the team
member
becomes better
established and
known, so the
size of the team
member's open
free area
quadrant
increases. See
the Johari
Window
established
team member
example below.

johari window model - explanation of the

four regions
Refer to the free detailed Johari Window model diagram in the
free resources section - print a copy and it will help you to
understand what follows.

johari quadrant 1 - 'open self/area' or

'free area' or 'public area', or 'arena'
Johari region 1 is also known as the 'area of free activity'. This
is the information about the person - behaviour, attitude,
feelings, emotion, knowledge, experience, skills, views, etc
- known by the person ('the self') and known by the group
('others').
The aim in any group should always be to develop the
'open area' for every person, because when we work in this
area with others we are at our most effective and
productive, and the group is at its most productive too.
The open free area, or 'the arena', can be seen as the space
where good communications and cooperation occur, free
from distractions, mistrust, confusion, conflict and
misunderstanding.
Established team members logically tend to have larger open
areas than new team members. New team members start with
relatively small open areas because relatively little knowledge
about the new team member is shared. The size of the open
area can be expanded horizontally into the blind space, by
seeking and actively listening to feedback from other group
members. This process is known as 'feedback solicitation'.
Also, other group members can help a team member expand
their open area by offering feedback, sensitively of course. The
size of the open area can also be expanded vertically
downwards into the hidden or avoided space by the person's
disclosure of information, feelings, etc about him/herself to
the group and group members. Also, group members can help
a person expand their open area into the hidden area by
asking the person about him/herself. Managers and team

leaders can play an important role in facilitating feedback and

disclosure among group members, and in directly giving
feedback to individuals about their own blind areas. Leaders
also have a big responsibility to promote a culture and
expectation for open, honest, positive, helpful, constructive,
sensitive communications, and the sharing of knowledge
throughout their organization. Top performing groups,
departments, companies and organizations always tend to
have a culture of open positive communication, so encouraging
the positive development of the 'open area' or 'open self' for
everyone is a simple yet fundamental aspect of effective
leadership.

johari quadrant 2 - 'blind self' or 'blind

area' or 'blindspot'
Johari region 2 is what is known about a person by others in
the group, but is unknown by the person him/herself. By
seeking or soliciting feedback from others, the aim should be
to reduce this area and thereby to increase the open area (see
the Johari Window diagram below), ie, to increase selfawareness. This blind area is not an effective or productive
space for individuals or groups. This blind area could also be
referred to as ignorance about oneself, or issues in which one
is deluded. A blind area could also include issues that others
are deliberately withholding from a person. We all know how
difficult it is to work well when kept in the dark. No-one works
well when subject to 'mushroom management'. People who are
'thick-skinned' tend to have a large 'blind area'.
Group members and managers can take some responsibility
for helping an individual to reduce their blind area - in turn
increasing the open area - by giving sensitive feedback and
encouraging disclosure. Managers should promote a climate of

non-judgemental feedback, and group response to individual

disclosure, which reduces fear and therefore encourages both
processes to happen. The extent to which an individual seeks
feedback, and the issues on which feedback is sought, must
always be at the individual's own discretion. Some people are
more resilient than others - care needs to be taken to avoid
causing emotional upset. The process of soliciting serious and
deep feedback relates to the process of 'self-actualization'
described in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs development and
motivation model.

johari quadrant 3 - 'hidden self' or

'hidden area' or 'avoided self/area' or
'facade'
Johari region 3 is what is known to ourselves but kept hidden
from, and therefore unknown, to others. This hidden or
avoided self represents information, feelings, etc, anything that
a person knows about him/self, but which is not revealed or is
kept hidden from others. The hidden area could also include
sensitivities, fears, hidden agendas, manipulative intentions,
secrets - anything that a person knows but does not reveal, for
whatever reason. It's natural for very personal and private
information and feelings to remain hidden, indeed, certain
information, feelings and experiences have no bearing on
work, and so can and should remain hidden. However,
typically, a lot of hidden information is not very personal, it is
work- or performance-related, and so is better positioned in
the open area.
Relevant hidden information and feelings, etc, should be
moved into the open area through the process of 'disclosure'.
The aim should be to disclose and expose relevant information

and feelings - hence the Johari Window terminology 'selfdisclosure' and 'exposure process', thereby increasing the open
area. By telling others how we feel and other information about
ourselves we reduce the hidden area, and increase the open
area, which enables better understanding, cooperation, trust,
team-working effectiveness and productivity. Reducing hidden
areas also reduces the potential for confusion,
misunderstanding, poor communication, etc, which all distract
from and undermine team effectiveness.
Organizational culture and working atmosphere have a major
influence on group members' preparedness to disclose their
hidden selves. Most people fear judgement or vulnerability and
therefore hold back hidden information and feelings, etc, that
if moved into the open area, ie known by the group as well,
would enhance mutual understanding, and thereby improve
group awareness, enabling better individual performance and
group effectiveness.
The extent to which an individual discloses personal feelings
and information, and the issues which are disclosed, and to
whom, must always be at the individual's own discretion.
Some people are more keen and able than others to disclose.
People should disclose at a pace and depth that they find
personally comfortable. As with feedback, some people are
more resilient than others - care needs to be taken to avoid
causing emotional upset. Also as with soliciting feedback, the
process of serious disclosure relates to the process of 'selfactualization' described in Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs development and motivation model.

johari quadrant 4 - 'unknown self' or

'area of unknown activity' or
'unknown area'

Johari region 4 contains information, feelings, latent abilities,

aptitudes, experiences etc, that are unknown to the person
him/herself andunknown to others in the group. These
unknown issues take a variety of forms: they can be feelings,
behaviours, attitudes, capabilities, aptitudes, which can be
quite close to the surface, and which can be positive and
useful, or they can be deeper aspects of a person's personality,
influencing his/her behaviour to various degrees. Large
unknown areas would typically be expected in younger people,
and people who lack experience or self-belief.
Examples of unknown factors are as follows, and the first
example is particularly relevant and common, especially in
typical organizations and teams:

an ability that is under-estimated or un-tried through

lack of opportunity, encouragement, confidence or training
a natural ability or aptitude that a person doesn't realise
they possess
a fear or aversion that a person does not know they have
an unknown illness
repressed or subconscious feelings
conditioned behaviour or attitudes from childhood

The processes by which this information and knowledge can

be uncovered are various, and can be prompted through selfdiscovery or observation by others, or in certain situations
through collective or mutual discovery, of the sort of discovery
experienced on outward bound courses or other deep or
intensive group work. Counselling can also uncover unknown
issues, but this would then be known to the person and by
one other, rather than by a group.
Whether unknown 'discovered' knowledge moves into the
hidden, blind or open area depends on who discovers it and
what they do with the knowledge, notably whether it is then

given as feedback, or disclosed. As with the processes of

soliciting feedback and disclosure, striving to discover
information and feelings in the unknown is relates to the
process of 'self-actualization' described in Maslow's Hierarchy
of Needs development and motivation model.
Again as with disclosure and soliciting feedback, the process
of self discovery is a sensitive one. The extent and depth to
which an individual is able to seek out discover their unknown
feelings must always be at the individual's own discretion.
Some people are more keen and able than others to do this.
Uncovering 'hidden talents' - that is unknown aptitudes and
skills, not to be confused with developing the Johari 'hidden
area' - is another aspect of developing the unknown area, and
is not so sensitive as unknown feelings. Providing people with
the opportunity to try new things, with no great pressure to
succeed, is often a useful way to discover unknown abilities,
and thereby reduce the unknown area.
Managers and leaders can help by creating an environment
that encourages self-discovery, and to promote the processes
of self discovery, constructive observation and feedback among
team members. It is a widely accepted industrial fact that the
majority of staff in any organization are at any time working
well within their potential. Creating a culture, climate and
expectation for self-discovery helps people to fulfil more of
their potential and thereby to achieve more, and to contribute
more to organizational performance.
A note of caution about Johari region 4: The unknown area
could also include repressed or subconscious feelings rooted in
formative events and traumatic past experiences, which can
stay unknown for a lifetime. In a work or organizational
context the Johari Window should not be used to address
issues of a clinical nature. Useful references are Arthur

Janov's seminal book The Primal Scream (read about the book
here), and Transactional Analysis.

johari window example - increasing open

area through feedback solicitation
This Johari
Window model
diagram is an
example of
increasing the
open area , by
reduction of the
blind area,
which would
normally be
achieved
through the
process of
asking for and
then receiving
feedback.
Feedback
develops the
open area by
reducing the
blind area.
The open area
can also be

developed
through the
process of
disclosure,
which reduces
the hidden
area.
The unknown
area can be
reduced in
different ways:
by others'
observation
(which
increases the
blind area); by
self-discovery
(which
increases the
hidden area), or
by mutual
enlightenment typically via
group
experiences
and discussion
- which
increases the
open area as
the unknown
area reduces.

A team which understands itself - that is, each person having

a strong mutual understanding with the team - is far more
effective than a team which does not understand each otherthat is, whose members have large hidden, blind, and/or
unknown areas.
Team members - and leaders - should always be striving to
increase their open free areas, and to reduce their blind,
hidden and unknown areas.
A person represented by the Johari Window example below will
not perform to their best potential, and the team will fail to
make full use of the team's potential and the person's potential
too. Effort should generally be made by the person to increase
his/her open free area, by disclosing information about
his/her feelings, experience, views, motivation, etc, which will
reduce the size of the hidden area, and increase the open free
area.
Seeking feedback about the blind area will reduce the blind
area, and will increase the open free area. Discovery through
sensitive communications, active listening and experience, will
reduce the unknown area, transferring in part to the blind,
hidden areas, depending on who knows what, or better still if
known by the person and others, to the open free area.

johari window model - example for new

team member or member within a new
team

This Johari
Window model
diagram is an
example of a
member of a
new team or a
person who is
new to an
existing team.
The open free
region is small
because others
know little
about the new
person.
Similarly the
blind area is
small because
others know
little about the
new person.
The hidden or
avoided issues
and feelings
are a relatively
large area.
In this
particular
example the

unknown area
is the largest,
which might be
because the
person is
young, or
lacking in selfknowledge or
belief.

johari window example - established

team member example
This Johari
Window model
diagram is an
example of an
established
member of a
team.
The open free
region is large
because others
know a lot
about the
person that the
person also
knows.

Through the
processes of
disclosure and
receiving
feedback the
open area has
expanded and
at the same
time reduced
the sizes of the
hidden, blind
and unknown
areas.

It's helpful to compare the Johari Window model to other fourquadrant behavioural models, notably Bruce Tuckman's
Forming, Storming Norming Performing team development
model; also to a lesser but nonetheless interesting extent, The
Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership team development
and management styles model (See both here). The common
principle is that as the team matures and communications
improve, so performance improves too, as less energy is spent
on internal issues and clarifying understanding, and more
effort is devoted to external aims and productive output.
The Johari Window model also relates to emotional intelligence
theory (EQ), and one's awareness and development of
emotional intelligence.
As already stated, the Johari Window relates also to
Transactional Analysis (notably understanding deeper aspects
of the 'unknown' area, region 4).

The Johari Window processes of serious feedback solicitation,

disclosure, and striving to uncover one's unknown area relate
to Maslow's 'self-actualization' ideas contained in
the Hierarchy of Needs.
There are several exercises and activities for Johari Window
awareness development among teams featured on the team
building games section, for example the ring tones activity.

exploring more ideas for using ingham

and luft's johari window model in
training, learning and development
The examples of exercises using the Johari Window theory on
this website which might begin to open possibilities for you.
The Johari Window obviously model provides useful
background rationale and justification for most things that
you might think to do with people relating to developing
mutual and self-awareness, all of which links strongly to team
effectiveness and harmony.
There are many ways to use the Johari model in learning and
development - much as using any other theory such
as Maslow's,Tuckman's, TA, NLP, etc. It very much depends on
what you want to achieve, rather than approaching the subject
from 'what are all the possible uses?' which would be a major
investigation.
This being the case, it might help you to ask yourself first what
you want to achieve in your training and development
activities? And what are your intended outputs and how will

you measure that they have been achieved? And then think
about how the Johari Window theory and principles can be
used to assist this.
Researching academic papers (most typically published on
university and learning institutions websites) written about
theories such as Johari is a fertile method of exploring
possibilities for concepts and models like Johari. This
approach tends to improve your in-depth understanding,
instead of simply using specific interpretations or applications
'off-the-shelf', which in themselves might provide good ideas
for a one-off session, but don't help you much with
understanding how to use the thinking at a deeper level.
Also explore the original work of Ingham and Luft, and reviews
of same, relating to the development and applications of the
model.
Johari is a very elegant and potent model, and as with other
powerful ideas, simply helping people to understand is the
most effective way to optimise the value to people. Explaining
the meaning of the Johari Window theory to people, so they
can really properly understand it in their own terms, then
empowers people to use the thinking in their own way, and to
incorporate the underlying principles into their future
thinking and behaviour.

Relevant reading, (if you can find copies):

'Group Processes - An Introduction to Group Dynamics' by
Joseph Luft, first published in 1963; and
'Of Human Interaction: The Johari Model' by Joseph Luft, first
published in 1969.

In the books Joseph Luft explains that Johari is pronounced

as if it were Joe and Harry, and that is '...just what the word
means'. He explains also that the Johari model was developed
by him and Harrington V Ingham MD in 1955 during a
summer laboratory session, and that the model was published
in the Proceedings of the Western Training Laboratory in
Group Development for that year by the UCLA (University of
California Los Angeles) Extension Office.

25 Useful Brainstorming Techniques

by Celes | ShareThis

This is part of the Ask Celes section where I answer readers questions. Feel free
to send in your questions (guidelines here).

Image

Caught with a problem you cannot solve? Need new ideas and solutions? The
process of brainstorming requires you to think out of the box that is keeping
you in the problem.
The idea for this post was triggered by a question from a reader, who asked me
on my thoughts of the best brainstorming methods to achieve the best results.
Because brainstorming is applicable to all kinds of contexts and there is no one
size fits all method, I thought itll be more helpful to write a post on the different
possible types of brainstorming techniques we can use instead.
Here is a list of 25 brainstorming techniques you can use to get out of the
situation you are in. From this list, you can assess whats the best method for
the issue you are facing and apply it accordingly.
1. Time Travel. How would you deal with this if you were in a different
time period? 10 years ago? 100 years ago? 1,000 years ago? 10,000 years
ago? How about in the future? 10 years later? 100 years later? 1,000
years later? 10,000 years later?
2. Teleportation: What if you were facing this problem in a different place?
Different country? Different geographic region? Different universe?
Different plane of existence? How would you handle it?
3. Attribute change. How would you think about this if you were a
different gender? Age? Race? Intellect? Height? Weight? Nationality? Your
Sanity? With each attribute change, you become exposed to a new
spectrum of thinking you were subconsciously closed off from.

4. Rolestorming. What would you do if you were someone else? Your

parent? Your teacher? Your manager? Your partner? Your best friend?
Your enemy? Etc?
5. Iconic Figures. This is a spinoff of rolestorming. What if you were an
iconic figure of the past? Buddha? Jesus? Krishna? Albert Einstein?
Thomas Edison? Mother Theresa? Princess Diana? Winston Churchill?
Adolf Hitler? How about the present? Barack Obama? Steve Jobs? Bill
Gates? Warren Buffet? Steven Spielberg? Etc? How would you think
about your situation?
6. Superpowers. This is another spinoff of rolestorming. What if you
suddenly have superpowers? Superman? Spiderman? Wonderwoman? XMen? The Hulk? One of the Fantastic Four? What would you do?
7. Gap Filling. Identify your current spot Point A and your end goal
Point B. What is the gap that exists between A and B? What are all the
things you need to fill up this gap? List them down and find out what it
takes to get them.
8. Group Ideation. Have a group brainstorming session! Get a group of
people and start ideating together. More brains are better than one! Let
the creative juices flow together!
9. Mind Map. Great tool to work out as many ideas as you can in
hierarchical tree and cluster format. Start off with your goal in the
center, branch out into the major sub-topics, continue to branch out into
as many sub-sub-topics as needed. Source Forgeis a great open-source
mindmapping software that I use and highly recommend.
10. Medici Effect. Medici Effect refers to how ideas in seemingly unrelated
topics/fields intersect. Put your goal alongside similar goals in different
areas/contexts and identify parallel themes/solutions. For example, if
your goal is to be an award winning artist, look at award winning
musicians, educators, game developers, computer makers, businessmen,
etc. Are there any commonalities that lie among all of them that you can
apply to your situation? What worked for each of them that you can
adopt?
11. SWOT Analysis. Do a SWOT of your situation What are the Strengths?
Weaknesses? Opportunities? Threats? The analysis will open you up to
ideas you may not be aware before.
12. Brain Writing. Get a group of people and have them write their ideas on
their own sheet of paper. After 10 minutes, rotate the sheets to different
people and build off what the others wrote on their paper. Continue until
everyone has written on everyone elses sheet.

13. Trigger Method. Brainstorm on as many ideas as possible. Then select

the best ones and brainstorm on those ideas as triggers for more ideas.
Repeat until you find the best solution.
14. Variable Brainstorming. First, identify the variable in the end outcome
you look to achieve. For example, if your goal is to achieve X visitors to
your website, the variable is # of visitors. Second, list down all the
possibilities for that variable. Different variations of visitors are
gender/age/race/nationality/occupation/interests/etc. Think about the
question with each different variable. For example, for Genre: How can
you get more females to your website? How can you get more males to
your website? For age: How can you get more teenagers to your website?
How can you get more adults to your website? And so on.
15. Niche. This is the next level of variable brainstorming method. From the
variations of the variable you have listed, mix and match them in
different ways and brainstorm against those niches. For example, using
the example in #14, how can you get more male teenagers to your
website? (Gender & Age) How can you get more American female adults
to your website? (Nationality, Gender & Age)
16. Challenger. List down all the assumptions in your situation and
challenge them. For example, your goal is to brainstorm on a list of ideas
for your romance novel which you want to get published. There are
several assumptions you are operating in here. #1: Genre to write:
Romance. Why must it be that romance? Can it be a different genre?
Another assumption is for a novel. #2: Length of the story: Novel. Why
must it be a novel? Can it be a short story? A series of books? #3:
Medium: Book. Why must be it a book? Can it be an ebook? Mp3? Video?
And so on.
17. Escape Thinking. This is a variation of Challenger method. Look at the
assumptions behind the goal you are trying to achieve, then flip that
assumption around and look at your goal from that new angle. For
example, you want to earn more income from selling books. Your
assumption may be People buy books for themselves. Flip the
assumption around such that People do NOT buy books for reading.
What will this lead to? You may end up with people buy books as gifts,
for collection purposes, etc. Another assumption may be People read
books. The flip side of this assumption may be people look at books
(drawings). Escaping from these assumptions will bring you to a different
realm of thought on how to achieve your goal.

18. Reverse Thinking. Think about what everyone will typically do in your
situation. Then do the opposite.
19. Counteraction Busting. What counteracting forces are you facing in
your scenario? For example, if you want to increase traffic to your
website, two counteracting forces may be the number of ads you put and
the page views of your site. The more ads you put, the more users will
likely be annoyed and surf away. What can you do such that the
counteraction no longer exists or the counteraction is no longer an issue?
Some solutions may be 1) Get ads that are closely related to the theme of
your site 2) Get contextual ads that are part of your content rather than
separate, and so on.
20. Resource Availability. What if money, time, people, supplies are not
issues at all? What if you can ask for whatever you want and have it
happen? What will you do?
21. Drivers Analysis. What are the forces that help drive you forward in
your situation? What are the forces that are acting against you? Think
about how you can magnify the former and reduce/eliminate the latter.
22. Exaggeration. Exaggerate your goal and see how you will deal with it
now. Enlarge it: What if it is 10 times its current size? 100 times? 1000
times? Shrink it: What if it is 1/10 its current size? 1/100?
1/1000? Multiply it: What if you have 10 of these goals now? 100?
1000?

23. Get Random Input. Get a random stimuli and try to see how you can fit
it into your situation. Get a random word/image from a
dictionary/webpage/book/magazine/newspaper/TV/etc, a random
object from your room/house/workplace/neighborhood/etc and so on.
24. Meditation. Focus on your key question such as How can I solve XX
problem? or How can I achieve XX goal? and meditate on it in a quiet
place. Have a pen and paper in front of you so you can write immediately
whatever comes to mind. Do this for 30 minutes or as long as it takes.
25. Write a list of 101 ideas. Open your word processor and write a laundry
list of at least 101 ideas to deal with your situation. Go wild and write
whatever you can think of without restricting yourself. Do not stop until
you have at least 101.

Brainstorming is by far the most widely

used tool to stimulate creative
thinking. It was developed in the 1940s
by the American advertising executive
Alex Osborn who believed that anyone
could learn to generate creative
solutions for a wide variety of
problems. Following Osborns beliefs,
below are some tips that will help you have brainstorming
sessions that generate results.
1. When scheduling the meeting, be sure to include a
brief explanation of the problem and its history. This
will help participants prepare mentally for the session
and focus on the particular issue. The more specific
and focused a session, the better the results will be.
2. When inviting individuals to the session, consider
people with different backgrounds and degrees of
expertise. Sometimes a fresh outlook comes from
someone who isn't considered an expert or close to the
problem. However, be careful about mixing
management levels. Often in the presence of a seniorlevel manager, people either will be reluctant to
participate or will completely overdo it.
3. Distribute a copy of the rules of brainstorming before
the session begins. The rules are:
Criticism of ideas isn't allowed
All ideas, no matter how wild, are encouraged
The more ideas, the better
Every participant should try to build on or combine
the ideas of others
4. When scheduling the brainstorming session, the
meeting shouldn't last longer than 30 or 40 minutes.
Brainstorming sessions can be tiring and if you

havent discovered a satisfactory idea after 40 minutes

then its best to adjourn the meeting. Let the
participants leave with the understanding that there
will be another session. They can think about the
problem because great ideas can come anytime and
anywhere in the shower, in the car or in the park.
5. At the beginning of the session, explain the meaning
of Killer Phrases and emphasize that they wont be
permitted. You might provide two cards for each
participant as they enter the room. One has a green
circle on it, the other a red circle. Like traffic lights,
when the flow of ideas is positive, participants hold up
the green cards. If someone mentions a Killer Phrase,
all of the other participants must hold up the red
cards. This helps the group identify its "killer"
behavior and lets participants know when they should
be more supportive of others input.
6. If more than ten participants have been invited to the
session, break the group into teams of five or six
people and have each team brainstorm the issue.
Smaller teams remove some of the formality and make
people more at ease. And feeling comfortable means
sharing more ideas.
7. Write the objective of the session where everyone in
the room can see it. Put it in a question form, starting
with either "How can we?" or "What can be done
to?" For example, "How can we better understand
the needs of our customers?" or "What can be done to
improve the quality of this product?"
8. Be sure to capture all of the groups ideas. An
interactive whiteboard is ideal for brainstorming since
ideas are displayed on the whiteboard surface (which
can stimulate additional ideas), easily edited and saved
to a computer file. Whichever tool you use to record
your ideas, be sure that theyre saved for future
reference. After all, what good is generating ideas if
nobody remembers them after the session ends?

9. If the flow of ideas begins to fizzle, the leader should

step in. Some ideas:
Re-read every third idea. This may spark additional
ideas.
Ask a participant to select an idea and give reasons
why he likes it. This will generate conversation
around the idea and provide an opportunity to build
on it.
If youre the session leader, keep an idea or two to
yourself. When the conversation dies, share these
ideas to initiate more discussion.

Brainstorming
What this handout is about
This handout discusses techniques that will help you start writing a paper and
continue writing through the challenges of the revising process. Brainstorming
can help you choose a topic, develop an approach to a topic, or deepen your
understanding of the topic's potential.

Introduction
If you consciously take advantage of your natural thinking processes by
gathering your brain's energies into a "storm," you can transform these energies
into written words or diagrams that will lead to lively, vibrant writing. Below you
will find a brief discussion of what brainstorming is, why you might brainstorm,
and suggestions for how you might brainstorm.
Whether you are starting with too much information or not enough,
brainstorming can help you to put a new writing task in motion or revive a
project that hasn't reached completion. Let's take a look at each case:
When you've got nothing: You might need a storm to approach when you feel
"blank" about the topic, devoid of inspiration, full of anxiety about the topic, or
just too tired to craft an orderly outline. In this case, brainstorming stirs up the
dust, whips some air into our stilled pools of thought, and gets the breeze of
inspiration moving again.

When you've got too much: There are times when you have too much chaos in
your brain and need to bring in some conscious order. In this case,
brainstorming forces the mental chaos and random thoughts to rain out onto
the page, giving you some concrete words or schemas that you can then arrange
according to their logical relations.
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Brainstorming techniques
What follows are great ideas on how to brainstormideas from professional
writers, novice writers, people who would rather avoid writing, and people who
spend a lot of time brainstorming aboutwell, how to brainstorm.
Try out several of these options and challenge yourself to vary the techniques
you rely on; some techniques might suit a particular writer, academic discipline,
or assignment better than others. If the technique you try first doesn't seem to
help you, move right along and try some others.
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Freewriting
When you freewrite, you let your thoughts flow as they will, putting pen to
paper and writing down whatever comes into your mind. You don't judge the
quality of what you write and you don't worry about style or any surface-level
issues, like spelling, grammar, or punctuation. If you can't think of what to say,
you write that downreally. The advantage of this technique is that you free up
your internal critic and allow yourself to write things you might not write if you
were being too self-conscious.
When you freewrite you can set a time limit ("I'll write for 15 minutes!") and even
use a kitchen timer or alarm clock or you can set a space limit ("I'll write until I
fill four full notebook pages, no matter what tries to interrupt me!") and just
write until you reach that goal. You might do this on the computer or on paper,
and you can even try it with your eyes shut or the monitor off, which
encourages speed and freedom of thought.

The crucial point is that you keep on writing even if you believe you are saying
nothing. Word must follow word, no matter the relevance. Your freewriting might
even look like this:
"This paper is supposed to be on the politics of tobacco production but even
though I went to all the lectures and read the book I can't think of what to say
and I've felt this way for four minutes now and I have 11 minutes left and I
wonder if I'll keep thinking nothing during every minute but I'm not sure if it
matters that I am babbling and I don't know what else to say about this topic
and it is rainy today and I never noticed the number of cracks in that wall
before and those cracks remind me of the walls in my grandfather's study and
he smoked and he farmed and I wonder why he didn't farm tobacco..."
When you're done with your set number of minutes or have reached your page
goal, read back over the text. Yes, there will be a lot of filler and unusable
thoughts but there also will be little gems, discoveries, and insights. When you
find these gems, highlight them or cut and paste them into your draft or onto
an "ideas" sheet so you can use them in your paper. Even if you don't find any
diamonds in there, you will have either quieted some of the noisy chaos or
greased the writing gears so that you can now face the assigned paper topic.
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Break down the topic into levels

Once you have a course assignment in front of you, you might brainstorm:

the general topic, like "The relationship between tropical fruits and
colonial powers"

a specific subtopic or required question, like "How did the availability of

multiple tropical fruits influence competition amongst colonial powers
trading from the larger Caribbean islands during the 19th century?"
a single term or phrase that you sense you're overusing in the paper. For
example: If you see that you've written "increased the competition" about
a dozen times in your "tropical fruits" paper, you could brainstorm
variations on the phrase itself or on each of the main terms: "increased"
and "competition."

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Listing/bulleting
In this technique you jot down lists of words or phrases under a particular
topic. Try this one by basing your list either

on the general topic

on one or more words from your particular thesis claim, or

on a word or idea that is the complete opposite of your original word or
idea.

For example, if your general assignment is to write about the changes in

inventions over time, and your specific thesis claims that "the 20th century
presented a large number of inventions to advance US society by improving
upon the status of 19th-century society," you could brainstorm two different
lists to ensure you are covering the topic thoroughly and that your thesis will be
easy to prove.
The first list might be based on your thesis; you would jot down as many 20thcentury inventions as you could, as long as you know of their positive effects on
society. The second list might be based on the opposite claim and you would
instead jot down inventions that you associate with a decline in that society's
quality. You could do the same two lists for 19th-century inventions and then
compare the evidence from all four lists.
Using multiple lists will help you to gather more perspective on the topic and
ensure that, sure enough, your thesis is solid as a rock, or, uh oh, your thesis
is full of holes and you'd better alter your claim to one you can prove.

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3 perspectives
Looking at something from different perspectives helps you see it more
completelyor at least in a completely different way, sort of like laying on the
floor makes your desk look very different to you. To use this strategy, answer
the questions for each of the three perspectives, then look for interesting
relationships or mismatches you can explore.

1. Describe it: Describe your subject in detail. What is your topic? What are
its components? What are its interesting and distinguishing features?
What are its puzzles? Distinguish your subject from those that are
similar to it. How is your subject unlike others?
2. Trace it: What is the history of your subject? How has it changed over
time? Why? What are the significant events that have influenced your
subject?
3. Map it: What is your subject related to? What is it influenced by? How?
What does it influence? How? Who has a stake in your topic? Why? What
fields do you draw on for the study of your subject? Why? How has your
subject been approached by others? How is their work related to yours?
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Cubing
Cubing enables you to consider your topic from six different directions; just as a
cube is six-sided, your cubing brainstorming will result in six "sides" or
approaches to the topic. Take a sheet of paper, consider your topic, and respond
to these six commands.
1. Describe it.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Compare it.
Associate it.
Analyze it.
Apply it.
Argue for and against it.

Look over what you've written. Do any of the responses suggest anything new
about your topic? What interactions do you notice among the "sides"? That is,
do you see patterns repeating, or a theme emerging that you could use to
approach the topic or draft a thesis? Does one side seem particularly fruitful in
getting your brain moving? Could that one side help you draft your thesis
statement? Use this technique in a way that serves your topic. It should, at
least, give you a broader awareness of the topic's complexities, if not a sharper
focus on what you will do with it.
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Similes

In this technique, complete the following sentence:

____________________ is/was/are/were like _____________________.

In the first blank put one of the terms or concepts your paper centers on. Then
try to brainstorm as many answers as possible for the second blank, writing
them down as you come up with them.
After you have produced a list of options, look over your ideas. What kinds of
ideas come forward? What patterns or associations do you find?
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Clustering/mapping/webbing:
The general idea:
This technique has three (or more) different names, according to how you
describe the activity itself or what the end product looks like. In short, you will
write a lot of different terms and phrases onto a sheet of paper in a random
fashion and later go back to link the words together into a sort of "map" or
"web" that forms groups from the separate parts. Allow yourself to start with
chaos. After the chaos subsides, you will be able to create some order out of it.
To really let yourself go in this brainstorming technique, use a large piece of
paper or tape two pieces together. You could also use a blackboard if you are
working with a group of people. This big vertical space allows all members room
to "storm" at the same time, but you might have to copy down the results onto
paper later. If you don't have big paper at the moment, don't worry. You can do
this on an 8 by 11 as well.
How to do it:
1. Take your sheet(s) of paper and write your main topic in the center, using
a word or two or three.
2. Moving out from the center and filling in the open space any way you are
driven to fill it, start to write down, fast, as many related concepts or
terms as you can associate with the central topic. Jot them quickly, move
into another space, jot some more down, move to another blank, and just

keep moving around and jotting. If you run out of similar concepts, jot
down opposites, jot down things that are only slightly related, or jot down
your grandpa's name, but try to keep moving and associating. Don't
worry about the (lack of) sense of what you write, for you can chose to
keep or toss out these ideas when the activity is over.
3. Once the storm has subsided and you are faced with a hail of terms and
phrases, you can start to cluster. Circle terms that seem related and then
draw a line connecting the circles. Find some more and circle them and
draw more lines to connect them with what you think is closely related.
When you run out of terms that associate, start with another term. Look
for concepts and terms that might relate to that term. Circle them and
then link them with a connecting line. Continue this process until you
have found all the associated terms. Some of the terms might end up
uncircled, but these "loners" can also be useful to you. (Note: You can
use different colored pens/pencils/chalk for this part, if you like. If that's
not possible, try to vary the kind of line you use to encircle the topics;
use a wavy line, a straight line, a dashed line, a dotted line, a zigzaggy
line, etc. in order to see what goes with what.)
4. There! When you stand back and survey your work, you should see a set
of clusters, or a big web, or a sort of map: hence the names for this
activity. At this point you can start to form conclusions about how to
approach your topic. There are about as many possible results to this
activity as there are stars in the night sky, so what you do from here will
depend on your particular results. Let's take an example or two in order
to illustrate how you might form some logical relationships between the
clusters and loners you've decided to keep. At the end of the day, what
you do with the particular "map" or "cluster set" or "web" that you
produce depends on what you need. What does this map or web tell you
to do? Explore an option or two and get your draft going!

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Relationship between the parts

In this technique, begin by writing the following pairs of terms on opposite
margins of one sheet of paper:

Whole

Parts

Part

Parts of Parts

Part

Parts of Parts

Part

Parts of Parts

Looking over these four groups of pairs, start to fill in your ideas below each
heading. Keep going down through as many levels as you can. Now, look at the
various parts that comprise the parts of your whole concept. What sorts of
conclusions can you draw according to the patterns, or lack of patterns, that
you see?

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Journalistic questions
In this technique you would use the "big six" questions that journalists rely on
to thoroughly research a story. The six are: Who?, What?, When?, Where?,
Why?, and How?. Write each question word on a sheet of paper, leaving space
between them. Then, write out some sentences or phrases in answer, as they fit
your particular topic. You might also answer into a tape recorder if you'd rather
talk out your ideas.
Now look over your batch of responses. Do you see that you have more to say
about one or two of the questions? Or, are your answers for each question pretty
well balanced in depth and content? Was there one question that you had
absolutely no answer for? How might this awareness help you to decide how to
frame your thesis claim or to organize your paper? Or, how might it reveal what
you must work on further, doing library research or interviews or further notetaking?
For example, if your answers reveal that you know a lot more about "where" and
"why" something happened than you know about "what" and "when," how could
you use this lack of balance to direct your research or to shape your paper?

How might you organize your paper so that it emphasizes the known versus the
unknown aspects of evidence in the field of study? What else might you do with
your results?
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Thinking outside the box

Even when you are writing within a particular academic discipline, you can take
advantage of your semesters of experience in other courses from other
departments. Let's say you are writing a paper for an English course. You could
ask yourself, "Hmmm, if I were writing about this very same topic in a biology
course or using this term in a history course, how might I see or understand it
differently? Are there varying definitions for this concept within, say, philosophy
or physics, that might encourage me to think about this term from a new, richer
point of view?"
For example, when discussing "culture" in your English 101, communications,
or cultural studies course, you could incorporate the definition of "culture" that
is frequently used in the biological sciences. Remember those little Petri dishes
from your lab experiments in high school? Those dishes are used to "culture"
substances for bacterial growth and analysis, right? How might it help you write
your paper if you thought of "culture" as a medium upon which certain things
will grow, will develop in new ways or will even flourish beyond expectations, but
upon which the growth of other things might be retarded, significantly altered,
or stopped altogether?
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Using charts or shapes

If you are more visually inclined, you might create charts, graphs, or tables in
lieu of word lists or phrases as you try to shape or explore an idea. You could
use the same phrases or words that are central to your topic and try different
ways to arrange them spatially, say in a graph, on a grid, or in a table or chart.
You might even try the trusty old flow chart. The important thing here is to get
out of the realm of words alone and see how different spatial representations
might help you see the relationships among your ideas. If you can't imagine the
shape of a chart at first, just put down the words on the page and then draw

lines between or around them. Or think of a shape. Do your ideas most easily
form a triangle? square? umbrella? Can you put some ideas in parallel
formation? In a line?
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Consider purpose and audience

Think about the parts of communication involved in any writing or speaking
event act: purpose and audience.
What is your purpose? What are you trying to do? What verb captures your
intent? Are you trying to inform? Convince? Describe? Each purpose will lead
you to a different set of information and help you shape material to include and
exclude in a draft. Write about why you are writing this draft in this form.
Who is your audience? Who are you communicating with beyond the grader?
What does that audience need to know? What do they already know? What
information does that audience need first, second, third? Write about who you
are writing to and what they need.
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Dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias

When all else failsthis is a tried and true method, loved for centuries by
writers of all stripe. Visit the library reference areas or stop by the Writing
Center to browse various dictionaries, thesauruses (or other guide books and
reference texts), encyclopedias or surf their online counterparts. Sometimes
these basic steps are the best ones. It is almost guaranteed that you'll learn
several things you did not know.
If you're looking at a hard copy reference, turn to your most important terms
and see what sort of variety you find in the definitions. The obscure or archaic
definition might help you to appreciate the term's breadth or realize how much
its meaning has changed as the language changed. Could that realization be
built into your paper somehow?

If you go to online sources, use their own search functions to find your key
terms and see what suggestions they offer. For example, if you plug "good" into
a thesaurus search, you will be given 14 different entries. Whew! If you were
analyzing the film Good Will Hunting, imagine how you could enrich your paper
by addressed the six or seven ways that "good" could be interpreted according to
how the scenes, lighting, editing, music, etc., emphasized various aspects of
"good."
An encyclopedia is sometimes a valuable resource if you need to clarify facts, get
quick background, or get a broader context for an event or item. If you are stuck
because you have a vague sense of a seemingly important issue, do a quick
check with this reference and you may be able to move forward with your ideas.
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Closing
Armed with a full quiver of brainstorming techniques and facing sheets of jotted
ideas, bulleted subtopics, or spidery webs relating to your paper, what do you
do now?
Take the next step and start to write your first draft, or fill in those gaps you've
been brainstorming about to complete your "almost ready" paper. If you're a fan
of outlining, prepare one that incorporates as much of your brainstorming data
as seems logical to you. If you're not a fan, don't make one. Instead, start to
write out some larger chunks (large groups of sentences or full paragraphs) to
expand upon your smaller clusters and phrases. Keep building from there into
larger sections of your paper. You don't have to start at the beginning of the
draft. Start writing the section that comes together most easily. You can always
go back to write the introduction later.
We also have helpful handouts on some of the next steps in your writing
process, such as organization and argument.
Remember, once you've begun the paper, you can stop and try another
brainstorming technique whenever you feel stuck. Keep the energy moving and
try several techniques to find what suits you or the particular project you are
working on.