Coaching Tip

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Jonah Lehrer's article, "GroupThink" in The New Yorker , January 30, 2012 states that brainstorming seems like an ideal technique, a feel-good way to boost productivity. But there is a problem with brainstorming. It doesn't work. Scientific advances have lead to a situation where all the remaining problems are incredibly hard.

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Brainstorming Groupthink Engineering Creativity 99

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

Unfortunately, quite a bit of research demonstrates that the traditional brainstorming methods first described by Alex Osborn in the 1950’s fail. The more people who can engage with that problem or goal, the more knowledge that is available to work on it.

Groupthink 8

Groupthink Process Osborne Idea Generation 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 4, 2014

In exploring the problem of groupthink, the research of Charlan Nemeth reveals how easily “majority thinking” squeezes out “minority thinking.” In one of her experiments , groups who were encouraged to “debate” a problem generated 16% more ideas than groups who were encouraged to brainstorm without criticizing one another.

Productivity 15

Productivity Products Brainstorming Diversity 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

It's fashionable to decry groupthink and it's supposed to be the cause of most bad ideas, but in fact groupthink is necessary to get a team to work together enthusiastically for a common goal. The problem is not groupthink; the problem is bad inputs. I'm not suggesting breaking the rules of true brainstorming. Very early.

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Groupthink Charisma Brainstorming Fashion 14

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 19, 2012

These formed after reading a great article by Susan Cain in the New York Times called "The Rise of the New Groupthink." The "evidence from science suggests that business people must be insane to use brainstorming groups," wrote the organizational psychologist Adrian Furnham.

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Brainstorming Groupthink Focus Group Power 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 4, 2014

In exploring the problem of groupthink, the research of Charlan Nemeth reveals how easily “majority thinking” squeezes out “minority thinking.” In one of her experiments , groups who were encouraged to “debate” a problem generated 16% more ideas than groups who were encouraged to brainstorm without criticizing one another.

Productivity 11

Productivity Products Brainstorming Diversity 11

Harvard Business Review

MAY 19, 2017

You can get trapped in a version of groupthink, with a single set of shared relationships. We brainstormed about how she could lay the foundations of relationships with other leaders, even if their work wasn’t directly related, and she spent time outside of her work assignments to keep her skills up to date.

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Groupthink Video Learning-by-Doing Career 11

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 27, 2012

In a recent piece in The New Yorker exploring the flaws inherent in the groupthink of brainstorming sessions, Jonah Lehrer cited research into the process of free association by psychology professor Charlan Nemeth of the University of California at Berekely. That narrow input will result in a correspondingly narrow output.

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Creativity Groupthink Stress GDP 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 5, 2014

After some discussion, often labeled “brainstorming,” a group will go along with the most innocuous suggestion and follow it halfheartedly, keeping itself busy to avoid admitting what everyone knows: it is not going to work. It is different from “groupthink.” I call it violent politeness. I have witnessed it countless times.

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Politics Groupthink Commitment Price 10

ExactHire - Leadership

MARCH 8, 2017

As you can imagine, it resulted in a hot mess of groupthink…complete with vanilla platitudes that can only result from trying to be everything to everyone. 3 – Brainstorm independently, but with parameters. And not surprisingly, the trite single-word adjectives we selected were quickly forgotten.

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Process Groupthink Company Document 52