208 THE CREATIVE INVESTMENT TEAM
But then another participant remembered that his brother-in-law
worked for a bank that was looking for a charitable cause to sup-
port. Eventually, this goofy idea led to the bank sponsoring the
charity. (Remember the discussion of the inner critic in Chapter
15? How easy it would have been for this man to squash his own
idea and not say, “Rob a bank.” Fortunately for the group, he took
a chance and hollered it out.)
When the group has “dumped” its ideas on the wall, take a
moment to clarify them. Ask the group if there are any ideas that
need explanation. Also, check for duplicates. If two ideas are iden-
tical, there is no need to have them both on the wall. Checking for
duplicates and clarifying shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.
Sometimes the process derails here because the clarifying turns
into advocating. Participants explain not only what their idea is
but also why it is such a good one. The facilitator needs to jump
in quickly and remind participants that there will be an opportu-
nity later to advocate and prioritize the ideas. Right now, the task
is to understand them. In our earlier Myers-Briggs language, this
phase emphasizes sensing (the blue filter). Just the facts, ma’am—
no interpretations.
The next portion of the brain dump is to make some sense out
of the ideas that have been thrown on the wall. Before suggesting
a process for that, let me just explain the rationale for this first
phase of silently filling out the notes and posting them. First, it
invites the introverts to participate. Remember, introverts tend to
prefer writing and internal dialogue to talking and processing out
loud. Also, silence tends to help us move into the right hemisphere,
where creativity lives. When we focus and talk, we move into the
left hemisphere, where logic and verbal skills hang out. Finally,
having the participants watch as the ideas go up on the wall allows
them to build on one another’s thoughts, so synergy can take place.
The notes on the wall are the key factors that the group has
identified for the project, vision, strategy, or whatever they are14-25 ware 208 1/19/01, 1:16 PM