Getting fresh ideas means using someone elses brain besides yours once in awhile. Resist the urge to be a one man band. Take the kick drum off your back, remove the cymbals from between your knees and for cryin' out loud put down the banjo. Here are a few tips to guiding a brainstorming session that'll help you get some new creative juju.
Assemble a group that can be controlled. Never put too many radio people together for free forming unless you've got a punch bowl full of ritalin.
Encourage pointless ideas. If you have endure a bunch of wacko crap to get one great idea, it's worth it. Let people's minds wander.
Set time limits. Keep the meetings under an hour. Also, try to limit each persons time for explaining their idea. If they can't articulate a concept within a minute, they'll derail the energy in the room.
Look for people that click in the group and have them pursue ideas further outside the meeting.
Do not rate ideas. This is important. Too many sessions start out with "there are no bad ideas" and then people are mercilessly ridiculed as others in the room compete for the best one liner criticisms.
Record the session. You can't take notes as fast as people can free form. Use a small unobtrusive recorder so it's not a point of focus.
Have a facilitator. That person should not contribute much but should provide encouragement and help move things along.
Be ready to act. People need to know that you're not wasting their time. Put the good ideas into action quickly and share the results. This makes people want to contribute more in the future.
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