A PRESENTATION DONE BY RAHEEM HAMEED AT BRAINSTORMING SEMINAR OF THE MUSLIM CONGRESS(tmc), ATIBA LOCAL GOVERNMENT, OYO, OYO STATE

Year: October, 2012

SETTING FOR BRAINSTORMING CLASS
Brainstorming class is not just about generating ideas. It is about tapping into the cumulative creativity of a group of people, generating ideas and then evaluating those ideas to find the best ideas for a better organizational campaign.

STRATEGICAL BRAINSTORMING CLASS
Encourage laughter session and crazy ideas in your class. Laughter and joking ease people’s conceptualization, making them more likely to come up with more creative ideas. “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” – albert Einstein.

THE BUSINESS
It is always call Business of the Day (BOD), Issues, Need, Goal, or a Problem. These should be listed clearly on the board so that there will be room for ideation. Ideation is the process of generating creative ideas.
EVALUATING ISSUES CRITERIA
Once you have determined the issues to discuss, the next positive step is to determine the criteria to judge the ideas generated during the brainstorming session. The criteria should reflect the intended implementation of the ideas and the needs of your organization.
COMPOSITION OF THE BRAINSTORMING CLASS
An ideal brainstorming class should comprise;
One moderator: He is the manager of the brainstorming class. He is believed to be equipped with enthusiasm strategies, political strategies, and should be embodied with philosophical and psychological practical knowledge. His quality failure is the failure of his class.
The moderator starts the session, write ideas generated, stops the session at the appropriate time, and manages the evaluation. He does not participate in generating ideas. Ideally, he will encourage barnstormers with positive feedback, laughing at crazy ideas and preventing flattening.
A good moderator should be an enthusiastic person with sense of funniness and the ability to control the brainstorming session. A qualify or action secretary will be an excellent choice.
Branstormers: Brainstormers in a class should not be more than twelve. It will be better if they are not less than eight. The brainstormers should comprise people from different field; the artisans and professionals field. It is necessary that the brainstormers should have similar ideas on the background of the issues to brainstorm on. It is essentials to include new one or two new members or well-wishers to the brainstorming session. Also a good brainstorming class will include one or two creative thinker(s) (creative bright sparks). Their participation will motivate others to contribute ideas.
If possible, overly negative people (in thinking, speech, idea, criticizing…) should be avoided. They will only discourage other participants from sharing their more original or radical ideas.

GETTING STARTED
It is essential to note that good preparations lead to good results. Due to this, the following tips should be taken to order before and during the brainstorming session;
– Make sure the class is well arranged before the session starts
– Make sure there is a place where the issues and the sparking ideas will be jotted
– No mobile phone should be allowed so that distractions will not occur. If mobile phone is brought in, the best is that it should be off.
– There should be no room for leaving the meeting for a short or few moments. This will disrupt the meeting.
– Lateness should not be allowed in a brainstorming class
– The moderator should make sure that the session is a relaxed one.

CONTENTS OF BRAINSTORMING SESSION
– Introduction to the issues and session
– Idea generation
– Evaluation of the ideas
– Conclusion
PLEASE NOTE!
In no way there should be criticizing of ideas or points in brainstorming session. Avoid the following or similar words;
– That idea is bad
– This idea will not work
– The idea has already been tried
– I have something negating the idea of Mr. …

EVALUATING THE IDEAS SOURCED
There are many instruments to use in evaluating the ideas sourced. But in our own organization, the following instruments, will be used to evaluate the ideas;
-Al-Qur’an
-Sunnah
-Organization constitution
-Internal rule
If there is an idea that does not go against the affore-stated instruments, it should be considered.
CONCLUDING THE BRAINSTORMING SESSION
At the end of the session, the moderator should discuss the top ideas with the brainstormers and note any additional feedback regarding the issue, the ideas and the overall brainstorming session. Any relevant comments should be taken with the ideas.
It is important to explain to participants what the next steps will be.even if they are not involved in implementing the ideas, simply knowing that you will use their ideas, will provide positive reinforcement and good will for future brainstorming sessions.
AFTERMATH
REPORTING: The moderator should sum up the ideas, lists the sparking points clearly, and should present his report with a clear tone, avoiding ambiguous words. And he should be time conscious; avoid unnecessary input. Finally, submit the report to the central coordinator
FOLLOW UP THE REPORT: After hours of brainstorming, if your report is carpeted, then it is better describe as a waste of time and effort. Due to this, always remind the executives to move into action on time after necessary consultation.
IDEAS CAMPAIGNS: The communique should not be a sleeping dog. It should be campaigned. Adopt different medium to publicize it among your members so that they should all know that “new wind has blown and new dimension is gurgling.
CALL FOR REVIEW: After a period of time (between three to six months), review the ideas you are practicing either it is making your organization grow or not. After that, you will know either you have a positive or negative result.
REFERENCE
Major idea is borrowed from Traditional Brainstorming Event Events of Jeffrey Baumgartner