There are two types of brainstorming sessions—one filled with buts and the other rich with ands.
A BUT Brainstorming Meeting
“That’s a good idea but what happens if…”
“We could do what you propose but I think it will fail…”
“Maybe we could do that promotion but I’m afraid of what our distributors would say….”
An AND Brainstorming Meeting
“I like that idea and imagine if we also tried to raise the price…”
“We could do what you propose and I think we might succeed…”
“Maybe we could do that promotion and I think we should bring our distributors into the discussions…”
Language matters
Language can have a huge influence on how we view a problem and the way we approach the issue.
Yeah, but is a way of looking at the negative and assessing why things might fail.
Yeah, and does the opposite and allows a team to build upon an idea with optimism.
Think of the rungs on a ladder.
Each step is an AND.
Keep building on an idea instead of knocking it down. Ladders are like addition – they help you build upon the previous idea and can help get you to the top.
And…
Need help running a brainstorming session?
I can help. You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Armand Khoury on Unsplash
Daniel Pink’s book To Sell is Human inspired this post. Please check out his book to gain a deeper insight into this idea. He brilliantly describes the importance of but versus and. Consider this post a snack sized sample of his explanation of how to motivate and influence people.
