Why Brainstorming Doesn’t Work

by | 20 Feb 2025 | Newsletters

One of the most common meeting activities actually reduces your productivity. That’s right, brainstorming doesn’t work.

How do you feel when someone suggests setting up a brainstorming meeting at work?

If you’re anything like me it takes a conscious effort to suppress a groan.

 

The goal of brainstorming is worthy, but the process is so very painful. I cannot remember a single session that achieved its goal of creating a varied list of ideas. Can you?

In fact, I believe brainstorming is so bad this is how I describe it in an upcoming book about meeting activities.

 

Brainstorming doesn't work

 

Much to my dismay, my editor pointed out the chapter may need more than nine words. Apparently some people might want to know why I think Brainstorming is rubbish.

So, here is my case for why you should stop using brainstorming in your meetings and use another method like Brainwriting, SCAMPER, or Crazy 8s instead.

 

Here’s Why Brainstorming Doesn’t Work …

Brainstorming is often celebrated as a go-to technique for generating ideas in a group setting, but in reality, it has significant flaws that make it one of the least effective methods for creative thinking.

Here’s why:

  1. It’s slow – people can’t talk at the same time: In traditional brainstorming, only one person speaks at a time. While that happens other people have to wait. While waiting they are either not listening to the speaker because they want to remember their own idea, or they pay attention to the speaker and aren’t using the time to come up with their own ideas.
  2. It makes people lazy: When people brainstorm in a group, some people contribute minimally or not at all, assuming that others will fill the gaps. This leads to fewer ideas than if each person worked individually.
  3. Fear of judgment: Many people hesitate to share unconventional ideas because they fear being judged by their peers. Even in environments that claim to be “judgment-free,” this fear leads to safer, less creative ideas.
  4. People follow the group: In groups, people unconsciously align with dominant voices or popular ideas rather than thinking independently. When one idea gains early traction, others tend to follow that direction instead of exploring different options.
  5. Louder voices dominate: Extroverted or high-status individuals often take over brainstorming sessions, while quieter participants struggle to be heard. This skews the ideas toward the perspectives of the most outspoken members, missing out on potentially valuable contributions.
  6. New ideas get overwritten: When participants listen to others’ ideas, their own thinking gets interrupted. Instead of developing their own thoughts, they focus on reacting to what’s being said. This interference leads to fewer original concepts.
  7. Lower number of ideas: Studies have consistently shown that people working alone generate more ideas than groups using traditional brainstorming. Techniques like brainwriting (where people write ideas individually before sharing) produce a greater quantity and variety of ideas.

 

There you have it, seven reasons why you should stop using Brainstorming as an idea generating activity. If you’ve ever been part of a group brainstorming session these probably don’t come as any surprise.

Now, when someone enthusiastically suggests “let’s brainstorm some ideas!” you can explain, just as enthusiastically, why it’s a terrible idea. (but please be polite while you do)

 

Better Alternatives to Traditional Brainstorming

The good news is there are some really good activities that are much better at generating ideas in a group setting.

Here are four effective alternatives for generating ideas in a group setting:

  • Brain Writing
  • Silent Brainstorming
  • SCAMPER Technique
  • Crazy 8s

Brain Writing

Brainwriting is a structured idea-generation technique that allows participants to silently write down their ideas before sharing them. Unlike traditional brainstorming, this method prevents dominant voices from taking over the discussion and encourages contributions from all participants, including introverts.

Silent Brainstorming

In silent brainstorming, participants independently write down their ideas without speaking or interacting with others during the brainstorming session. Once all ideas are written down, they are shared and discussed as a group. This method reduces the impact of dominant voices and produces a broader range of ideas, because people can work simultaneously rather than one at a time.

SCAMPER

The SCAMPER Technique is a creative thinking and problem-solving method used to generate new ideas, improve existing products, or come up with innovative solutions by applying seven specific prompts. Each letter in SCAMPER represents a different action that can be applied to a current product, process, or idea:

  • S – Substitute
  • C – Combine
  • A – Adapt
  • M – Modify (or Magnify)
  • P – Put to another use
  • E – Eliminate
  • R – Rearrange (or Reverse)

Crazy 8s

Crazy 8s is a fast-paced ideation exercise that encourages participants to generate eight distinct ideas in eight minutes. It forces creative thinking under time constraints and helps teams quickly explore multiple solutions to a problem. Originally used in design sprints, it can be adapted for idea generation in for any topic.

 

Bottom Line

Traditional brainstorming doesn’t work because it slows down idea generation, limits independent thinking, and introduces group behaviors that crush creativity. If you want better results, switch to methods that allow for faster idea generation, reduced social pressure, and equal participation.