Traditional Brainstorming: The Most Familiar Innovation Tool—With the Most Misuse
Introduction
Walk into any corporate innovation workshop and you’ll likely find sticky notes, whiteboards, and well-meaning teams shouting out ideas. This is Traditional Brainstorming—arguably the most widely used innovation technique in the world.
But while brainstorming is synonymous with creativity, it’s also one of the most misapplied tools in corporate innovation programs. Poor facilitation, groupthink, and a lack of follow-through often reduce sessions to idea noise rather than strategic insight.
At Hangar 75, we use Traditional Brainstorming within our IDEATE∞ platform—but only as part of a blended approach that applies structure, follow-up, and performance metrics. When used properly and paired with stronger frameworks, brainstorming can still play a valuable role in early-stage ideation.
What is Traditional Brainstorming?
Traditional Brainstorming is a group creativity technique where participants generate as many ideas as possible in a short period, typically in response to a defined problem or opportunity.
Core principles (as introduced by Alex Osborn in the 1950s) include:
Defer judgment: All ideas are welcomed without criticism
Quantity over quality: Aim for a high volume of ideas
Build on others’ ideas: Encourage combination and extension
Encourage wild ideas: Stretch beyond the obvious
It’s simple, fast, and familiar—but without strong facilitation, it often fails to deliver meaningful outcomes in enterprise settings.
Why Traditional Brainstorming Still Has a Role in Corporate Innovation
Despite its limitations, brainstorming persists because of its accessibility. No special tools are needed, and it creates space for cross-functional collaboration and creativity.
It’s particularly useful in the early divergence phase, where teams aim to surface raw ideas and create shared energy around a challenge.
However, in high-stakes or complex environments, brainstorming alone is rarely enough. It must be enhanced with structure, follow-through, and pairing with complementary methods.
Pros of Traditional Brainstorming
Easy to Deploy: Requires minimal training or setup
Inclusive: Encourages participation from all levels and functions
Generates Volume: Can quickly produce dozens of ideas in a short session
Builds Creative Confidence: Helps teams practice idea generation and sharing
Works Well for Icebreaking: Energizes teams at the beginning of innovation programs
Cons of Traditional Brainstorming
Groupthink: Dominant voices often steer the conversation
Evaluation Paralysis: Ideas are rarely prioritized or refined afterward
Superficiality: Without depth or follow-up, ideas often lack substance
Cognitive Overload: Rapid-fire ideation can limit strategic focus
Limited Psychological Safety: Without trust, participants may self-censor
Illustrative Example: Kicking Off an Innovation Sprint in Retail Banking
A major retail bank wanted to begin its customer loyalty innovation program with wide input from business units across product, marketing, and digital.
We facilitated a Traditional Brainstorming session with 20 participants, using prompts like:
“How might we reward everyday behaviors beyond spending?”
“What would loyalty look like if it were invisible?”
“How could we deliver emotional value—not just points?”
The session generated 90+ ideas—ranging from predictable (bonus points) to unexpected (community-based reward swaps, mental health perks, relationship banking). From this pool, 12 ideas were prioritized for deeper evaluation using SCAMPER and Jobs to Be Done.
The takeaway: brainstorming provided momentum, but it was the structured follow-up that created value.
Where Traditional Brainstorming Fits Within the IDEATE∞ Platform
In IDEATE∞, brainstorming is used to spark idea flow—but always within a guided framework. The platform includes:
Role-based idea capture (to minimize dominance bias)
Anonymous contributions to support psychological safety
AI-based clustering and de-duplication tools
Idea tagging to prepare for subsequent evaluation
Optional time-boxed sprints to keep sessions focused
We never treat brainstorming as the final step. It’s a volume play—useful when followed by tools like Brainwriting, Six Thinking Hats, or Design Thinking.
The Strategic Role of Brainstorming in Innovation Portfolios
Traditional Brainstorming is best used for:
Icebreaking in new teams or programs
Early-stage divergence (before evaluation)
Energizing cross-functional collaboration
Generating volume before refinement
Low-risk, high-participation workshops
It’s not ideal for prioritizing investments, aligning strategy, or solving deeply technical problems. But as a starting point, it remains relevant—if not relied upon too heavily.
Final Thoughts: Brainstorming Isn’t Broken—It’s Just Overused
Traditional Brainstorming is a valuable tool—but only when it’s treated as a single part of a broader innovation system. Used alone, it creates noise. Used wisely, it can spark insight, engagement, and momentum.
At Hangar 75, we embed brainstorming in a structured process within IDEATE∞—so that it doesn’t stop with ideas, but accelerates action.
Ready to Unlock Transformational Ideas?
This is just one of the many powerful techniques embedded within IDEATE∞, Hangar 75’s enterprise-grade ideation engine. Whether you’re launching a new product, solving complex challenges, or evolving your innovation strategy, IDEATE∞ helps you generate, enrich, and prioritize high-impact ideas—fast.
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