Most brainstorms are dominated by the fastest thinkers, the most verbal people, or the people most comfortable speaking in groups. That means teams often leave with the most obvious ideas rather than the most interesting ones. Brainstorming has stages. It is not just putting notes on a board.

• Why most brainstorms fail: dominance, conformity, and ego threat
• The limits of the “popcorn” method
• How good ideas are actually built: remix, iteration, and volume
• The stages of structured ideation
• Techniques for balancing participation across the group
• How to generate more original and less obvious ideas
• Practical tools your team can use in future brainstorms