Using Creativity

Many teams, when they want to be creative, use brainstorming as the method to encourage a free-flowing range of ideas.  However brainstorming has its limitations.  Research identifies that people generally come up with a longer list of ideas when they brainstorm alone rather than in a group.  This is because our short term memory is not capable of developing new ideas and keeping old ones in active storage. Generally speaking, we forget our ideas while we wait for others to share theirs.

Storyboarding solves this problem.  Storyboarding allows individuals to develop their own ideas first and write or draw them onto a piece of card.  The ideas are shared on a storyboard (or whiteboard, wall or table) and sorted into themes.  As more ideas are added, the storyboard expands and the cards can be read sequentially to 'tell' the story of the plan, the event, the training program or the project and find the gaps.

Being a very visual process, storyboarding draws on the strengths of the right brain.  Besides being highly visual it uses imagery, is a random and free-flowing process and enables a team to start with the big picture before it is broken into smaller steps or actions.  

This article outlines a process for using storyboarding to create an operational plan.  Once you see how simple it is, you will come up with lots of other ways to use it in your workplace.

If you have ever wanted to go behind the scenes at the Walt Disney Company to find out how they create the magic.... this article is for you!  Lucky me found  my way into the Disney Institute for a day and I'll be sharing their secrets with you over a series of articles.