You can’t have a proper conversation about creativity without eventually debating if there’s a useful role for negativity – or more relevant – its companion, criticism.
Two recent brainstorms for the same team demonstrated the issue. I conducted the first brainstorm in October where participants wanted to get rid of bad ideas immediately. When the team leader overruled my suggestion to stay in a creative mode, we continued. As I feared, the initial sniping about the first few ideas spread like cancer until they promptly dismissed every idea put on the table. The negative atmosphere also stopped a few people from participating entirely, and two others got into an argument that ended with one leaving the room in anger.
When the second brainstorm was scheduled for last week, I gently suggested we have a discussion about how to limit negativity and, more important, how to increase the role of a more necessary function: productive criticism.
To make a long story short, the outcome was 180 degrees different.
Do Not Confuse Negativity with Criticism
Let’s start with the Oxford English Dictionary.
Negativity is the expression of criticism of or pessimism about something.
Criticism as the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.
When you compare the two, side by side, it’s easier to see where one is destructive and one is constructive.
Using the definitions as a guide, negativity is general. It creates an overall atmosphere. Everything about something is wrong. As a broad, often hurtful brush, negativity has zero value – in brainstorms, in life. Negativity prevents good people from being creative.
A subset of negativity, criticism is narrow. Its disapproval is about a specific fault, mistake or aspect. Because criticism is exact, its value lies in the suggestion that if you could fix the wrong aspect, it could improve the idea, potentially making it a great idea.
Like proper feedback, which must be both constructive and specific, criticism can add tremendous value to the creative process. I’d argue that any successful creative process, if not the creative culture of an organisation overall, must have criticism that aims in every case to improve or make something or someone better.
I couldn’t count the number of brainstorms I’ve participated in my career. But I guarantee every idea that has ever come out of my mouth could be improved. By giving oxygen to an idea, I’ve learnt that the properly critical team could help fix the bad aspects, in turn making it a better idea. For example, the group might change how the idea is implemented or positioned, or re-focused on a different end users, or even something as tactical as how an idea is scheduled or budgeted.
It’s not just that two heads are better than one (although that’s definitely true in creativity). The best brainstormers don’t care if their idea is perfect. They know it’s more important to share the idea to improve it, if not gain support for it at the same time.
As Nana Eklund loved to say about sharing: A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
How do you bring criticism to a brainstorm but not negativity?
Here are four suggestions to limit negativity, but allow criticism to do its constructive job.
1. Get agreement among everyone at the beginning about what the idea must accomplish.
Too often, brainstorms begin without any discussion about what the idea precisely needs to accomplish. What’s the problem that the idea should address? Or if there are multiple problems, then a group conversation about how and what to prioritise first, second and third. This debate about what must happen (the outcome) often helps focus idea generation, as long as it’s not too narrow to limit brainstorming.
In other cases, refine the brainstorm objectives. Oftentimes, a brainstorm might start with two complementary objectives. There’s the standard business objective. There’s also a creative objective, which is more “fuzzy” thereby opening up the direction to different perspectives.
As an example, here are two examples of complementary objectives from a former cosmetics client:
- Business Objective: Capture X% of the shampoo market in six months.
- Creative Objective: Stimulate conversations among consumers and influencers (two girlfriends for example) about the best way to care for hair in summertime.
But again, be clear on what you’re looking for so your criticism is specific and constructive.
It may also help to define from the beginning how the best idea will be chosen so the selection process is unbiased or unpolitical. That said, the should be kept from the brainstormers until the end, so not to limit the type or volume of ideas.
As an example, if you tell people at the beginning of the brainstorm you only want ideas which are orange, square and leather, that’ll limit your brainstorming. Let them brainstorm without the criteria, using them at the end to search for the ideas you prefer.
2. Use a process to ensure everyone knows there’s a time and place for criticism.
It’s understandable to think Creativity and Process shouldn’t be used in the same sentence. Creativity is free-for-all. Process is routine.
However, good brainstorms are like good parties. Pull back the emerald curtain on that spontaneous party and you’ll find rigorous planning and detail. To add process to creativity, consider drafting an agenda divided into three sections.
Overview or set-up. This section should be as short as possible: 2-5 minutes, tops. (To paraphrase Einstein, if you can’t explain the complex problem simply, you don’t understand the problem.)
You might also consider a creative brief to help participants understand key information quickly, or better, in advance of the brainstorm itself.
Ideation. This section should be a free-for-all, focused on idea generation with games and other mental gymnastics to keep everyone active.
Review. Finally, the best ideas are critiqued strategically and creatively, then organised and prioritised. This is when criticism is welcomed.
Two more points.
The agenda/process should be explained at the beginning, reinforcing to all that criticism will be welcomed at the end.
Do not allow criticism during the Ideation section. They are two wholly separate and opposite brain functions. Critiquing while you’re creating is the mental equivalent of throwing a car into Reverse when it’s in Drive. Let the brain play. Afterward, when the team has many ideas (), start a group discussion about critique … not just from the most senior person.
3. Criticism needs to come at the right time.
First, prioritise. Focus your critique on the best of the best. Then, move down through the lesser ideas, looking for aspects of average ideas which are interesting, provocative or challenging. It’s likely this critiquing section opens up more brainstorming, which is ideal.
At the beginning of the meeting (and the agenda), there’s often discussion, disagreement and criticism about the purpose or the brainstorm’s background. That’s why I strongly recommend sharing the overview with people in advance. Or, if discussion is needed – which sometimes it is (people can’t get together in advance) – find a way to allow the discussion separate from the actual brainstorming. At the very least, take a mental break between the first and second sections (a bathroom break, bring in fresh food and drink).
Finally, you might also include a break between the second and third sections. It’s mental gymnastics to jump from being crazy creative to Judge Judy, so let people take a mental break – but never longer than 15 minutes of you can lose momentum.
4. Negativity is destructive. Criticism is constructive.
Always focus on improving the idea, even if it changes the idea into a different one – which is common, appropriate and often necessary.
Don’t waste your valuable time debating bad ideas. The natural act of sorting and organizing gets rid of bad ideas. Let them die a natural death.
The exception? When someone can identify a single aspect of a bad idea to build upon and transform it into a better idea. In my experience, the best ideas quite often come from bad ideas. It’s as if someone said, “Well, we couldn’t do that … but what if we could do this?”
Any other suggestions you’d add to keep negativity at a minimum, but increase constructive criticism? Please feel free to add your comments or thoughts below.
A Three-Part Series on Negativity and Creativity
I’ve written frequently about creative thinking and brainstorming on this website. But to talk about creativity means also talking about negativity and criticism as it keeps cropping up in both ideation sessions I run for my own clients, as well as in conversations in my workshops and training.
You’ve already started on the lead article. I’ve added three additional articles focus on specific areas of negativity.
How Negativity Affects Creativity
Can You Switch Off Your Negativity?
What else do you do to turn information into ideas? Please add your comments below.
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