“Brainstorming is the nexus of ideas.” ― Asa Don Brown
Pure coincidence and random chance certainly performed a service to humankind at different points in the long history of Homo-Sapiens. The discovery of fire by rubbing flint stones, the charting of new trade routes across high seas, development of barter systems, the discovery of crude oil assets across the planet, the chance discovery of cave paintings in continents, and the fortuitous finding of penicillin in fungus – these rank high among notable instances of discovery mediated by human agency. However, the scale and impact of inventions has managed to outrank above instances – absent a formal guide for brainstorming, early inventions marked outcomes of, inter alia, the persistent curiosity of inventors, the human propensity to investigate observations, design a variety of frameworks that help develop myriad ideas, the impulse to solve problems affecting large swathes of humanity, an avowed pursuit of the profit motive, experimentation with ideas of employment generation, among others.
Sustained brainstorming and systematic development of inchoate ideas played a pivotal role in driving the cause of modern inventions – this phenomenon helped create the steam engine, generate the momentum that drove the Industrial Revolution in Britain, created grounds for the discovery of modern computers and computing systems, helped diversify core ideas into contemporary industrial supply chains, illuminated the foundational concepts of modern engineering, develop early practices into formalized culture – most notably – the performing arts, aided in the development of sophisticated investigative crime solving methods, and others. The modern flowchart serves admirably as a visual guide for brainstorming in scenarios when individuals face roadblocks, dead-ends, and intractable problems inside ambitious projects, the design of industrial processes, the formulation of trade networks, extensive systems and their modes of operation, and other such scenarios.
The development of raw ideas into successful, widely endorsed sets of (commercial, technological, industrial) processes gains form and calibrated manifestation through flowcharts. These analytical paradigms excel as guide for brainstorming the outlines and content of various concepts. However, data and information from experiments, early designs, extant models, and prototypes must serve as guiding lights when designers embark upon new initiatives. For instance, designers of new processes that seek to boost customer satisfaction must evaluate multiple data points logged from previous service models, assess the viability of the idea of improving an operational model, insist on re-examining the basic norms of customer service protocols, re-visit information generated from legacy service modules, imagine the core concept afresh, and poll users and clients to probe their idealized version of customer service. These elements, when positioned inside an elaborate flowchart, allow designers to sketch improved business models, refresh brand identity in the minds of customers, and present suitable outcomes emanating from said guide for brainstorming.
Points of (envisaged) improvement must find listing inside distinctive panels positioned in flowcharts designed as guide for brainstorming. Such illustrations could emerge as longitudinal structures that portray components and moving parts of (ideation and suggestions) connecting to outcomes that manifest in process improvement. This stance allows designers to fine tune the focus of random ideas and direct said focus to generate higher quality process outcomes. The listing of a number of points empowers process owners to validate such an exercise and implement improvements in real world processes. This is necessary to achieve actual gains in productivity, register definite advancements, quantify growth attained through improved processes, justify the investment of resources in process improvement, and spotlight the benefits of brainstorming. Additionally – the experience and essence of completed flowcharts could guide business operators and process designers in future acts of creating streamlined instances of commercial, technological, and industrial processes from scratch.
Core components of a modern guide for brainstorming could manifest in a range of elements – these include facilitators of ideas, attendees at brainstorming events, the questions posed at such sessions, deliberations on modalities of implementation, practical evaluations of suggestions, a positive mindset permeating sessions, different lines of analyzing various propositions, intelligent interventions, the proverbial open mind, and other actions. For instance, entrepreneurs working on projects to sharpen their competitive edge could drive ideation along the lines mentioned above. The deliberations could include strategies to expand commercial footprint of an enterprise, emphasize new product development, establish firmer linkages between employee performance and remuneration, expand existing product lines with sub-categories, design collaborations with foreign partners, develop shorter supply chains, implement appropriate cost reduction mechanisms, and tap larger segments of rural markets. Flowcharts could help organize these lines of initiative, design effective implementation, and thereby bring together a range of positive outcomes from brainstorming sessions.
Structured diagrams – interspersed with dense ganglia featuring thoughts, views, ideas, inspiration, and insight – could take shape as a guide for brainstorming new business ideas. These illustrations may not conform to the classical conception of flowchart-based diagrams – however, their contribution to the advancement of corporate missions remains unrivalled. New business ideas could issue from keen observations of market landscapes – thereafter, gaps in value proposition, product categories, or unpopulated segments in service-based industry could spark new ideas that may fuel fresh business ventures. Therefore, ambitious entrepreneurs could create new definitions of service, expand the idea of delivering value directly to customers, compress operational layers in legacy models of enterprise, brainstorm new categories of product, locate under-served niches of consumers in traditional customer segments, refine extant strategies, and capitalize on new market opportunities. When designed inside flowcharts, such initiatives exemplify the idea of developing a guide for brainstorming in different contexts.
Dispassionate perspectives driven by rational minds, sets of expert inputs, and measured, independent assessments could comprise a troika that boosts outcomes of contemporary brainstorming sessions/initiatives. In line with this assertion, a guide for brainstorming could feature a succession of repetitive spaces that house different elements of the troika. Such a stance invites a re-examination of core suggestions, illuminates different aspects of possible cohesion between the extant and the imagined, draws comparisons with different platforms and frameworks already operational in markets, alerts ideators to the possibility of new value propositions, elicits interest in the multiple planes that animate new ideas, and helps create projections of profitability (in the aftermath of successful implementations). Designers could seek to assign numerical values (quantification) to these actions, and compute aggregate scores prior to cementing business decisions. Clearly, this empowers the modern flowchart to merge with, and embellish visionary ideas that often spark the creation of new enterprise.
These lines of exploration, analysis, and suggestion drive an emphatic appreciation of the idea of deploying flowcharts as a guide for brainstorming. The spaces, mechanisms, devices, linearity, and movement that animate such illustrations offer smart analysts and business strategists the wherewithal to ideate, examine, critique, construct, develop, and integrate visions, ideas, and insights. Essentially, flowcharts represent a stepping stone to achieving deeper levels of organization of human thought, bring raw ideas to fruition, evaluate residual value in organizational practices, boost the importance of imagery in analytical frameworks, and reinforce various aspects of strategy in modern business. These diagrams also allow for rapid assessments of existing process frameworks and commercial models, thereby bolstering the contours of modern enterprise with recent findings, fresh insights, re-engineering paradigms, and the essence of new research. In doing so, the flowchart aids human civilization to attain new heights and advance to newer levels of sophistication.
