My teenage son recently asked me during a conversation about brainstorming, "do we really need rules for everyone to follow?" I had just finished reading Jonah Lehrer’s "Groupthink" in The New Yorker and recalled his remark, "The fatal misconception behind brainstorming is that there is a particular script we should all follow in group interactions." I have been part of many effective brainstorming sessions (at NAS) and just as many nightmarish ones (not at NAS). In my quest to learn more about the dynamics of the process and if there truly … [Read more...]