Good Brainstorming

I worked as a proposal adviser for a major international accountancy and management consultancy firm for over eight years. For a while we were a team of two in the London marketing department specialising in that area. We helped bidding teams in a number of regional offices and those in other European countries. I even went to Sydney, Australia on one memorable occasion.

photo by Lhixon

Among the techniques we developed was a way to organise brainstorming to get the most out of each session in the time available. We would end up with lists of ideas written up on flip charts and blue tacked up all around the room, so we were nicknamed the Flipchart Queens.

Lately I wrote an article with 10 tips about this to sell at Constant Content. It has already sold once but I retain the rights to it. Here is an excerpt - tips six and seven:

“6. Set one important rule: no immediate discussion of the ideas. That will come later. Anything goes at the ideas generation stage. Encourage contributions from everyone. Even the office gopher could come up with something you could make workable. If people find some humour in the exercise, they’ll start to enjoy it. Inhibitions will be lost and you’ll get more out of it.

7. If it’s difficult to get started, try turning your objective on its head and asking for ideas on how to put that potential client off, or whatever the opposite of your question is. Then you might be able to work out the positive sides of those negative ideas.”

Want to read more or buy my piece? Check it out at in my portfolio at Constant Content.

Musings on Australia

100 Stories for Queensland should have gone to press today.  I've got a story in this anthology which is going to be sold to raise money for the flood victims.  Can't wait for it to be available.

Still on the subject of Australia, I've just learnt that The Buzz insurance company was the first to offer Australians the online method of buying and managing their car insurance, and in 2010 it was awarded the Australian Business Award for Innovation. 

Here in the UK, we can get multiple car insurance quotes and pay premiums on the internet, but it seems this is the only company down under that offers car insurance Australia that way.  It's part of the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) which also owns Equity Red Star, the UK's fifth largest vehicle insurance operator.

I always use the internet for my car insurance, although sometimes I need to check something I can't find, so I  have tom make a phone call.  The telephone number is always displayed on the website, so thta's not a problem. When you are on The Buzz site, you can use their live chat facility so you don't even have to use the phone.  I must remember to tell my Aussie pal, Annie, about  this.

100 Stories for Queensland

I'm in it!  My story, The Prize Conger, has been selected for this charity book.  I'm so pleased to be able to contribute something to those poor people hit by the terrible floods and then the dreadful cyclone.

The book is due to be released on Tuesday March 8th and 100% of the profits will go to the Queensland Premier's Flood Appeal.  You can find out more about the publication here.

This is a picture of Brisbane and its river in happier times.