Written brainstorm

When meetings start going in circles, stop talking and start writing.

The Problem

You're in a meeting. People are talking in circles. No progress toward a decision. Everyone's going to leave thinking "that was a waste of time."

The Solution

Stop the meeting. Open a shared document. Get everyone's ideas in writing, then discuss and decide.

How to Run It

When discussion starts going nowhere:

"Alright, everybody pause. Let's open up a document."

1. Add the question or issue at the top

2. Add everyone's name with a bullet

3. Set a timer for 5 minutes

4. Everyone writes how they would solve this - no talking, no influencing each other

5. When time's up, everyone pastes their answer in simultaneously

Discuss:

1. Ask people to verbalize their answers

2. Even though you just read it, hearing them talk adds emotion, nuance, and context the writing doesn't capture

Decide:

1. Assign a decision maker: "You're making the call on this"

2. "Listen to everyone, including me, but you decide"

3. "What's your decision? What are the next 1-3 actions?"

Why This Works

You get better ideas. People think more clearly when writing. Your sales leader might have a product insight you wouldn't expect.

No groupthink. Everyone writes simultaneously, so the loudest voice doesn't dominate.

Everyone feels heard. They contributed to finding the solution, creating automatic buy-in.

Fast. 5 minutes writing + 10-15 minutes discussion = 20 minutes total instead of an hour going in circles.

When to Use This

• Discussion is going in circles

• Same points being repeated

• No progress toward decision

• Multiple people trying to talk over each other

• You need input from everyone, not just the loudest voices