Brainstorming is the go-to method for idea generation. And why not? Free of criticism and judgement, participants are more willing to suggest ideas, or so the thinking goes. But is it really the most effective way to boost creativity? Perhaps not. In fact, as one study shows, teams that encourage debate tend to produce more ideas than those who prefer the more polite version of brainstorming. Of course, constructive criticism — that is, criticism that isn't overtly negative — is hard to pull off, especially in a team setting. But it can work with a bit of ingenuity. Pixar, for example, uses a process called "plussing" to prevent negativity from affecting its creative teams. The simple idea works like this: if you criticize an aspect of someone's work, you must suggest a way to improve it (a "plus," as it were).
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