Brainwriting
Generate alone, rate independently, then develop the strongest ideas together
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
Brainwriting separates divergent thinking from social influence. Give everyone the same prompt and have each person write ideas independently, preventing talkative participants from blocking others and reducing pressure to conform to a senior person's view. Collect the ideas, then ask participants to rate them independently before discussion can bias judgment. Aggregate those ratings, bring the strongest candidates into the group, and use conversation to refine and test them. Grant explains that individuals produce more variety, including both excellent and poor ideas, while groups can help filter toward quality. The sequence preserves independent creativity first and applies collective judgment second, rather than expecting a conventional brainstorming meeting to do both jobs at once.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Separate idea generation from group influence
- 02Writing improves the precision of thought
- 03Preserve independent judgment before discussion
- 04Use the group to filter and develop, not to dominate generation
How to run it
- 1
Frame the prompt
Give everyone the same focused problem, constraints, and time window. Avoid wording that points toward a preferred answer.
Pro tip Ask for several distinct ideas from each participant.
- 2
Generate separately
Have participants write their own ideas without discussion. This protects variety and prevents production blocking.
Pro tip Use anonymity where psychological safety is currently low.
Watch out Do not reveal the senior leader's preferred answer first.
- 3
Collect all ideas
Place submissions into one review set without debating them. Preserve unusual ideas long enough to be assessed.
Pro tip Standardize formatting if writing style would reveal authors and bias reviewers.
- 4
Rate independently
Ask everyone to score the ideas against agreed criteria before seeing peers' judgments. Capture the ratings.
Pro tip Use two or three criteria tied to the actual decision.
Watch out Group scoring reintroduces conformity too early.
- 5
Develop together
Aggregate ratings, select the most promising candidates, and discuss how to strengthen or test them. The group now works on quality rather than raw generation.
Pro tip Keep one unconventional candidate if its uncertainty can be tested cheaply.
In the wild
Each team member writes five format experiments alone. The team collects them in a shared document and privately scores each on viewer value, feasibility, and distinctiveness. Only after the scores are locked does the group discuss the top candidates and design small pilots.
→ Quieter contributors retain influence and the group evaluates a wider range of formats.
Common mistakes
Discussing before rating
Early discussion exposes everyone to status cues and conformity pressure before independent judgment is preserved.
Treating writing as presentation only
The method relies on writing as a tool for testing logic, not merely packaging an already finished thought.
Skipping collective development
Independent generation creates variety, but the group still has a role in filtering and improving promising ideas.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for teams seeking a broad set of ideas without allowing status or speaking style to control the outcome.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the task requires immediate live coordination rather than divergent idea generation.
From the transcript
“have everybody write down their own separate ideas”
From the episode
Adam Grant: The Surprising New Research On Procrastination, Perfectionism & Happiness!