Affiliate since: 07/26/2007, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Williams's 638 other Ask SC answers

Certainly brainstorming can help you come up with ideas build your team. To get the benefit of brainstorming you just have to implement the best ideas that you come up with. Never forget the SFI Basics - Refer, Sponsor, and Duplicate. So your brainstorming sessions should be centered around these three pillars.

Usually, it's good to brainstorm when your mind is the freshest and you have the least distractions. Find this time and take 3 pieces paper and write one of the 3 pillars at the top. Your first sheet will have "Refer" at the top. Then just write down ideas that come to your mind about the meaning of that word as it relates to your business. Write as many ideas as you can and take as long as you like. As long as the ideas are flowing, keep writing. Then do the same for the other 2 pillars.

Consequentially, you may wind up with more than 3 sheets and a whole lot of ideas. Now you have to categorize your ideas into those most likely to succeed and those that fit into your current budget. Those that are highly probable and executable test. Make notes and adjust accordingly. I say a good brainstorming session is in order at least once a month until you are dead track for exceeding your goals and expectations.

Finally, the goal of brainstorming is not to reinvent the wheel. If something you are doing is working then you only need to step it up a notch to improve your results. However, if what you are doing is not working, then you need a new approach and brainstorming center on the SFI Basics can help you to redirect your focus and improve the overall performance of your business.
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Certainly brainstorming can help you come up with ideas build your team. To get the benefit of brainstorming you just have to implement the best ideas that you come up with. Never forget the SFI Basics - Refer, Sponsor, and Duplicate. So your brainstorming sessions should be centered around these three pillars.

Usually, it's good to brainstorm when your mind is the freshest and you have the least distractions. Find this time and take 3 pieces paper and write one of the 3 pillars
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

Brainstorming means "discussing a specific problem with a group of people, gathering their ideas and trying to find an acceptable solution".

Once you understand this, please analyse the following before calling forth a meeting.

1. Who are all your targeted audience?
2. What exactly you want to discuss with them?
3. Do you know those people personally?
4. Do you plan to have strangers also in your discussion?
5. How long you want to conduct the meeting?
6. Do you have an approved agenda for the meeting?
7. Where exactly you will conduct the meeting?
8. Who will bear the expenses?

If you plan to have a brainstorming session with your affiliates, then consider the following:

1. Do you have quite a number of active affiliates in your Team?
2. Are they from your own Country/Region/Area?
3. What sort of specific problems you all face that need a brainstorming?
4. Are your affiliates prepared to take part in your meeting?
5. How exactly you want to conduct the meeting?
6. Who will bear the expenses?


If you do not have clear answers for any of these questions, your meeting will product no results. More over, everything has been very clearly explained by SFI through various Training & Marketing Materials.

Further, its clearly said, "SFI business is simple & people need not complicate it". Such being the case, please focus on building your Team through various Marketing methods/Aids provided by SFI by indulging in creative advertisements.

Work with the workers more closely and guide them to grow more and more. Choose your most
performing team members and make them "Designated Diamonds" and help them achieve the results within the specified time period.

This is have you can build and grow together with your Team. Please do not get in to time consuming brainstorming sessions & waste your money, time and energy. Be practical & adhere to SFI Rules of Success and you will be the Winner!!
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Brainstorming means "discussing a specific problem with a group of people, gathering their ideas and trying to find an acceptable solution".

Once you understand this, please analyse the following before calling forth a meeting.

1. Who are all your targeted audience?
2. What exactly you want to discuss with them?
3. Do you know those people personally?
4. Do you plan to have strangers also in your discussion?
5. How long you want to conduct the meeting?
6.
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Affiliate since: 12/18/2011, Power Rank: 63 | Read Manohar's 240 other Ask SC answers

Hi Joseph

Let’s see what is basically a brainstorming means. As per Wikipedia:
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
The term was popularized by Alex Faickney Osborn in the 1953 book Applied Imagination.
Osborn claimed that two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy," these being :

1. Defer judgment,
2. Reach for quantity.

Following these two principles were his four general rules of brainstorming, established with intention to :

• reduce social inhibitions among group members.
• stimulate idea generation.
• increase overall creativity of the group.

1. To go for quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the bigger the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.

2. Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, participants will feel free to generate unusual ideas.

3. Welcome wild ideas: To get a good and long list of ideas, wild ideas are encouraged to have. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions. These new ways of thinking might give you better solutions.
In order to Brainstorm for the purpose of getting New affiliates for SFI Business or raise the rank of each affiliates to minimum of an EA2, and finally create Team Leaders, one senior most affiliate can take the lead.

Other affiliate can send their ideas to him on aggressive advertising to get more affiliates. Once a bigger team is formed, the leader can re-assign the new affiliates equally to all the members of the team.

So, you do not work in isolation. Everyone works for the common goal of Team Building and building the SFI Business for each and every one.

Hope it helps
Have a nice day !

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Hi Joseph

Let’s see what is basically a brainstorming means. As per Wikipedia:
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
The term was popularized by Alex Faickney Osborn in the 1953 book Applied Imagination.
Osborn claimed that two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy," these being :

1. Defer judgment,
2. Reach
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

Brainstorming used to be the buzzword in business. It is a valuable tool if you keep control of the session. It is not such a popular tool anymore because it has it's limitations and if it does not achieve the goals for it, it becomes a waste of time. The goal of brainstorming is to share creative ways or ideas on how to do a specific task, reach a specific goal.

My recommendations would be to keep the sessions small enough to be manageable - it is easier to control the session with 10 people than it is to control it with 100 people.

If you use SKYPE to do the brainstorming - do a test run to make sure everybody can join. Same for any other way you use.

Set up a few clear rules and make sure all attendees get it before the session. These rules should not be ridiculous and defy the purpose of the session - but rather a few precise rules to contribute to the success and control of the session,

The basic principal of these rules comes down to respect and letting all the participants know their opinions matter and they are valuable to the team and the success of the session.

Do not interrupt each other
Do not make nasty remarks like saying somebody's idea is stupid
Listen with an open mind
Give everybody the opportunity to contribute - even if they only have questions and no suggestions.
Do not "wander" off topic - it is as easy as pie to start talking about a million other things for hours and end up with no useable ideas when you are done with the session.
Do not allow that one person you always have in any meeting to do all the talking! Do not be that person - lead the session and keep control but do not lecture them.

Make sure you make notes. Ask everybody to e-mail their ideas to you after the session.
Follow up - send the results of your session to all the participants.
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Brainstorming used to be the buzzword in business. It is a valuable tool if you keep control of the session. It is not such a popular tool anymore because it has it's limitations and if it does not achieve the goals for it, it becomes a waste of time. The goal of brainstorming is to share creative ways or ideas on how to do a specific task, reach a specific goal.

My recommendations would be to keep the sessions small enough to be manageable - it is easier to control the session with
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Affiliate since: 09/24/2015, Power Rank: 3 | Read Aubrey's 23 other Ask SC answers

Yes I think brainstorming could be a great asset to helping you build your SFI team.

First, I think the term brainstorming needs to be defined so that everyone understands its general meaning. Wikipedia defines it like this: “Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.” In short terms, you could probably say it is a form of creative problem solving.

The real benefits to any brainstorming comes from the synergy of information and ideas that are presented when a group of people get together to discuss a particular issue or situation. With so many different perspectives and experience levels from each person participating, one thought can lead to another and inspire the creativity of ideas. Through this formulating process, you come up with a greater plan or solution.

There is probably brainstorming going on right now in response to your question. And if you follow the threads in Ask SC or the Forum, you are probably seeing some brainstorming there.
One way to employ brainstorming is to plan a local or small regional workshop where all affiliates in the area can come together to formulate a plan, for example, to introduce or build the SFI program in that area.

Another way to employ brainstorming is through surveys. For example, ask a specific group of people a question like “How would you advertise a new business in this area?” You are sure to get numerous different answers and from the responses, you could formulate a solution for advertising in that area.

As a matter of fact, I just brainstormed an idea from my previous paragraph. If I was going to survey the question mentioned above to a group of people at a market, mall or legally in a public area, I would ask them to take my 1 question survey and as an incentive or reward, I would give them a TripleClicks Gift Card.

I guess creative problem solving does not necessarily have to happen in a group. It just takes creative thought.

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Yes I think brainstorming could be a great asset to helping you build your SFI team.

First, I think the term brainstorming needs to be defined so that everyone understands its general meaning. Wikipedia defines it like this: “Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.” In short terms, you could probably say it is a form of creative problem
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Affiliate since: 06/17/2015, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Andrea's 1 other Ask SC answers

In every step of our SFI business we perform brainstorming to help move our business to the next level. Most times we perform brainstorming without even realizing it.

Since SFI is all about team building, then performing brainstorming will definitely help to build your team.
How can brainstorming help?
In advertising
Brainstorm as to where to place ads, online, offline, type of ads to use, social media networks, time of day to place ads,face to face meetings etc

In communicating to team mates
Brainstorm as to the language used, the different ways and means of communication, verbal or written, long, short and smart, using simple understandable language etc

In encouraging teammates
Brainstorm ways to encourage team mates, using emails, chat groups, e-cards, gifts, TCredits, gift certificates, playing games together, sharing ideas etc

Help team mates build their team
Brainstorm ways to show duplication, offer coop partnership, share websites for advertising business, encourage participation in price bender auction, encourage participation in TripleClicks sales of PSA's to go and S Builder Coop, brainstorm with each team mate ways to build team.

Just a few ideas and hope these help.
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In every step of our SFI business we perform brainstorming to help move our business to the next level. Most times we perform brainstorming without even realizing it.

Since SFI is all about team building, then performing brainstorming will definitely help to build your team.
How can brainstorming help?
In advertising
Brainstorm as to where to place ads, online, offline, type of ads to use, social media networks, time of day to place ads,face to face meetings etc

In
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Affiliate since: 10/07/2015, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Leeanne's 9 other Ask SC answers

While brainstorming has been considered a great way to generate ideas, recent research has shown it has limitations. One of these is "group think" where one person’s ideas start to dominate and others follow that path rather than branching out along a variety of paths.

A group which studies creativity and innovation (Inventium) has developed a modified form of brainstorming which seeks to overcome this problem and may be a good approach, especially when you have a team which is spread across the world.

The approach is called "Shifting" and it requires shifting between group and individual idea generation. There are four steps:

1. Instruct your group to work on the problem/task alone for 5 to 10 minutes or until you see the pens start to slow.
2. Then bring the group together and get people to share their ideas one-by-one around the table and build on each other’s ideas. This should take between 20 and 40 minutes.
3. Next, shift back into individual mode and get people to build on the shared ideas alone for 5 to 10 minutes or until you see the pens start to slow again.
4. And lastly, bring the group back together and repeat Step 2.

Obviously this is designed for a group who can be together in one room, but could be adapted for a virtual meeting. The important thing is to have everyone feeling involved and generate lots of ideas!
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While brainstorming has been considered a great way to generate ideas, recent research has shown it has limitations. One of these is "group think" where one person’s ideas start to dominate and others follow that path rather than branching out along a variety of paths.

A group which studies creativity and innovation (Inventium) has developed a modified form of brainstorming which seeks to overcome this problem and may be a good approach, especially when you have a team which
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Affiliate since: 08/20/2014, Power Rank: 1019 | Read Marina's 8 other Ask SC answers

Hello!
This is an interesting question......

Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. This helps to get people unstuck by "jolting" them out of their normal ways of thinking.
Conventional group problem solving can often be undermined by unhelpful group behavior Add to My Personal Learning Plan. And while it's important to start with a structured, analytical process when solving problems, this can lead a group to develop limited and unimaginative ideas.

Brainstorming provides a free and open environment that encourages everyone to participate. Quirky ideas are welcomed and built upon, and all participants are encouraged to contribute fully, helping them develop a rich array of creative solutions.
When used during problem solving, brainstorming brings team members' diverse experience into play. It increases the richness of ideas explored, which means that you can often find better solutions to the problems that you face.
At SFI, we strongly believe in making sure our affiliates have the training and information needed to build profitable businesses—after all, we succeed only when you do!
When you see people who are working SFI in your group, work with them!
Try all methods .... Why not?
Keep sponsoring affiliates, work with your workers, and success will happen.
All the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hello!
This is an interesting question......

Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. This helps to get people unstuck by "jolting" them out of their normal ways of thinking.
Conventional group problem
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

First of all - brainstorming by yourself with yourself doesn't work so it is important to make time for team members to have a place to connect to discuss successes, challenges and "what if's".

As a team lead, it will be in the best interest of your team to use on-line networking tools to connect with others as well as enabling others to connect with each other. You may want to set up a blog or vlog, conference call, webinar connection, twitter discussion or even discussion via FaceBook so that your international members can connect and see what has been shared and be motivated to try new strategies or add to the group discussion on various topics to guide the discussion.

Definitely hosting regular Brain Storming sessions will help affiliates to connect with others and share their experiences with SFI. The use of technology has opened the choices that are available to do such networking.
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First of all - brainstorming by yourself with yourself doesn't work so it is important to make time for team members to have a place to connect to discuss successes, challenges and "what if's".

As a team lead, it will be in the best interest of your team to use on-line networking tools to connect with others as well as enabling others to connect with each other. You may want to set up a blog or vlog, conference call, webinar connection, twitter discussion or even discussion
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Affiliate since: 05/18/2015, Power Rank: 1199 | Read Temel's 8 other Ask SC answers

Separate idea generation from discussion. The team leader shares the topic with the team, and the team members individually write down their ideas. This helps eliminate anchoring and encourages everyone on the team to share their own ideas. It also gives everyone more time to think over their ideas, which is especially helpful for your introverted participants. This brainstorming technique works best for teams who seem to be greatly influenced by the first ideas presented during a meeting.

Ever considered how someone else might handle the situation? Or what they might say about a particular topic? With figuring storming, you aim to do just that. Think about how someone such as your boss, a famous celebrity, or even the President of the United States might handle the situation. Putting yourself in new shoes can give the team a different perspective and presents the possibility of fresh ideas. This technique works best for teams who find themselves coming across the same ideas for repetitive projects.

These days, virtual teams are becoming more and more common across all business types. The evolution of email and collaboration tools make working remotely the norm in some environments. But what happens when the team needs to come together to brainstorm? Sure, ideas can be tossed back and forth through email, but then it becomes difficult to archive those ideas for future reference. Having a central location online where team members can collaborate is crucial for these virtual teams — consider cloud-based document storage or an online collaboration tool. One of our most well-known customers, Redfoo, uses Wrike to brainstorm music and clothing ideas for his multiple companies. He created an ideas folder in Wrike where he can jot down ideas and share them with his team. This way, all the ideas are archived in one central location and can be referenced easily.

Sometimes, time limitations can help generate ideas quickly, because you don’t have time to filter or overthink each one. With this technique, the team leader provides context beforehand with information or questions on the topic, budget, deadline, etc. Then, a time limit is set for individuals to write down as many thoughts or ideas around the topic as possible, using any mediums available. People should not worry about filtering their ideas. The great part about this style of brainstorming is that it’s completely customizable to meet the needs of the team and project. Several different mediums can be used, such as pen and paper, white boards, Post-Its… anything to get the creative juices flowing. The time limit for your rapid ideation session can be anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes, depending on the complexity of your topic. This technique is good for teams who tend to get sidetracked, or for placing a time limit on brainstorming sessions that frequently last longer than expected.

Have the team gather in a circle. Once the topic is shared, go around the circle one-by-one and have each person offer an idea until everyone has had their turn. Simultaneously, a facilitator records each idea so they can be discussed once the sharing is over. It’s very important to not evaluate any ideas until everyone has the opportunity to share. This technique is good when some of your team members have a tendency to stay quiet throughout meetings.

Form questions rather than answers. Starbursting challenges the team to come up with as many questions as they can about your topic. An easy way to begin a session like this would be to start listing questions that deal with the who, what, where, when, and why. This style assures that all aspects of the project are addressed before any work goes into executing it. It’s a good technique for teams who tend to overlook certain aspects of a project and end up rushing to get things done last minute.

Encourage every member in the team to contribute individually before being influenced by everyone else. The session begins with the facilitator sharing the topic or question with the whole team. Once the topic is shared, everyone leaves the room except two members of the team. These two members will then discuss the topic and their ideas. Then, one additional member is added to the group. This new member will contribute their ideas BEFORE the other two discuss theirs. Repeat this cycle until everyone from the original group is in the room. This technique is particularly useful for teams who are easily influenced by only one or two members, leading to groupthink. This also helps encourage the shy folks in the group to share their ideas without feeling intimidated by a room full of people.
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Separate idea generation from discussion. The team leader shares the topic with the team, and the team members individually write down their ideas. This helps eliminate anchoring and encourages everyone on the team to share their own ideas. It also gives everyone more time to think over their ideas, which is especially helpful for your introverted participants. This brainstorming technique works best for teams who seem to be greatly influenced by the first ideas presented during a meeting.

Ever
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