布拉班迪尔和艾尼还指出，除了不愿意跳出固有观念之外，很多“头脑风暴”无疾而终的另一个原因是缺乏结构化。《在新的盒子里思考》一书中有很多专门的小点子，告诉人们如何把注意力集中起来，以免他们“偏离到随机的方向上。”

    艾尼表示，其中的一个点子，就是让参与头脑风暴的人们想象一下，“最不现实、最预想不到、似乎最不可能的事件”可能会如何影响公司的业务。这种锻炼有益于打破满足感。如果百视达公司（Blockbuster）在搞头脑风暴的时候曾经尝试过这个点子，那么他们可能会预见到，以流媒体视频网站Netflix为代表的互联网公司最终可能会蚕食他们的业务，那么他们可能就会提早减少对零售店的依赖，而不是等到后来才手忙脚乱地进行追赶。

    至于如何让心怀抵触的同事参与这个过程，艾尼和布拉班迪尔给出的建议是：“人们一开始参加头脑风暴时通常是不乐意的，因为人人都参加过没什么实际作用的研讨会或头脑风暴会。”不过只要给他们足够的时间，“他们就会放下防备，放松下来。”那么多少时间才够呢？“如果有疑问的话，给你自己至少半天的时间（如果条件允许，一整天也可以），以便尽可能深地挖掘到一个创造性的过程。”祝你好运。

反馈：你是否曾经参与过某个头脑风暴会议，而且最终得到了有价值的创意？它成功的因素是什么？请在下方留言评论。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎  

    esides neglecting to think beyond old assumptions, the authors say the second-biggest reason so many brainstorming sessions fizzle out is a lack of structure. Thinking In New Boxes is packed with specific tips for focusing people's attention so they won't "veer off in random directions," as Iny puts it.

    One of these, he says, is to ask the group to imagine how "the most unreal, unexpected, seemingly impossible events" could affect the business -- an exercise that tends to crush complacency. If brainstormers at Blockbuster had tried this, the authors note, they might have foreseen that the Internet, especially Netflix (NFLX), could end up eating their lunch, and lessened their reliance on retail stores much sooner instead of scrambling to play catch-up.

    As for how to get your jaded colleagues on board, Iny and de Brabandere have found that it's often a simple matter of not rushing them. "Participants tend to begin the [brainstorming] process with their backs up," they write, since "everyone has been through workshops or brainstorms that don't work." With enough time, however, "they let their guards down. They free up." How much time is enough? "When in doubt, give yourself at least half a day (or a full day if resources permit) in order to dig as deeply into the creative process as possible." Good luck.

Talkback: Have you ever participated in a brainstorming meeting that produced valuable ideas? What made it work? Leave a comment below.