Most ideas don't catch on like wildfire, but sputter out like sad, damp matches against the onslaught of defenses we make to ignore them, swat them away, or squash them, and get on with other things. If your own ideas aren't a nuisance to you, chances are someone else's ideas are irritating you. But when you want ideas, you need a different way of thinking: That process is ideation.

Gayle Curtis explains how to structure an ideation session, starting with accepting and recording even the absurd. If you designate a time to allow ideas to flow, there is a sweet spot where, after tolerating absurd ideas, brilliant ideas come forth. Through proper facilitation, the flow of ideas vaccillates between the boring, the absurd and the brilliant, until a harvest of potentially useful ideas can be recorded and prioritzed.

Brainstorming is an 80-year-old process that is still not well-understood. Gayle Curtis explains the history of supported ideation, outlining the four rules of brainstorming. Proper brainstorming not only promotes ideas, but also promotes a culture of respect, acceptance of points-of-view, and an attitude that continues to foster better ideas.