91.头脑风暴或许是在浪费时间

Brainstorming May not Result in the Best Ideas

Perhaps more than any other category of professionals, creative types are expected to thrive in brainstorms. In the public's imagination, their offices are filled with fidget toys and Post-it notes in an array of colors, all meant to absorb some of the energy of a group of fast-thinking, well-dressed hipsters deep in ideation mode.

也许和其他职业相比，创造性工作更应该是头脑风暴的活跃之地。在公众的想象里，创意人员的办公室里放满了让人烦躁的玩具和五颜六色的便条，这些都是用于从一群思维敏捷、衣着时髦的创意人才那里吸取构思的能量。

The survey, commissioned by the Dutch file-sharing company WeTransfer, attests to the perils of this form of groupthink. "In the creative world we hear an awful lot about collaboration, but it seems that while working together is essential to bring an idea to life, it's not that good for shaping ideas in the first place," notes Rob Alderson, WeTransfer's recently departed editor in chief.

荷兰文件共享公司WeTransfer委托开展的这项调查证实了这种集体决策形式的风险。WeTransfer新近刚离职的主编罗伯·阿尔德森指出：“在创意世界里我们听到很多关于合作的言论，但是从调查结果来看，尽管群策群力对于创意的落实很关键，但似乎不是很有利于创意最初的形成。”

Independent thinking is also crucial when making decisions. Sure enough, nearly 80% of creative professionals in WeTransfer's poll say they trust their own instincts and research when evaluating an idea. Only 18% will run an idea past colleagues and friends.

独立思考在决策时也是至关重要的。确实，在We Transfer的调查中，近80%的创意人士表示，他们在评估一个创意时相信自己的直觉和调研。只有18%的人会让同事和朋友帮忙把关。

Though the growing body of evidence suggests brainstorming may not result in the best ideas, it isn't entirely useless. A Northern Illinois University study published in the Journal Communication Reports underscores its value as a team-building activity rather than a tactical meeting. If nothing else, practicing tacit rules of brainstorming—positivity, openness, building on other's ideas—promotes team cohesion and trust.

尽管越来越多的证据显示，头脑风暴可能无法产生最好的创意，但它也不是完全无用的。美国北伊利诺伊大学发表在《期刊通信报告》上的一项研究强调了头脑风暴作为团队建设活动而非战术讨论会的价值。不说别的，就说头脑风暴的默认规则——积极、开放、建立在别人想法的基础之上——就能促进团队凝聚力和信任。

thrive  兴旺发达;繁荣;蓬勃发展

professionals  职业，专业，领域

attests  证实

evaluating  评估

promotes促进

cohesion  凝聚力

collaboration  合作

Independent独立的

tactical  战术的