Marketing Internship

Brainstorming in a Marketing Internship

Nearly any firm that requires creative thinking (only about 99% of all companies out there) utilizes brainstorming.  Why?  They seem to have a formidable success rate.  Nearly all work that can be found in business schools presently involves some form of group work.  It only seems logical that a group would come up with better ideas than an individual would.  As the old adage goes, two heads are better than one.

In marketing internships, brainstorming sessions become a thing of habit.  A topic or problem is presented, and on a daily basis it is up to the group to come up with as many viable solutions as possible.  Working in groups has numerous advantages, but there can also be detriments to this method of coming up with new ideas.  I have found in my own experiences that working with others in a brainstorming session can lead to issues such as groupthink, where everyone comes to develop the same mentality about something. When this happens, all the benefits of having many different minds come together disappears.

If you are in a marketing internship and you are experiencing this problem, try to speak up for the other side of an issue, even if you don’t agree with it.  Sometimes it is good to bring up the other side, for aversion can lead to new ideas, or there might be someone in the group with that same view who is afraid to speak up.  Another problem that may arise in brainstorming is fear of reprisal for an idea that may not be the greatest solution brought to the table.  People tend to forget two things in brainstorming sessions 1) individuals can be sensitive to harsh criticism of their ideas, and will choose not to offer their ideas anymore 2) any idea, regardless of how bad, can be a great launching pad to finding the key element.

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