The box may contain more goodies than its surroundings do!

The Informed Reader (B5) scoops the December Harvard Business Review...it appears that brainstorming, especially when applied to businesses, doesn't work as well as it appears it should. Reasons:

• "Very few people are good at developing ideas without receiving guidance and boundaries." Oh--so now we find out that limits are good!
• "More often than not, pushy people dominate brainstorming sessions, while others remain silent." Talkers get the most air time. Shy people don't.
• "Empowered by the mantra that "there are no bad ideas," the session produces random notions along the lines of "Let's paint it blue!" "We can sell it in Germany!" "How about an upscale version?" and "The problem is the sales force." " Sounds like Dilbert!

So there. Ask specific questions, and you'll get good answers. That's why I don't get these articles out of my own head...just from the WSJ.