Just suppose ...

... Your office is bogged down with a huge typing backlog. And the entire office staff gets together to discuss ways to solve the problem.

Or ...

... Sales are down for the quarter. Your sales team gathers to discuss new promotional strategies you can use to push those lagging sales back up.

Or ...

... Your department is trying to come up with a catchy slogan for a new methods improvement program.

If you can visualize yourself and your co-workers struggling with these predicaments – or almost any common business problem – you can probably benefit from brainstorming. A time-tested series of problem-solving tools, brainstorming can unleash creativity and skills you never even realized you had.

Here are nine brainstorming techniques you can begin to use right away:

• Classic Brainstorming. Using classic brainstorming, you and your co-workers will be responsible for focusing your undivided attention on a problem or need for a limited period of time – probably between 30 and 90 minutes. You'll generate as many solutions to the problem as possible, while a leader or facilitator writes them all down. Quantity of ideas, not quality, counts and criticism is not allowed at this time.
• The Challenge. Here, you'll deliberately make your problem more difficult than it really is – forcing you to address the problem from a different perspective. Suppose, for instance, that you're trying to reduce order processing time from six working days to three working days. To focus aggressively on the problem, you might ask your brainstorming group what you'd do if order volume increased 1000%. What new systems would you have to put in place to aggressively address the problem? By exaggerating the problem, you'll force yourself to think creatively about solutions.
• What If? Using this technique, you'll ask every member of the group to pose at least three "what if" questions about the topic you're discussing. Suppose you're trying to reduce employee turnover. "What if," one group member might ask, "we gave every employee a bonus at the three-year mark?" Or: "What if we instituted flex-time?" Or: "What if we surveyed employees to find out what they like and dislike about their work?" The "what if" technique forces you to consider hypothetical perspectives and solutions that aren't part of your current thinking.
• The Wrong Way . Here, instead of generating good ideas or solving problems, you'll deliberately try to generate poor ideas or discuss ways to make your problem worse. Let's say you're trying to solve recurring customer complaints about service. Ask yourself: How could you infuriate every single customer who walks through your door? How could you insure that no first-time customer would ever want to buy from you a second time? By focusing on dramatically poor customer service, you may come to grips with the service issues that matter most to customers – and be better poised to solve your problem.
• Role Playing. Let's suppose you're an accountant trying to solve a thorny record-keeping problem with your co-workers. Ask yourself how someone in the purchasing department or in sales would handle a similar problem. Ask yourself how your colleagues in other firms – or other industries – would address the issue. By viewing the problem from a different professional perspective, you may develop a novel solution.
• Metaphors. A metaphor is a word or phrase that symbolizes something other than its literal meaning. You can use metaphors as a brainstorming tool. Suppose, for instance, that you're seeking ways to energize your sales team. Visualize your sales team as a baseball team; how
  would you improve the performance of a baseball team? By applying metaphors to your production processes or your people, you'll gain a fresh outlook on the problems you face.
• Word Associations. Instead of trying to generate concrete solutions or ideas, here you'll simply generate whatever words or phrases come to mind when your brainstorming group faces a problem. If you're discussing ways to improve the exterior appearance of your main office, your group might generate phrases like these: "Paint." "Texture." "Wash." "Lawn." “Manicure." "Outdoor carpet." Later, you can use these key phrases to develop action plans and strategies.
• Risky Options. Group members may be afraid to suggest unusual or risky solutions to problems; the fear of failure or group censure is often too great. Using the "risky option" technique, you'll openly invite wild and risky approaches to the problems you face. If you want to inject levity into the process, you can offer a prize to the group member who poses the riskiest option of all. After a short period of silence – and more than a little mumbling – you'll probably be surprised at the ideas that come up.
• The Hunter. When your group members play "the hunter," they'll scan through the pages of newspapers, magazines, speeches, literature and products in search of random ideas that might have a bearing on the problem at hand. Whether you're trying to develop a new production process, come up with new advertising ideas or meet almost any other business need, you'll ask the group to embark on an "idea hunt" and be prepared to report back on what they've found. This technique can be used equally well with individuals and small groups.

By themselves, none of these brainstorming techniques will solve business problems that you might be facing. But they will provide you with a trove of positive, powerful options that you can study and pursue. And one of those options – just one – might be just the solution you've been looking for.