What do the Problems represent?
Problems represent any challenge that may require a solution.

What are the Criteria?
Criteria represent the critical success factors for solving the problems. This is how you would measure the success of your brainstorming workouts

What are the Machines?
The "machines" represent the culmination of creative theories, research, practical experience and brainstorming principles. It is designed to stimulate thinking outside of your regular thought patterns by encouraging the formation of new neural paths outside your comfort zone in a relaxed, yet challenging, atmosphere.

How can I take a tour? What is a gym tour?
It’s a digital representation of what you can expect in the Brainstorming Gym. In this gym we use abstract symbols to explain your problems journey and guide your thinking patterns. The tour puts you in touch with what to expect and what you can expect from your virtual gym experience.

What are the benefits of joining the BrainStormGym?
By joining the BrainStormGym you will benefit from the deep foundation of knowledge embedded in the applications to enable group-like ideation, even as an individual brainstormer. Each unique machine will stimuate idea generation well beyond the capacity of the typical brainstorming events practiced daily in our communities and businesses.

What kind of membership do you offer?
Our membership levels offer you a low-cost entry level, yet enriching, experience to utilize the basics of the BraianStormGym on the one hand through to advanced functionality that include invitations to participants, downloads of ideation data and access to all brainstorming machines.

Why a Problem?
Since the utimate purpose of making progress in business or in our personal lives is in fact a form of problemsolving, the concept of "problem" is therefore defined to include all challenges or activities that may require a degree of idea generation or alternate solutioning

How to find a problem?
What things are worrying you or keeping you awake at night? Perhaps it’s a problem at work that is nagging you for a solution. It could be something simple or something far more complex. Perhaps it’s something wearing you down that you don’t even consciously realize. Preferably it’s something that excites you and that you want to solve. Take time to reflect what problem you would like to tackle which if solved, would add value and joy to your world.

Why do you need a problem?
We all have problems. It’s part of being a human being, part and parcel of what gives meaning to our lives. How we solve these problems is what makes us unique, successful and the essence of what shapes our destiny. Solving problems is primordial to what gives life color, flavor and spice. The invention of the wheel, the lightbulb and vaccines all solved global problems and changed our worlds. Brainstorming can only take place where there is a problem. Best is to make sure that it is the right problem and that the time spent in solving it, is worth the effort invested.

Types of problems?
On a personal level, problems arise and would be solved individually and uniquely according to your personal needs , wants and goals. A problem touching your broader environment, albeit your work, social or even peer counterparts, would be more difficult. However once solved, would be of more significance and hold more value. This could potentially ripple out to affect wider spectrum which, in turn would impact the importance of a “breakthrough idea” . Innovation often starts on a small scale but soon its magnitude could be global.

How do I check in a problem?
Follow the prompts and answer as meticulously as possible. First step is to break your problem down so you can find “attributes” which will significantly impact the quality of your brainstorming experience. This step is vital to your gym workout and without it, you will not gain entry into the gym.

What gym gear do I need?
Gym gear in this Brainstorming Gym, refers a to a “creative mindset” that is key to achieving success. It’s a virtual gym where your frame of mind, attitude and school of thought, is crucial to your workout flow. Creative Thinking requires the principle of deferred judgment and a regression to the service of the id. What it means is that you need to be prepared to spend a small amount of time reverting back to childhood, having fun, fooling around mentally and playing with farfetched ideas. This involves exploring the preposterous, the insane and exciting world of the imagination. This all will be done in the safety of the gym and you could consider this a therapy session to free your inner creative genius.

How do I get a locker?
This simply refers to a virtual or mental locker which urges you to put your normal and logical thinking on hold. You will in time become aware of your creative thinking barriers that stonewall free flowing originality. Familiarize yourself with these blockers and enter the gym with an open mind.

What must I leave in the locker?
This simply refers to a virtual or mental locker which urges you to put your normal and logical thinking on hold. You will in time become aware of your creative thinking barriers that stonewall free flowing originality. Familiarize yourself with these blockers and enter the gym with an open mind.

What are the gym rules?
Creative thinking is a very personal and psychologically sensitive mental endeavor. Before entering, make sure of the following: your creative mindset be receptive, respectful, ready for fun and free of criticism. Freewheeling should be welcomed and ample chance should be given for you kick around ideas safely. Acquaint yourself and follow these rules to achieve your optimum workout.

How to understand your data management?
To reinforce our privacy policy, your data remain 100% private and will never be shared with anyone, except for the members invited by you to join your brainstorming initiatives. It is securely hosted in the Google Cloud, you do have access to it through the BrianStormGym application to modify and/or remove selected data.

How can I manage all my problems?
As part of data management, you are able to create ("check-in") problems, provide weighted criteria for success, decompose it into component parts, add critical attributes, generate novel ideas and review results in BrainStormGym dashboard (these ideas may be downloaded.

How can I rate my ideas?
Rating your ideas are directly related to your goal setting as well as a scrupulous endeavour to explain your criteria for success. It is important to remember that your criteria may also change over time. Rating ideas will provide more clarity and eventually help pin point what works best. More importantly, how to actionize a strategy to make your idea a reality.

How do I enter criteria for my problems?
Criteria is entered when you “check in” a problem.

How can a gym coach help me?
A Brainstorming Coach is there to help translate each machines intention and clarify its purpose. Examples are provided as well as research statements that further illuminate and provide clarity.

How does the dashboard work?
The Dashboard (aka "scorecard") offers a summary view with drilldown functionality on all problems, criteria, ideas, machines utilized and challenges completed.

What are the foundations of the Brainstorming Gym?
Creative thinking is a skill that can be learned. It doesn't just happen magically. The Brainstorming Gym simply combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. Even letting go of the need to be socially acceptable fuels creativity. Quirky and genius come from the same source, we call it eccentricity. Absurdity is nothing but ridiculous and no reason at all. When we put some effort in improvising the absurdity then creativity comes in to picture. Creative thinking takes shape in the form of original ideas.

What are the benefits of the Brainstorming Gym?
Creativity is the paradoxical integration of doing and being. Studies on creativity suggest that there are two forces in our brains that are in a constant battle: logic and creativity. Logic doesn’t want anything new. It simply requires understanding. But the creative force threatens our logic force by questioning everything we think we understand. It’s a battle that logic unfortunately usually wins. Creativity is what happens when we successfully limit the logic force in our brains. The human brain’s frontal cortex has long been thought of as the hub or center of creativity, as it seems to be responsible for many of the functions that contribute to creative thinking. Creativity is the balance between action, emotion, and cognition with the addition of insight and intuition, emotion and intellect, freedom and discipline, reason and intuition, the precise and the gossamer, primary and secondary processes and, chaos and order are all opposites that exist in the creative harmony of the brain. The Brainstorming Gym endeavours to organize your thinking so your creative being can take flight

How to get most value from the brainstorming in the BrainStormGym?
The machines were constructed on leading theories and experience in the field or creativity as it relates to ideation. Although it is designed to establish a relaxed environment in order to maximize ideation output, take it serious at all times, even when it seems absurd or bizarre since it is in the twilight zone on the border between fantasy and reality where some of your greatest ideas may be borne.

How are the ideas generated?
Each Machine on the brainstormgym will stimulate and challenge different areas in your thinking cycle to ensure that ideas are extracted from all corners of your mind. You will respond to the machine stimulus to submit an idea.