Brainline FAQ

Brainline FAQ
Brainline Index
Definition Advantages Confidentiality How do I use a Brainline? How do I start my Brainline? How long does it take to set up my Brainline? How long should my Brainline run? When should I invite my staff to participate? What professional services does Brainline include? Who generates the ideas? Where do the ideas go? Who can see my Brainline? Who should participate in my Brainline? What's a Brain Gang? What does a Brainline cost? Visit Caffeine a sample naming Brainline Visit Woodchuck a sample idea-generation Brainline Start a Brainline	Definition Brainline is an idea-generating process in which creative thinkers from around the world collaborate, cross-pollinate, and generate ideas. It includes the online resources, creative stimulation, and global brain power to generate the greatest possible range and diversity, quantity and quality, of original ideas. Each Brainline provides a totally unique dimension of collaboration, control, and creative excitement. Advantages The most important advantage of a Brainline is cross-pollination--its ability to draw ideas from a large number of creative people who might not otherwise be able to participate. The diversity of the participants is enhanced by bringing them together in the same virtual space where they collaborate and feed off each others' ideas. There are many more advantages. Head Start Stimulation Schedules Work Style Meeting Dynamics Anonymity Efficiency Quality Control
If you have questions that are not answered here, please email Peter Lloyd.

How do I start a Brainline? Contact a Brainline Agent or email Peter Lloyd with a brief description of the problem you want to solve. How long does it take to set up my Brainline? We can set up your Brainline in a day or two. It can take up to a week to set it up if a lot of people are involved in approving the content of the Brainline, such as the Invitation, the Challenge, the Prompts, and the Hints. How long should my Brainline run? We've conducted Brainlines as fast as two hours and as long as several weeks. Complex challenges demand more time. Obviously, the longer you allow the Brainline to run, the more ideas you'll collect. When should I invite my staff to participate? Normally we open your Brainline for your approval and you send out you Invitation on the same day or next day. In the meantime, if you have included a Brain Gang of Right Brains, they will have added ideas or names to your Brainline by the time members of your staff visit it for the first time. top You might want to let your staff know that you intend to stage a Brainline before you invite them. That way, they can visit the Brainline site, if they want, and experiment with one of the sample Brainlines. Visit Caffeine a sample naming Brainline Visit Woodchuck a sample idea-generation Brainline What professional services does Brainline include? Brainline offers expert consultation, customized stimulation, and the option of including a Brain Gang of professional Right Brains. Expert Consultation includes Challenge writing, email invitation writing, motivational messages throughout the session, Brain Gang selection and management, and post-Brainline idea sorting. Customized Stimulation includes unique Hints and Prompts created specifically for the session, which can be changed throughout the Brainline session. Motivational Messages encourage participants at the beginning, middle, and near the end of the Brainline to meet specific participation goals. Idea Sort At the end of the Brainline all ideas are collected, sorted, and presented in a spreadsheet. Who generates the ideas? Brainlines get their brain power from you, your team, and the Brain Gang you select. Who can see my Brainline? Only those who know the Secret Internet Address will be able to find your Brainline. top Who should participate in my Brainline? The most important advantage of a Brainline is cross-pollination. Your Brainline will improve with the number and kind of people you invite. However, since all work must remain confidential, you must not invite anyone who would jeopardize confidentiality. You are able to invite anyone with access to the Internet. In addition, we can invite crews of specially trained and highly creative professional idea generators from around the world, called Brain Gangs. All have signed non-disclosure agreements. Where do the ideas go? All ideas remain indefinitely in the Brainline Idea Bank. You can print out or save the Idea Bank at any time. In addition, all ideas are saved automatically as a series of emails mailed to you or anyone you designate. What's a Brain Gang? It often makes sense to invite to your Brainline specially trained and highly creative groups of professional idea generators called Brain Gangs. This is especially helpful, for example, when naming a product you intend to sell globally. We recruit and maintain Brain Gangs from all over the world. You can specify the demographics, national origin, and professional backgrounds of your crews. We build and maintain a list of potential Brain Gang members, called Right Brains, from which you can choose. All have signed non-disclosure agreements. top Confidentiality Even though a Brainline resides on the Internet, only those who know the Secret Internet Address will be able to find it. For this reason, it's important, that you invite only those individuals that you retain under non-disclosure agreements. We can invite specially trained and highly creative groups of professional idea generators, called Brain Gangs. All have signed non-disclosure agreements. When necessary, your problem as well as the identity of your company can be disguised in order to preclude disclosure of sensitive information. What does a Brainline cost? Please email Peter Lloyd.	Advantage: Head Start Brainline gives any live brainstorming session a head start, because rather than beginning empty handed, you come to the live session loaded with ideas from your Brainline. Typically, given a few days, we can generate 250 to 500 name ideas or 100 more complex ideas. It's possible that the idea you decide to pursue will be in your original list of Brainline ideas. Advantage: Stimulation Every Brainline provides creative stimulation written specifically for the project. Customized prompts and hints appear in the Add Ideas window where participants enter their ideas into the Idea Bank. Advantage: Schedules Live brainstorming sessions can generate a high level of creative energy and lots of ideas. But live sessions are meetings and all meetings immediately introduce scheduling issues. A Brainline allows all participants to generate ideas when they have the time and the inclination to work. top Advantage: Work Style Some people work well in groups, others do not. Some prefer to work quietly, alone, when they feel like working. All of us do some of our best thinking alone. Not all of us are at our creative best when a particular brainstorming session happens to be scheduled. A Brainline not only collects the work of people who shine when working alone, it also includes the work of those who shy away from live sessions. Advantage: Meeting Dynamics As a private activity, a Brainline eliminates the negative influence of brainstorming participants who tend to dominate or even silence others in lives sessions. Since all Brainline participants remain anonymous, all ideas generated in a Brainline stand on equal ground with no preference or disadvantage attached to the ideas because of corporate rank of the person who submitted them. Advantage: Anonymity Since all participants remain anonymous, they tend to participate more freely and contribute ideas they might be afraid to offer in a live session. Advantage: Efficiency A Brainline allows all participants to enter ideas when they have the time and inclination. Unlike brainstorming sessions, all Brainline ideas are recorded and every participant can see every idea submitted. top Advantage: Quality Control While it is possible to monitor and modify the progress of a live brainstorming session in order to adjust the process with the intent to improve the quality of the output, it is clearly easier to do the same to a Brainline. You can monitor and manage the creative output of a Brainline without interrupting it. More importantly, any redirection can take place seamlessly and in the form of carefully prepared stimulation or email messages to participants.

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