#6-#7

6. Stretch your mental muscles

Brainstorming, like marathon running, should begin with warm-up exercises. 

7. Get physical

Brainstorming sessions can be occasions for show-and-tell. Participants bring examples of competitors’ products, objects that relate to the problem, or elegant solutions from other fields as springboards for ideas. Also, keep materials on hand — blocks, foam core, tubing — to build crude models of a concept.