Creativity for Entrepreneurs: 4 Tips Stop brainstorming. That’s right. Despite the fact that brainstorming is one of the most widely-used tools for coming up with new ideas, Lehrer says it doesn’t work. Why? Because the first rule of brainstorming is not to criticize. And criticism is great for idea formation. It’s crucial if you want your ideas to be any good. As Lehrer says, “Criticism draws us out. It wakes us up.” He also says that groups that engage in criticism come up with 20-25% more ideas than other groups, and their ideas are rated as more original. Surround yourself with diversity. Real intellectual diversity. If you studied engineering at Stanford, and all your friends are Stanford engineers, it doesn’t matter how much racial diversity you’ve got between you. You’re not getting the diversity you need to enhance your creativity. If you want to be more creative, you need to widen your social circle to include people who really are different than you. Lehrer cites...