Get Convergent趋同
I have passionately argued that the practice of creation is completely different from the practice of editing, and we should honor and respect both processes as two unique and imperative approaches. I hold this truth to be self-evident. So, let’s look now at the very important second half of brainstorming: convergent thinking. Editing, analyzing, critiquing, and fine-tuning are necessary.
我充满激情地指出，创作实践与编辑实践完全不同，我们应该尊重和尊重这两个过程，将其作为两种独特而必要的方法。我认为这个真理是不言而喻的。因此，让我们现在来看一下集思广益的非常重要的后半部分：融合思维。必须进行编辑，分析，批注和微调。
Without this process there are no books (like this one), no movies, no songs,no commercials, no advertisements, no proposals, and no focused,strategic mission. After all, if you do not take time to sift the pan and toss out the water, the mud, and the fool’s gold, all you have is a pan full of muck. Failure is part of the process; failure is not the point of the process. After a prescribed period has elapsed, the wild collection of ideas accumulated through divergent thinking must be sorted. This is the time to begin questioning, analyzing, and critiquing (notice I did not say “criticizing”), always within the respectful and supportive rules of “Yes, and” communication.
没有这个过程，就不会有书籍（像这样），电影，歌曲，广告，广告，建议，战略性任务。毕竟，如果您不花时间筛分锅，扔掉水，泥土和傻瓜的金子，那么您所拥有的只是装满泥土的锅。失败是过程的一部分；失败不是过程的重点。在规定的期限过去之后，必须对通过分歧思维积累的大量想法进行分类。这是开始质疑，分析和批评的时候了（注意，我没有说“批评”），始终在“是和”沟通的尊重和支持规则之内。
The divergent phase of a brainstorm can take as little as ten minutes and may also last many hours if a particular challenge requires that kind of focused time investment. Once the great pile of ideas has been amassed, it’s time to enter the convergent thinking phase.For me the first step in convergent thinking is prioritization. What is the top tier of ideas that look incredibly promising and even like lowhanging fruit; what is the middle tier of ideas that are promising but problematic; and what is the bottom tier of ideas that are unworkable and should be dismissed?
头脑风暴的发散阶段可能仅需10分钟，并且如果特定挑战需要那种集中的时间投入，则可能还会持续数小时。一旦积累了大量的想法，就该进入融合思维阶段了。对我而言，融合思维的第一步是确定优先级。看起来令人难以置信的，甚至令人垂涎的想法的最上层创意是什么？有前景但有问题的中间思想是什么？什么是不可行的，应该被摒弃的底层思想呢？
If this is a solo project, the prioritization should be thoughtful and relatively quick at this point. However, if team buy-in and ownership (build-in) are needed, the process may become convoluted and devolve into the realm of disrespect. Here is an effective way to keep the “Yes, and” mentality even when you are in the convergent process of judging ideas:
如果这是一个单独的项目，那么在这一点上，优先级应该考虑周全并且相对较快。但是，如果需要团队支持和所有权（内置），则该过程可能会令人费解，并陷入不尊重的境地。这是一种保持“是的”和“心态”的有效方法，即使您正处于判断思想的融合过程中：
If this is a group decision-making exercise, an incredibly easy way is to “bucket” the large master list of ideas into the three categories by voting for them. For this first round of convergent thinking you and each person get as many (or as few) votes as you want.However, you only get one vote per idea and you are only voting for the ideas you like. (There is no reason to focus energy on the ideas you don’t like.) What you will see is that the best ideas will receive more votes from the group. The result of this approach is almost a Darwinesque natural selection of ideas, wherein the strongest ideas rise to the surface to survive, and the weakest ideas fall to the wayside relatively quickly.
如果这是一个集体决策活动，那么一种非常简单的方法就是通过投票将大型主创意列表“分类”为三个类别。对于第一轮融合思维，您和每个人都可以根据需要获得尽可能多（或更少）的选票，但是，每个主意仅获得一票，而您只为自己喜欢的主意投票。（没有理由将精力集中在您不喜欢的想法上。）您将看到，最好的想法将从小组中获得更多的选票。这种方法的结果几乎是达尔文式的自然选择思想，其中最强的思想浮出水面以求生存，而最弱的思想则相对较快地落在路边。
Focus now on the top tier(s) and prioritize once more, from the best idea down. Pick one of your top ideas as a project and enter back into the divergent thinking phase to blow it up. Once that process is done, prioritize the ideas for the project in another round of convergent thinking.Depending on the detail needed for your project, you may need to practice the divergent/convergent approaches several times through. Thoughtfully bounce back and forth from divergent to convergent thinking, fleshing out and developing the project until ultimately an action plan for the execution of the project begins to fall into place.
现在，将注意力集中在最高层上，并从最佳创意开始再次确定优先级。从项目中选出您最重要的想法之一，然后进入不同的思维阶段进行分解。完成该过程后，请在另一轮融合思维中优先考虑项目的想法。根据项目所需的详细信息，您可能需要多次实践差异/融合方法。从发散的思维到融合的思维，经过周到的思考，充实并开发项目，直到最终执行项目的行动计划开始落实。
It’s amazing how quickly a consensus on what’s “best” can be formed in a group that has established a climate of open communication and positive focus. Maintaining that climate is crucial. It’s important here to reinforce the idea that brainstorming is a team event. No one owns a particular idea. No credit is going to be given to or taken away from individuals because of a single idea. All the ideas that are collected during the divergent thinking phase are group ideas, and in prioritizing those ideas in convergent thinking the group still functions without regard to the status or rank of the people who contributed any particular idea. During the prioritization phase the group is separating the obvious muck in the pan from the possible flecks of gold.
令人惊讶的是，在建立了开放式交流和积极关注氛围的团队中，可以很快就“最佳”达成共识。保持这种气候至关重要。在这里，重要的是要强化头脑风暴是团队活动的观念。没有人拥有一个特定的想法。不会因为一个主意而给个人以任何荣誉。在发散思维阶段收集的所有思想都是集体思想，并且在聚合思想中优先考虑这些思想时，集体仍在起作用，而与贡献任何特定思想的人的地位或职级无关。在确定优先级的阶段，小组正在将锅中明显的污物与可能的金斑点分离开。
In convergent thinking judgment is no longer postponed. Members of a team now apply critical thinking to sort out the bad ideas,discuss the okay-maybe doable ideas, question the ideas that need clarity, determine the most workable ideas, and bring that wide range of initial thoughts back to a single, productive conclusion. If divergent thinking is the time for unbridled creation, convergent thinking is the time for driving to innovation—the development of new ideas to a productive use. In convergent thinking the biggest, brightest ideas are finally refined into shiny, singular bars of gold.
在聚合思维中，判断不再被推迟。团队成员现在可以运用批判性思维来梳理坏主意，讨论可行（也许可行）的主意，质疑需要澄清的主意，确定最可行的主意，并将广泛的初始主意还原为单一的，富有成效的结论。如果说分歧的思想是无拘无束的创造的时间，那么收敛的思想就是推动创新的时间-将新思想发展为生产性使用。在融合的思想中，最大，最聪明的想法最终被精炼成闪亮的，奇异的金条。
Divergent thinking is Jeffersonian: all ideas are created equal. Convergent thinking is Darwinian: only the strongest ideas will survive and evolve. This is the editing end of the creative process, in which ideas are whittled down, debated, critiqued, and tweaked with an eye toward a final product. Perhaps there really is no budget for an otherwise great idea (an elephant parade). Perhaps what sounded like an intriguing bit of thinking outside the box would actually result in a PR nightmare. Perhaps, after being fully explored, what was once thought of as an inspiring idea simply cannot work at this time. This type of discussion can and should come up freely now.
杰斐逊式的思想是分歧的：所有思想都是平等创造的。聚合思想是达尔文主义的：只有最强大的思想才能生存和发展。这是创作过程的编辑端，在此过程中，将想法进行缩减，辩论，批判和调整，以期最终产品。也许真的没有预算来支持一个很棒的主意（大象游行）。也许听起来像是在框外思考的有趣想法实际上会导致PR的噩梦。经过全面的探索，也许曾经被认为是一个鼓舞人心的想法在此时根本行不通。这种讨论现在可以并且应该自由进行。
However, as suggested,convergent thinking should not suddenly give license to destroy the goodwill and spirit of creative collaboration that’s been established.Reinforce that nobody owns an idea individually; the team owns all the ideas and will handle all ideas with respect, even when—in this phase—some ideas are being dismissed. Cling to “Yes, and . . . ” here as well. It will help protect the team, manage conflict, and keep communication paramount.
但是，正如建议的那样，趋同思想不应突然被授予破坏建立的创造性合作的诚意和精神的权利。该团队拥有所有想法，并会尊重所有想法，即使在此阶段某些想法被驳回时也是如此。紧贴“是，然后。。。”也是如此。这将有助于保护团队，管理冲突并保持沟通至上。
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