Great Client Brainstorming Tip

I ran across this great tip on brainstorming a better career on the Achieve-It! blog:

Take a pad of paper and write down at the top your objective in question form.  Then, simply list out 20 answers to your question. 

For example, in this case, you would write “What should I be doing with my time and life?”  Then stay seated for a half hour to an hour coming up with answers to that question.  The key to this exercise is coming up with 20 answers - don’t quit until you have 20 answers.

Take this tip, and at your next client meeting take 30 minutes for you and your client to both complete the exercise, answering the question “What is a successful outcome of this case” or something similar.  Trade answer sheets and discuss.

I wish I’d thought of this for my mediation practice.  Imagine having each side do the exercise and then giving their answers to the mediator