Now here is some sensible research that finds individual brainstorming before sharing ideas with your team outperforms team brainstorming.  It makes sense

Terwiesch, Ulrich and co-author Karan Girotra, a professor of technology and operations management at INSEAD, found that a hybrid process — in which people are given time to brainstorm on their own before discussing ideas with their peers — resulted in more and better quality ideas than a purely team-oriented process.

“When it comes to innovation, however, what really matters is not getting many good ideas, but getting one or two exceptional ideas. That’s really what innovation is all about.”

More about the latest innovation research in the next blog.