Go for quantity over quality

Set a raw count target — the goal is many ideas, not good ones.

Why it works

Fluency (total number of ideas) is the strongest predictor of finding a high-quality idea in a session: more ideas means more lottery tickets. The quantity rule also shifts the frame from performance ("produce something impressive") to output ("hit the number"), which reduces anxiety and increases experimentation. People are less precious about individual ideas when volume is the metric.

How to do it

1. Set a specific numerical target before the session ("we want 50 ideas in 20 minutes").
2. Track the count visibly so the number, not quality, becomes the scoreboard.
3. Keep moving — never stop to polish or explain an idea during generation.
4. When stuck, use prompts or random stimuli to keep the count climbing.

Evidence

Across creativity research, fluency predicts the likelihood of a high-quality idea; this relationship is among the most robust findings in ideation research. Simonton’s equal-odds model of creative careers extends this: total output volume, not a higher hit rate, is what predicts landmark work across a person’s trajectory. (observational)

The fluency-quality link means more ideas gives better odds, not certainty; sheer volume without any evaluation step does not guarantee breakthrough ideas.

Sources

• Guilford (1967), The Nature of Human Intelligence (divergent production and fluency)
• Simonton, D. K. (1997). Creative productivity: A predictive and explanatory model of career trajectories and landmarks. Psychological Review, 104(1), 66–89.

Common mistake

Setting the count target so low (10 ideas) that people coast to it and stop — the target needs to push past comfortable into uncomfortable territory to force less-obvious ideas.