One of the most powerful drivers of change is new ideas. Without new ideas we would stagnate and get stuck where we are. It’s not always a bad thing to stay the same, but our nature is not to be the same everyday for 80 years.
Groupthink has become a bad word in many communities because of its impact on stagnation and reinforcement of ideas that should be challenged. The quickest and easiest way to avoid Groupthink and find new ideas is to bring in strangers to the discussion. In the field or not, peers or just people. It doesn’t matter as long as they participate and don’t just go along.
Talking to people, even if they know nothing of what I’m doing and have nothing to do with anything I’m working, usually provides me with my biggest breakthroughs and ah-hah moments. Changing the mental processes to reflect a different world view puts a perspective on the problem that may not be one you naturally use yourself.