I might have planned to go on a trail run. I did not plan the weather, scenery, trail conditions, and energy sensations. A portion of our work is planned, and a portion is exploration. We do not always know how our exertion will manifest but we lace up and head out.
An item might be useful but elicit more disappointment than delight. Another design of the same object might enhance our mental engagement and delight while being utilitarian. How might we find the balance that supports our work?
Sometimes, art touches us in a way that a coherent case based on the best facts does not. There are occasions when a well-placed design does more than any paragraph might. I am not sure I found the right Polar Bar when doing a quick internet search, but their design makes me curious to learn more. How might we embrace the aesthetics embedded in our purpose?
Musicians pay for the special requests made by riders in their contracts. Many might have read about outlandish requests submitted to local concert venues. A rider’s purpose in a contract is to modify or add more information. If it is non-negotiable to have a three-legged Bengal Tiger in your dressing room to perform, then the rider captures that information.
What would your cause be willing to pay for from its resources to be more effective? What instruments, amenities, and upgrades might make you immensely more productive? How might your list change if the list was the production team’s responsibility to purchase? There are the ‘nice to have’ and ‘essential’ lists.
One of my epiphanies while thru-hiking was several items that I thought were essential for a multi-week backpack. A few pieces of equipment were sent home after a week because the return on investment of carrying them versus the value provided was not high enough. Had an outside agency been transporting the items, I might have kept them in the gear bag.
What must be in your backpack? What do you pack if somebody else helps you carry the load?
As Steve Martin shared in an interview, “Be so good that they cannot ignore you.” What makes you so good that people seek you out? What is remarkable about your service that inspires people to risk their social capital by recommending you to their peers?
When we reach a sufficient altitude the obstacles on the ground tend to flatten. We open up views to new horizons.
For a few individuals, it is a misty morning. For others, it is sunny with ground fog below. Both are accurate representations generated by individuals occupying the same building.
How might we recognize that multiple realities are forged within the same space? We might report on what we see and benefit from what others notice. The collective is probably more accurate than a single viewpoint.
Why does the opportunity exist in the first place? A first lens is identifying the opportunity. The work that provides depth and dimension is understanding the conditions that nurtures the opportunity to thrive. How might we not jump into any open lane of travel without a moment of curiosity?
Why is your cause solving the problem it selected? Was there nobody working on it or is there a story?
Are you more impressed by a climber who is a few yards from the summit or one who has just left the trailhead? Human psychology gives preference to the person closest to the summit. When I am cycling and see another rider in the final minute of a long ascent, there is shared comradery that is not as palpable for the cyclist tackling the initial slopes.
How do we equate the perspective that timing matters? If we climb sooner or later in the day, we encounter other participants in different stages of their journey. Our desire to assign value based on a real-time assessment benefits from a broader picture. Strava creates a virtual leaderboard for cyclists and runners (among others) that can be filtered by day, week, year, or all-time (among other options). We might achieve the best time within a small window, but land pages back in the search of all-time best times.
How might we understand that our current location might impact our value assessment?
What needs to be kept behind locked doors, and what is strategically public at your organization? Some organizations prefer to keep more information secret when in doubt. Transparency allows for fewer unknowns, which reduces the number of people who make up facts in the absence of answers. There is necessary information that requires confidentiality, but a posture that is too shielded tends to raise questions.
What-if-concepts 