START WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE
It’s the end of summer and we’re saying goodbye to the lasts of the season - barbecues, vacations, swims in the ocean, and that little bit of free time many of us have enjoyed these last few months.
We’ve mostly had our moments of vacation and rest, and hopefully, feel ready to face the challenges of the incoming season head on. Because let’s face it, work is about to take on the chaotic race to the end of the year.
This issue of At The Starting Line is focused on the opportunity we have to pause in this closing week of summer.
DREAM BIG WITH BLUE-SKY THINKING
My greatest adult disappointment is the loss of imagination and creativity compared to when we were kids. I understand the need to shift to more pragmatic and realistic thinking. But, the end of summer marks a unique moment in the year where many of us are at our most relaxed, making it the perfect time to dream big.
This concept of blue-sky thinking relies completely on the imagination without considering constraints. It focuses on thinking big first, and working backwards to set realistic and achievable goals.
Here’s a brief exercise I like to get me started:
Address the challenge, issue, or problem to solve
Ask: What if this problem were magically to be resolved? How did that happen?
Consider: What is the ideal outcome? If there were no constraints, how might I approach this?
Once I have an ideal scenario in mind, I imagine myself stepping back and looking at the situation from above.
Working backwards: What practical steps would I take to move in that direction?
Play the critic: Only after I have a vision and some practical steps in mind do I start to consider the obstacles. How might I address those challenges?
This helps me narrow my thinking into something more actionable and possible.
BLUE-SKY THINKING DOs AND DON’Ts
DON’T:
Limit yourself or restrict your thinking
Rely on typical, straight-forward solutions
Let time or budget become a problem
DO:
Focus on expanding the idea and making it as big as possible
Focus on planting the seeds for long-term innovation
Rely on thought partners to expand on ideas
A FINAL NOTE
Blue-sky thinking helps me reimagine a problem from different perspectives, and beyond my limited first thoughts to find solutions from a new angle.
An actual shift in perspective helps too. Recently, I did this in a very literal way with my family by skydiving over my hometown and seeing the place I grew up in, and a place so familiar to my family, from an entirely new angle.
This actual shift in perspective opened my mind to so many new possibilities, a few of which I plan to spend more time with over these next two weeks. What’s on your blue-sky list?