When was the last time you were asked to go beyond imagination? Not to use your imagination, but to go beyond it. To the unknown territory of the infinite potential where all ideas come from. Go crazy, jump into it, lose yourself, fly high. Or quiet down, relax, stop searching and start finding. If you were asked, did you understand why and know how to do it?
We live in a world of unknown unknowns, as Dave Snowden, creator of the Cynifin Framework, describes. Life is complex. Instead of acknowledging this, we routinely try to recognize patterns, identify known knowns, find obvious answers, and refer to best practices. However, in our mindless pursuit, we often end up with known unknowns and complicated solutions that will not solve the problem at all.
Leaving the comfort of the known to explore the potential of the unknown is not part of most meeting agendas. We spend our time in known territory looking for simple and safe answers to familiar questions. The conditioning is so strong that we can’t receive new ideas, and we can’t appreciate them either. Even when we have to or want to.
Here are the good news for hopeful space invaders who want to escape from a too predictable future. Instead of fleeing to the past for help or trying to force an unfitting model upon reality, you can stay present and embrace complexity. Give space to a little…
