What Comes Next
Turning Insights into Ideas into Actions
If you subscribe or follow any of our parent company Northome Group’s posts recently, you know they recently hosted a summit, Independent Voices : Creative Collisions, Creating New Value.
The premise of the summit is that if you bring together experienced, thoughtful, unique, and insightful individuals with an engaged and open audience that also has a lot to contribute, you can and will spur new connections, ideas, and solutions that will make the world a better place.
If I’m honest, it was an amazing morning. The speakers were smart and engaging, and the questions were intelligent and insightful. We had the opportunity to hear from:
- Valerie Lancelle- Adventures in Corporate Innovation: Future Forward
- Aimee Vue- Play & Practice in Creativity: Using Improv Principles in Design Thinking
- Joe Williams- What do we do with Design?
- Andrew Lebowitz- Practicing a Creative Mind: Tools, Skills, and Methods
- I spoke on the topic of Serendipity and the Art of Intentional Connection
To create new ideas and new insights, one needs to create the space, be open to the unexpected, expose yourself to new ideas, cast hooks, connect the dots, and take action. (If you’re interested in learning more, check out our posts: Intention, Space and Serendipity and Serendipity.)
The summit did just that. It was the space. The speakers and the audience was the unexpected. New ideas were the topics shared and the Q&A. (It was not a “sit-and-get,” as a friend of mine likes to say.) Hooks were cast, both by the speakers and the attendees. Opportunities were created.
Now, it’s about connecting the dots.
What will the summit spur? What new ideas and insights have the conversation spurred? Many attendees have shared their most relevant insights. I’ve included them here, as well as a few of my own. Anything can spur a new insight or create a new connection; I hope these do that for you.
- The car image (shown at top) from Joe’s presentation resonated with you- ‘are you in the car or have you made it out?’ (Joe Williams, What do we do with Design?)
- What is design- in the most general sense? And how does one practice it, balancing the larger value that a design-based perspective can bring against “performing in the tool” (Joe Williams, What do we do with Design?)
- How do we shift our value discussions from outcome to output? How do we do this if goals or target outcomes haven’t been shared? (Joe Williams, What do we do with Design?)
- What do we do when we encounter new and unchartered territory? (Valerie Lancelle, Adventures in Corporate Innovation: Future Forward)
- How can I create relationships that will help me have partners throughout my organization? (Valerie Lancelle, Adventures in Corporate Innovation: Future Forward)
- Without innovation, all thinking is convergent thinking. How do I push into other mindsets? (Valerie Lancelle, Adventures in Corporate Innovation: Future Forward and Andrew Lebowitz, Practicing a Creative Mind: Tools, Skills and Methods)
- What would it take to create space for serendipity? What time, life, and routine changes need to be made? (Nora Guerrera, Serendipity and the Art of Intentional Connection)
- How might I bring in the game of “what’s next”?” to ideate to the best idea? (Aimee Vue, Play and Practice in Creativity, Using Improv Principles in Design Thinking)
- How might I practice being flexible and pivoting? (Am I really as flexible as I think?) (Aimee Vue, Play and Practice in Creativity, Using Improv Principles in Design Thinking)
- Am I balancing my creative mindsets? How might I bring these ideas and exercises into my organization? (Andrew Lebowitz, Practicing a Creative Mind: Tools, Skills and Methods)
And many more.
How do you expose yourself to new ideas? How do you consider new perspectives? How do you connect the dots and make new connections?
Add your thoughts in the comments.
Learn More
If you’re interested in learning more about the summit, accessing videos of the live presentations, or purchasing our full key insights and takeaways book, access it all here. (The deadline for the preorder discount is TODAY, 4/30!)
