Over the past few years, we have had to work in different ways. Some of this is controlled by clients, and some by available market solutions.
For example, with the forced introduction of having to work from home, we have seen the real birth of virtual meetings enabled by technology providers such as Microsoft, Google and Zoom.
These solutions altered how we worked, with some methods now being grandfathered into a new level of efficiency, reduced travel and subsequent reduction in environmental footprint. Mechanisms were swiftly implemented to support the new economy (had you heard of the word ‘furlough’ before 2020?),and we were uplifted into an unprecedented new way of being.
Whilst some industries have rallied, others have struggled by the very core nature of their business. Hospitality and related industries have been decimated despite initiatives to support them.
With all these changes implemented so quickly, the conspiracist in me does ask whether the actions we saw (Nightingale Hospitals, for example) were a careful implementation of scenarios that our civil servant strategists had already explored.
We understand that there is, ironically, one thing that is certain at this time, and this is uncertainty. Therefore, how we work with this certain uncertainty rests with our mindset and comfort. So, I wonder what questions I could ask myself that could take my business to a creative level of solution generation in a time of certain uncertainty.
In his book ‘Uncertainty’, Jonathan Fields recalls a conversation with Randy Komisar – a virtual CEO of TiVO –
It’s a process of stripping myself bare of all of the pressures, all of the barnacles that accumulate around you every day as you interact in the world-the pressures, the expectations, the ego, the things that ultimately make your vision unclear. And every day, my meditation is about moving those, getting absolutely clearer in that moment and open, allowing myself to open back up, to walk out into the world and have it happen all over again.
This process of enabling a grounded thinking process aligns with the first Eastern Chakra – called ‘Muladhara’. Muladhara is linked to how much you feel firmly rooted in your life. You can improve and become at one with your first Chakra through a deep routed breathing technique called Ujjayi.
By understanding ourselves at a deep level, we can ensure that our anchors are appropriate and start to work on this certain uncertainty. We carry an increased awareness of our needs and requirements inviting in ideas that could be considered breakthroughs.
Re-imagining a workplace that has different structures can be challenging for some. It is an opportunity to imagine a place plus 1, 2 or 3 years out from now.
De Bono introduced us to a design thinking model of ‘6 hats’. Considering a thread, a potential solution or challenge whilst systematically ‘virtually’ wearing each of these coloured hats can lead to a breakthrough.
- The white hat means “information”. When wearing the white hat, we are thinking about information and detail. What are we missing? What are we celebrating?
- The red hat represents emotions, feelings and intuition. This hat invites us to think about how we feel about the situation, which we fail to think about at.
- The black hat is the basis of “critical thinking”: is this right or wrong?
- The yellow hat invites us to think about the situation positively. We should align discussions to our core values, benefits and why something should work.
- The next hat is the out of the box thinking hat. The green hat lets participants become creative and see where a discussion/facilitation will go. It introduces freedom of thought, removal of barriers and dreaming.
- The blue hat is about process and governance. This hat is the thinking that keeps us on track and keeps us focused.
The Process
To complete, we, therefore, have a cyclical process associated with grounded thinking both spiritually, communicably and personally combined with a stretch of using a model such as De Bonos’ 6 hats to expand new thinking.
