For the FORUM marketing department it is always one of three places...Starbucks, Panera or McCalisters. These are the places we go to get away from the confines of what we can do and try to get at what we should do. I don't know why getting away from our ordinary work and meeting spaces allows us to focus more on our new ideas but it always does. Maybe it is a self fulfilling prophecy or maybe it is because we know that we are dedicating this time to this only and it is not for the day to day stuff. Whatever, it is always a productive 90 minutes and we always keep it to 90 minutes. And I am not talking off the wall, never going to happen discussions. Yes, we laugh, joke and have a good time but it is extremely productive.
Why can't we capture this in our normal environment? I don't know, maybe getting away from what is comfortable helps us forget about the restraints of budgets, processes and technology constraints. Or maybe making the effort to focus on thinking is what is really happening.
So, where do you go for new ideas and thinking? If you don't have a place find one that is fun. And good food or drinks is also a must have in a good thinking spot.
2 comments:
What does it say about our work environments when we have to go "somewhere else" to come up with ideas? Workplace design clearly hasn't caught up with how we really work and we really need to do.
@Ron - I think you make a very good point...our work spaces are too sterile and "the usual" instead of being personalized and inviting.
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