Have you noticed that kids make so much look so easy? One minute they’re happily viewing the world in the usual way. In the next minute, they’re flipping upside down, enjoying the magic of seeing the ground on the sky, buildings on their roofs, and feet before heads.
Kids actively reframe their environment and explore the wonder of what it all means, often finding great joy in turning their world upside down. Your business can benefit from a similar approach, even if you have to be more deliberate about tapping into that perspective.
Channel your inner child.
Yoga encourages mastery of inversion poses to reduce stress and promote focus. The Netflix sci-fi thriller, Stranger Things, includes the Upside Down - an alternate reality that mirrors the real world yet operates just differently enough to require careful navigation. Such efforts – aka reframing your environment – are certainly helpful for keeping strategy fresh; yet, these are neither as easy nor as simple as kids make it appear.
Remember to stop and cartwheel.
Your business strategy benefits from taking a deliberate, fresh look at your environment, even when the status quo is delivering as intended or the business is growing well. Doing so offers a new view of where you are, what may be ahead, and perhaps, how others might see you. Hitting pause (or flipping upside down) gives you the chance to explore new shapes or see the unexpected. And that reframing creates opportunities for innovation, to take a new turn, or pre-empt a potentially negative trend.
Learn and grow with just one novel meeting.
Invite your team to stand on their hands or heads at your next meeting. (Work with a partner as needed to maintain individual balance and encourage participation.) When participants turn right-side up again, ask:
“What did you see, feel, or think about?”
Then, apply those same ideas to your business environment. What might insights tell you about your customers, your competitors, your work?
Final thought.
Turning your team on their heads will not only introduce a novel meeting exercise, but also, it can be a key strategic approach – one that’s important to inject new energy or ideas even when things are on target. Plus, you don’t have to act immediately when these surface. Rather, collect them and return to them (deliberately!) at a later date after the team has had a chance to reflect on them. Use them to spur new thinking, and perhaps, spark joy.
My clients execute their strategies better - improving performance, driving stronger results against goals, and leading more effectively. I would love to discuss how I might contribute to your success. Contact me today.
If you found this beneficial, give me a call. Let's talk about turning your strategy upside down.
© 2019 Tara J Rethore. All rights reserved. Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution.