Switch modes
Stop what you've been doing. Do something unfamiliar, a different verb.
Hi! Here’s a 4th strategy for surfacing intuition from the IDEO course Leading Complex Projects. Today’s sticky is:
Switch modes. Stop what you’ve been doing. Do something unfamiliar, a different verb. e.g. Don’t discuss, instead act it out, build a thing.
Change up what you do. That’s the part about trying a new verb. Verbs are active. Get into a different action. Build rather than talk. Walk rather than sit. Draw rather than write.
Maybe you don’t need a new verb. Change your environment instead. Go someplace new. The point is to get away from what is familiar.
Switching modes allows you to access new perspectives. Like how Gutenberg supposedly got the idea for the mechanical printing press not in his workspace, but watching grapes being pressed at a winery.
Let’s say the default mode of your group is to have meetings where people take turns talking. Instead, what if you dumped a pile of LEGO bricks on the table and asked everyone to build something that represents the problem you’re trying to solve? That activates different parts of the mind and provides interesting constraints.
Switching modes might feel a bit absurd. Good! Knock folks off their guard. Loosen up. You might be surprised what happens.
Some other ideas for switching modes
Have a conversation while walking instead of sitting.
Go from inside a building to outside in nature.
Go to a brand new location, someplace completely unfamiliar.
Work on a different project for a while.
Act out your situation as if you were preforming on stage.
Draw using only stick figures and simple shapes (no talent necessary).
Make a collage using magazine cut-outs.
Use sticky notes instead of computer documents.
The possibilities are endless. What would you add?
Love,
Kate