So late this evening, I’m musing over how to harness the power of social media and it hits me: I’m nuts. I’ve always been a little nuts. I can’t be the only one. We should celebrate our nuts and use them to change the world!
Did you ever have a crazy idea that just doesn’t seem solid enough to tell anyone about? Did you ever just KNOW something would work if your could explain it or if someone would listen? Did you ever have a seedling of a crazy idea, jotted down a few notes, and stuffed them in the back of a notebook, and old file cabinet, or a folder on your PC – promising yourself that you’d work on it more later?
I created a group just for other nuts like me. If you are an idea hamster, you’ll love Way Out of The Box! If you’re looking for inspiration, you’ll love Way Out of The Box! . If you’ve had a long hard day stuck in your cube or office, you’ll love getting yourself to Way Out of The Box!
Come take a look at Way Out of The Box!. Bring your ideas! Join us and let’s get some of those ideas flowing! The more outside of the box you’re thinking, the better!
I posted a few wild ideas of my own to help get us started. See you there!
Dave
Great idea for a group, Dave….and great marketing! You’ve really become a super contributor to GovLoop from your excellent blog posts to the creation of really active forum discussions and now this group. Really, really, glad you’re part of the community!
Yes Dave, I’ve definitely felt the pain of being outside the box. Running 3 concurrent Twitter chats has me nominated for a certification of sorts. One close friends and innovator called me “insane”. But then, he comes to all the chats too, so I guess I’m in good company. Another example? Spending +20 years in organization silos all the while believing there had to be a better way.
Sometimes you just know. It’s about learning to trust your instincts.
Looking forward to your insights. Are you on Twitter? *researching*
Chris @SourcePOV
About the Box Four IMO thoughts – [duplicate post
The cube aspect of a box is a useful form to consider if a person is trying to stay open minded. I work in investigations. In one of my trainings I realized that it was helpful to remind everyone that if you look at a box (cube) you can only see three sides. There are always three sides you cannot see. The lesson from this is to remember to have humility about our assumptions, and conclusions, because it is impossible to see the whole picture. Even when you turn the box upside down you still can’t see everything. Be careful – or have someone else you trust interpreting the far side of the box for you.
As to creativity, one of the tools I use with staff I work with is to offer “White Board Ideas”. I doubt that I invented this, but it’s useful. White Board ideas are those ideas that can be proposed that are just as permanent as the contents of a White Board – they can be erased or modified at any time. It is a good concept for moving the traditional “brainstorming” concepts forward. E.g. put out all ideas and don’t offer critique during the brainstorming phase. The white board is a place to incrementally modify a shared vision.
I thank David Dejemski for starting this page – it should be fun. Given that we’re all “good bureaucrats” we have to have some initials to describe what we’re doing in this group – I’d say that we’re here to explore the WACI ideas. WACI = Wild Ass Crazy Ideas!
Dave,
Great IDEA for a group. I literally have briefcases and file cabinets full of ideas; I just don’t have the time to move them beyond the ink on the dog-eared notes. Here’s hoping this group helps!