imagination

Adam Smith | August 29, 2016 | Leave a Comment

You Aren’t Creative Because You’ve Lost Your Imagination

Remember when you were a kid and could turn any boring day, any old forgotten object, and any empty backyard into an exciting adventure? You were creative, you were imaginative, and you were resourceful. But for many, having an imagination dies somewhere along the way because they are expected to conform, and they adopt fear more than confidence. The good news is that your imagination doesn’t have to die just because you get older. Your imagination is actually more useful in your current circumstances than you probably think. It will better your ideas, will help you become a leader in your area of expertise, and will give you better results with your work.

So, now that I’ve sold you on the idea of broadening your imagination, here are three ways to find your imagination once again: [Read more…] about You Aren’t Creative Because You’ve Lost Your Imagination

Adam Smith | December 18, 2015 | Leave a Comment

Why Imagination Will Power the Future

This is a guest post from Beth Kelly, who is a freelance writer and blogger. Born and raised in Michigan, she moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University where she graduated in 2011. She lived in Krakow, Poland briefly before moving to South Korea to teach English. You can follow her on Twitter @bkelly_88.

The overwhelming majority of scientific evidence points to the fact that the Earth is warming up, and human activity is the main culprit. Agriculture productivity, biodiversity, and sea levels could be seriously affected – and not in a good way – if this problem isn’t taken care of soon. While countries and private organizations are trying to implement green energy solutions to halt global warming, this isn’t enough. What we need is more imagination and outside-the-box solutions, because the current way of doing things is unsustainable.

The idea that the natural environment is a resource that we should exploit has its roots in Enlightenment philosophy. Prior to this, people had a much more respectful relationship with nature. It’s no coincidence that the start of the industrial revolution, with all its pollution, followed closely on the heels of the Age of Enlightenment. Today, we’re still thinking about the Earth in outmoded terms from hundreds of years ago, but the planet can’t wait indefinitely for us to get our act together.

Glenn Brooke | June 11, 2014 | 3 Comments

The Leader’s Power of Imagination – Glenn Brooke

Look around you. Everything man-made that you see began in someone’s imagination. Everything. A leader may have no greater power than the power of imagination. You can’t truly lead without imagination.

Imagination is the one attribute that sets apart human beings from every other creature on planet Earth. Bacteria, plants and animals have languages and can communicate complex information. Other animals can solve problems. Other animals create and use tools. Only human beings can imagine something that doesn’t exist at all, then work towards creating it. I believe that human beings are created in the image of God.

I highly recommend you exercise your imagination in order to improve your leadership skills.

Set aside 30 minutes to be alone. No computer or smartphone, sorry – just a pad of paper and pen. Now, imagine yourself or your organization 6 months from now. What will be true? What is going on? What will you and others experience, feel, and see? How will you interact with others? How will they interact with you? Where are you? What is the rhythm of events going on? What will no longer happen that happens now? How are things different? What is the same?

There are no wrong answers. Just let your imagination go, and write down any insights that come to mind. Set aside time for this regularly. You can choose what you share from your imagination, and what you don’t share.

One caution: You must sanctify your imagination. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” -Philippians 4:8

Over time, with practice, imagine farther out: 12, 18, 24 months. If there is technology involved, it is difficult to go beyond 2 years because things change so rapidly. But for people situations, you can imagine what could be true 3-5 years from now. Too many people quit at this stage. It is not enough to imagine a possible future. Leadership is about connecting your current state to that possible future. Go through the who/what/when/where/why/how process to develop plans to move towards a desired direction.

One of the primary reasons leaders need to work at imagining the future is because otherwise, you are condemned to the crisis-to-crisis rut of today’s problems, and working on other people’s agendas.

Take the risk and be a leader with a strong imagination. I think you will surprise yourself with how powerful your imagination can be.