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Creative conversations

A few days ago I had a very nice talk with a friend. It was an inspiring and energizing talk and some ideas were born inside me. Actually some thoughts went off like bombs on the inside of me. It was what I call a “creative conversation”. They happen every now and then and are very precious. I am sure you have recognized that some thoughts passing through you mind are light and some thoughts are heavy, dense and full of substance. Some talking we do is just like chatter, it passes unnoticed and some talking creates things in a powerful way. I have noticed that together with some people under the right circumstances there is like a magic in the middle. Things are born. Ideas are created. Creative conversations cannot be controlled, but they occur in an atmosphere with certain ingredients. We can try to arrange an environment that invites it.

Plenty of un-thougt ideas

I believe there are many ideas that wait to be thought, to be spoken and acted upon. Inventions are waiting to be discovered. I don’t necessarily mean world-revolutionary inventions, but unique solutions in your business and in your situation. More often we should start expectantly with a blank paper when we try to solve problems. We should learn to think outside the usual ways. Man has an unique ability to be creative and we should deliberatively harness that capacity. We need creativity in this time, don’t we?

Coming together – a key

I believe one of the reasons of the lack of ideas is that we don’t come together and think together. Some ideas can only be birthed in a group or community. There can really be a magic in the middle. What do I mean by that? There is a higher level of creativity when a group of people with different backgrounds and experiences joins together and in openness, curiosity and humility work together. We can be creative partners if we listen to each other and build together. An utopia? I don’t think so. It is a cultural question. If we continue to push in this direction of cooperation it will open up. It is a common opinion that competition spurs development, but what about cooperation? What if there is an even higher gear to put in? Let’s explore this ground! The company that manages to build a feeling of community among the employees will likely be prosperous.

Generosity

I believe we don’t have to be afraid that someone will steal our idea, because there are more ideas to be found. When we jealously hold on to our ideas we stagnate, but when we share we get more. I believe that generosity and creativity goes hand in hand. Let’s cooperate. Let’s create opportunities for creative conversations.

What is your comment? How have you experienced creative conversations? How can we make room for them? Is it naive to think business can thrive by generosity in today’s world?

Other posts about this subject you might want to read:
Being touched deeply
Humanness and conversation
Green world café
Cross-cultural conversations