This is me last summer on the sand dune island of Texel, on Holland’s western edge in the North Sea. I love this picture because it emphasizes the element of risk that’s involved in play. “I don’t know if I can ride with my hands off the handlebars, but it would be fun if I could. . .” And so I risked falling off my bike to try.
It’s the same with growing resilient organizations and businesses. It’s risky to try new things, but try we must. Roger Martin says in The Design of Business that (and I’m paraphrasing) the there is a five-letter word that gets in the way of innovation – PROOF. “Show me the proof that the market will respond when we introduce this new email-capable cell phone.” the CEO says. Luckily for RIM, they integrate abductive thinking, or the logic of what might be, into their design approach, because it is “not possible to prove any thought, concept or idea in advance”. Without it, we wouldn’t have the Blackberry.
One way to practice abductive thinking in the workplace in a less risky way, is to play with your colleagues. What if, in addition to the Bored Room, there was a Play Room?
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