Hi everybody - it’s Andrew Benedict-Nelson, your friendly neighborhood strategist, back with another way to think differently about any problem you are working on. Subscribe if you’d love to receive an exercise like this every week.
Imagine you can bring together leaders from all the stakeholder groups connected to your problem. I don’t just mean your largest industry conference — instead, imagine a meeting where your allies, your enemies, and everyone in between get together to solve the problem once and for all. Start by making a list of who would be there.
Let’s say you get to set the agenda for the convocation. How would you frame the discussion to get the most productive meeting from your point of view? Think about how you would you inspire authentic participation from all the invited groups.
Imagine that in the course of the meeting, new alliances and rivalries emerge. Who might find themselves in a new alliance based on the agenda you put together? Who might find themselves working against each other in ways they hadn't expected?
Now pretend you have the opportunity — or challenge! — of delivering a keynote address where you have the rapt attention of all these groups. What would be the most important original message you have to deliver? Don’t just go to your usual talking points — think of something special for this unique setting.
Finally, come back to reality. What were some of the new possibilities for relationships that were opened up by everyone being together in one big meeting? What opportunities exist to leverage those kinds of relationships in the real world?
That’s it! If you want to share any thoughts or feelings these questions evoked, just reply to this e-mail or comment below.
This exercise was developed using the actors dynamic. It’s one of six innovation dynamics I use with clients to help realize new insights and unlock creative thinking.