Would you work in a tent

Leave a door open and someone may scold us with, ‘Were you born in a tent? Close the door!’

Tents and forts made from blankets and furniture are a playful memory from many childhoods. 

And while there are pro and anti camping camps out there (you know, ‘I don’t do camping/We only do glamping’) there’s an interesting use of tents that’s popping up. 

Providing shelter, protection, coziness and keeping people safely distant at work ... how about this: would you work in a tent? 

This article shares some of the thinking and benefits to segregated spaces in covid safe workplaces. 

As a long time camper, I am here for the tent!

And don’t get me started on caravans ... particularly the retro allure of an Airstream. I reckon that’s got productivity and creativity written all over it!

Would you? Work in a tent? 

What is of your making

Eating up content is relatively easy. You can read it, listen to it, scan over it, click on it and get endlessly lost in it. 

But do you make? 

Do you work out what you think and put it out there for others to consider? 

For example, such a small percentage of LinkedIn users make and share their thinking. 

So how about it? Let’s make something!

Pick a topic you're interested in. What are three things you think people need to know or they get wrong or would do well to try? 

Write about it. 

And if you’re not a regular writer, maybe you’re more of a talker. Hit ‘record’ on the voice memo on your phone and talk for a few minutes. Your thoughts and opinions will become clearer. 

The world needs more future thinkers; not the same voices, reading the same authors and sharing the same quotes. 

That’s an ever-decreasing spiral. 

Your diverse and different point of view is needed. We need to hear it - whether it’s a story of your experience, an opinion about some insights you’ve had or a projection of how you think the future could be. 

What are you seeing? What are you noticing? What do you think? 

I’d love to consume more of your making. 

What’s the box you’re thinking outside of

‘Be innovative ... but not too innovative,’ said the team leader. 

They wanted creative and innovative thinking, but not too much, not too ‘out there’. 

The need to generate clever and creative ideas is often called ‘thinking outside the box’. 

So... what’s the box? 

And how do you know you’re thinking beyond it or outside it? 

With the team, we identified their current ways and types of thinking, their usual ‘inside the box’ thinking

This helped identify what would be out there... or waaaay out there. 


Being more creative and innovative gets easier the more you do it. But the early days of a team thinking beyond their usual ways can mean taking a big step indeed. 

Courage, risk taking, speaking out, throwing in crazy ideas... and collect a heap of them. 

These are all good practices for extending your thinking beyond your usual boundaries. 

Take a step or two - once you identify what your ‘usual’ thinking is. 

Then you’ll be able to step out, out out of the box of your routine and habitual ways of thinking. 

Do you know how you solve problems

It’s a curious question because we can often blaze ahead problem solving ... without being aware of our process for how we’re actually doing it. 

Perhaps we’re on auto pilot, not conscious of what we’re doing or too busy in the details of the problem solving task to think about it. 

We can’t get better at a critically important skill like problem solving if we’re not tuned in to it. 

The World Economic Forum suggests problem solving is right up there in the skills we need for today and even more frequently in the future. 

So how do you solve problems? 

▫️Do you get all the information you can? 
▫️Assess your options? 
▫️Generate some alternatives? 
▫️Try out some solutions? 
▫️Experiment a little?
▫️Consult with respected peers? 
▫️Try a Google search to see what others have done? 
▫️Or phone a friend? 

Each of these is part of a suite of problem solving tools and techniques. 

As you work through solving your next problem, challenge or tricky situation, make a mental (or physical or digital) note of what you do... and how you do it. 

There’s greater 
▫️possibility, 
▫️efficiency and 
▫️creativity 
on the other side of our awareness. 

Where do you need more creativity

- A tech team wants to be able to come up with more creative solutions. 
- A healthcare group wants more interesting and creative meetings. 
- A business owner needs to offer more clever and creative services. 
- A service business wants to stand out from the competition and work more creatively across the entire organization. 


These are some of the situations in business, work and life that can benefit from more creativity. 


Where would you like it?

🔲 YOU
“I need more creativity” 
We can make things more interesting and work more productively and effectively when we bring more creativity. 

🔲 IT
“The task or project needs more creativity”
To accelerate progress, attract interest and support, or run more effectively, greater creativity can boost project success.

🔲 THEM
“They need more creativity”
Participants, attendees, guests, customers and clients deserve more creative communications, interactions and experiences, particularly if what we’re doing is a little dry, detailed or repetitive. 


Where would you like more creativity? 

Try starting with one and let it spread throughout the others.