Our assumptions are based on our experiences. But if we change our assumptions, then could we have amazing new experiences and innovations?
How travel changes my sense of ‘normal’
A big reason why I travel, is to shake up my defaults of what is normal, and question what I think I know to be true.
For example, during my month in Valencia, Spain, I changed my mind on a few things, like:
- What the ingredients are in paella
- How internationally available graham crackers and semi-sweet chocolate are (or are not)
- What standard business hours are
- Where the Holy Grail is hanging out
This was all good practice for checking my assumptions that had been formed on my own prior experience.
We all pick-up ‘defaults’ but we can change them!
We all pick up defaults along the way, like:
- All team meetings happen in conference rooms
- All committee meetings are conducted by the committee chair
These were basically the norms around me at university, and what I later saw around me in business. But the smallest amount of scrutiny will confirm that they are not universal truths. That frees us up to try different things.
- Some of my favourite team meetings happened with all of us squeezed into my office.
- Some of my most productive committee meetings had the newest members facilitating the discussion.
Having a curiosity about what we do out of habit or convention, can be our spark for innovation.
Exercise for your innovation muscle
- Today, audit your regular routine for elements that you might be doing basically on auto-pilot (how you put on socks and shoes; the time your meetings start and end; your choice of what is a breakfast food versus a lunch food)
- Then imagine doing something differently (What if the interns presented the update? What if we had a walking meeting? What if the reports were all pre-recorded videos set to music?)
- Through the week, keep adding to your notes.
- Then, before the end of the week, try doing at least one thing differently.
- Notice how you feel when you implement it, and then reflect on how the outcomes might be shifting your sense of what’s normal.
