get outside your comfort zone

I recently felt the need to drag myself away from my desk, my clients and briefing templates. I wanted to disrupt my thinking and engage with people way beyond my current circle of influence.

I recently felt the need to drag myself away from my desk, my clients and briefing templates. I wanted to disrupt my thinking and engage with people way beyond my current circle of influence.

Call it a reality check, call it disruption.

Either way I hoped for the gift of inspiration and perspective. Something I believe is vital in any role, but particularly when you are a strategist at an ad agency.

So, where would I find it?

I have been following the growth of social enterprises, and enjoyed Thomas Friedman’s book, ‘An Optimists Guide to Acceleration.’ So when I received an email from Auckland Uni’s Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, inviting me to be part of their Global Climathon Event, I thought let’s start with this.

Commit and work it out later.

So, on Friday night I walked by myself into the purpose built Unleash space on Symonds street @Auckland Uni Campus. This 24-hour ideas hack was already heaving with a 100 or so students, staff, scientists, corporates, NGOs and the wider Auckland community.

Our challenge?

How do we create a new energy future for Auckland?

Within the hour, we were reviewing the biggest issues on land use, energy production, waste, carbon emissions and alternate energy sources. All of which I knew very little about.

In the next hour, we were pitching ideas to the floor and forming teams to spend the next twenty or so hours researching the validity of our solution. It was amazing to see participants turn their energy into action, to tackle some of our largest climate issues. And yes, some of them sounded a little crazy.

Solutions presented included everything from recycling poo into gas, to utilising the Kaipara coast for tidal energy. 

TrashTag, the winning team selected by a panel of expert judges, came up with the idea of developing an app which photographed items advising consumers where and how this item should be recycled. Their first prototype app was created in less than 24 hours.

As I’d hoped, the process completely disrupted everything I knew about ideas and people.

I was part of a team where the average age was about twenty. All were multilingual and had been involved with various social enterprises following graduation. Going into the workforce for these guys was not their first option. That led them to some pretty interesting and socially powerful solutions.

So, whilst we didn’t win, I was utterly inspired and committed to continue to seek reality checks outside my comfort zone.

Watch this space for the next one.