How seaworthy is your boat?

I feel as if we’re in the midst of an ocean crossing at the moment. We’ve weathered some serious storms, there could be more to come, but land is definitely in sight. The only thing is, we’re all in different boats, and some are more seaworthy than others. 

Thankfully, my boat has been slightly more seaworthy than the one in the photo above, so I'm daring to think about what things might be like once we reach land.

Numerous people have asked me: what do you think things will be like on the other side? What will our places, communities and businesses be like? What will change? What will stay the same? Where will the opportunities lie?

The answer? Well let’s be honest, if someone tells you with complete confidence that they know what the future is going to be like… my guess is they’re faking it.

Shaping rather than predicting the future

I think there’s a real opportunity to spend less time trying to predict the future and a great deal more time having a go at shaping it.

I recently wrote that this is our ‘unplayable piano moment ' – the time to use our creativity for good. If we’re to stay true to that, the first step in a good creative process is to look within.

The experiment

In the spirit of this, I’d love your help with an experiment I’m running. Are you game?

It's about getting to the heart of things. I'm inspired by the talented illustrator, Christoph Niemann and his idea of the 'abstract-o-meter'. (Christoph featured in a wonderful Netflix documentary series called Abstract. You can watch it here for free if you haven't seen it already).

The big questions...

We started this process as an experiment at Siren. The results were so fascinating I'd like you to try it too. It boils down to two questions:

• What have you lost?
• What have you gained?

Simple questions. Amazingly insightful answers.

This is the bit where I'd love your help

To do this we've created a simple survey and I'd love you to take part. It’s super simple and it’s anonymous. The more responses we can get, the better the experiment.

You can take the survey HERE.

But this isn’t just our experiment. Feel free to take the idea and translate it in your own way. Do it with your own people. Or just do it personally. It doesn’t matter, there are no rules. The only rules are that we try and gain insight, take time to think about things and then share the experience.

I want to get as many responses as I can, and then I’d like to share it.

Why? Well, I think we have a real opportunity to shape our future, and in order to do that we not only have to look within, we also have to share what we learn. We have to be brutally honest about what we want. This is our moment. How often do you get that chance to shape things?

This has been a very humbling experience for all of us. My greatest fear is that we will revert to the ways of old.

Instead let’s experiment. Let’s share. Let’s be playful and have a bit of fun. Be fearless, and let’s allow everyone to have a voice, and let’s listen.

The results may just surprise us.