Once Upon A Time In Lisbon

In Lisbon, buildings are lined with tiles and the sun reflects so nimbly back into the atmosphere it is known as the city of light. The quality of this light dazzles poor tourists who are at risk of tripping up the steep hills and over bumpy pieces of tiles on the narrow footpaths. I scuffed the toes of my shoes while admiring this phenomenon.

From November 2 to 6th people from all over the world gathered to attend a conference called the House of Beautiful Business in this magical city. Those who committed to making the journey and sequestering themselves for 5 days in the Academy of Sciences experienced the following:

• A curated space to think differently, to be dangerous and bold
• Form relationships with an assembled a group of speakers, attendees, and volunteers who were kind, informed and prepared for whatever happened
• Pushed their thinking in ways that they didn't know it needed to be pushed
• Provided an atmosphere were putting ideas, vision, values, and humanity first didn't feel 'weird' when talking about the need to change the current state of business practices
• Serendipity became the norm, meeting the person who completed an idea, presented a personal or business opportunity or the right connection to move an idea forward while standing in line or sitting down next to them at dinner

I learned how to play and facilitate my Divergent Thinking Boardgame with two sets of participants. One group from all over Europe and the world who diplomatically put each other first to achieve their goal. And one group who excitedly expressed themselves in their native language. They were able to dive into creativity and build an entire story based performance, while I just checked in from time to time in English. I was not able to understand their play, but the group was fine without me. Although they did do their final performance in English for my benefit. Obrigada!

I learned that I am ready to be transformed by views, cultures, and ideas that are not my own. I learned that the love of story is foundational to creating play and fun in any culture. I learned that the power of creativity and divergence is embraced in the same way by everyone, just the outcomes differ based on the participant's input.

The photos below are from my divergent thinking workshop in Lisbon at the Unknown Conference and The House of Beautiful Business.

Photos from Divergent Thinking The Interactive Boardgame:

Curious to talk about how divergent thinking can improve creativity for your projects and teams? Get in touch! I am always happy to chat! Send an email to [email protected]