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| Photo by Ostap Senyuk on Unsplash |
Have you ever watched children play in a sandbox at the park. They are drawn to the confines of this box and most of the sand they play with actually stays in its borders . . . amazingly. The sandbox is an ingenious invention. It gives children a safe place to play, experiment, imagine and enjoy the sand that fills it.
We need the same in our organizations. Sandboxes I mean. Knowing that people respond to safe spaces and gravitate to them to do some of their most creative work, we need to create innovation sandboxes that tell our staff it is ok to experiment here.
Many times we tell those we work with, "We want you to be innovative." But most of the time we don't take the next step and create the spaces for that innovation. We assume it will just happen. But I think we can all attest to the fact that it doesn't.
So what is a sandbox practically. It might defined by a particular project. It might be an actual room in your office. It could be a weekly brainstorming session you hold. Maybe it is a budget you create that gives funding to your team's latest idea. The sandbox can take many shapes but what it always provides is a place where your team feels safe trying something new.
What sandbox can you create this week for your team to begin exploring?
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