When one has the luck to be selected and present [see below…] for the 8-i.org challenge, Dutch division, one learns.
It started when my wife, volunteer for the Stichting Babyspullen, happened to get a slot at the March 28th Utrecht session. And couldn’t find a fellow volunteer to be present all 18:00-04:00h so I chipped in (also for the ride home as public transport would be a night-mare).
It continued with all sorts of small lessons learned throughout the evening, regarding (event) management and content.
But the one thing that stood out was: How, per charity, the volunteer creatives that lend their time, were hand-selected to form as (age-)diverse teams as possible, and with a definite eye for some but optimised not maximised team competence diversity as well.
You probably get it already: Why don’t all businesses work that way ..!? Why would any buiness that wants to think of itself as Creative or Innovative or Open to Change or just We Don’t Want To Acknowledge We’re Boring As Heck, follow this model, too? Usually, almost always, the safe route, the Our Kind Of People incestuous groupthink wins out. Yes, even in creative circles, anyone not fitting the wannabe-hipster mold would be outcast, not allowed in.
So, @8_iOrg won the day, and saved it (for me, for this already), by deliberately changing common ways and demonstrating that when results are wanted (i.e., the specific objective(s) for the charities helped for free) where any level of creativity is required, one best goes for team diversity.
Now you all go out there and spread this word in your organisations. Not by babble but by actual action. For now:
[Where would be the reason to build something standard?
Why need a reason to be creative?
Hopefully, all will move to standard-only-where-actually-needed…;
Cala at Hoofddorp]
