We Need Imagination Now More Than Ever

Pandemics, wars, and other social crises often create new attitudes, needs, and behaviors, which we need to anticipate. Imagination — the capacity to create, evolve and exploit mental models of things or situations that don’t yet exist — is the crucial factor in seizing and creating new opportunities, and finding new paths to growth.While imagination may seem like a frivolous luxury in a crisis, it is actually a necessity for building future success. The authors offer seven ways companies can develop their organization’s capacity for imagination: 1) Carve out time for reflection; 2) Ask active, open questions; 3) Allow yourself to be playful; 4) Set up a system for sharing ideas; 5) Seek out the anomalous and unexpected;  6) Encourage experimentation; and 7) Stay hopeful.