We need imagination more than ever

 

Crisis management has become a familiar term. We have been living through crises for the last six months facing unexpected, unpredictable situations and managing it.

But the current crisis is different and it seems that we will never return to pre-crisis reality. Epidemics, wars often create new ways, attitudes, behaviours. here our imagination - capacity to create, exploit models of things that do not exist is crucial to creating opportunities and find new paths to growth. It is also one of the most difficult things to keep alive in under pressure. 

Companies that can keep this imagination alive can reap significant value. Companies that invest in new growth areas during recession and downturns outperform competitively.

With imagination, we can thrive in a crisis by shaping our response. For this, we need to strategise across various timelines each requiring different responses. The normal path followed is

• The initial response is rapid reaction and defence.
• Next, the focus is on building plans to sustain in the recession that is likely to follow.
• As the economy revives, focus shifts to rebound, making adjustments to product portfolio and supply chains as companies seek to exploit the new demand in new areas.
• Gradually, as the system becomes more malleable, companies shift to reinventing by applying creative approaches to strategy.

In summary, reactive measures give way to planning based strategies and then onwards to shaping strategic opportunities. Companies must learn to differentiate between temporary and enduring shifts in demand and not suppress their imagination to develop strategies.

How to develop a company's capacity for imagination?

Carve out time for reflection  - Leaders and managers will be busy managing the crisis and it is easy to lose yourself in it in preference o other tasks. But make time to stand back and reflect imagine the big picture, shape a future by making time for imagination.

We are all aware of our instinctive reaction to a crisis "fight or flight " system that narrows our focus. there is a need o create a rhythm of action followed by reflection as we navigate the crisis. The following are some of the ways it can be done

• taking a deep breath and letting out slowly - slowing down our rapid breath which leads to calm our senses.
• Take time over a meal to digest, rest and reflect.
• Listen to or play music.
• Going out for a walk, without your phone.

Ask open questions -  In a crisis, we will not have immediate answers. One needs to avoid passive questions like "what wil happen?" and change the tenor to active questions like "How do we create new options?". this involves going beyond known alternatives to ask questions that prompt exploration of new ideas and ways of doing things. 

• Which product or service would be sought after in a crisis?
• What are the customer needs that do not have a solution presently?
• What can we do better for our customers?
• If we were a startup, what products or service would we build?
• Why are loyal customers still doing business with us?

Allow yourself to be playful  - Crisis is a time when we get driven by goals and serious response to avoid catastrophe. In such an unprecedented, rapidly changing ground reality, play can be a critical capability providing the much-needed stress relief and end up being very productive. It allows you to make interesting connections between ideas. it allows one to practice imagining, improvising and being open to inspiration.

Set up a system for sharing ideas - Imagination does not happen at an individual level and companies need to encourage collective imagination to spread the ideas and share it while they are still under development, creating forums for discussions without hierarchy, reports and permissions.

Many ideas may get rejected in the name of "common sense" or for not meeting the bar for sensible suggestions without being explored. One needs to open up rather than restrict the funnel for new ideas. 

Seek out the anomalous or unexpected  - Imagination is triggered by unique inputs. When our mind faces something that does not fit our mental models, we adapt our model and this opens up different strategies and course of action. To solve tough new problems look externally. Examine anomalies, accidents and it would lead to reframing, rethinking and discovering new possibilities. 

Encourage experimentation - Encourage experimentation even though the crisis stretches our resources. Systems become more resilient when they are diverse and diversity comes from trying out new things. Our ideas become useful when tried out in real-world, often resulting in unexpected bonanzas. 

Stay hopeful  - Imaginations feeds off aspirations and when we lose hope we lose the belie to meet our ideals to fix the problem. Pessimism can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dealing with risk involves taking imaginative steps which require hope. leaders should inspire and harness the imagination of their organisation especially during a crisis. 

imagination may seem to be a frivolous luxury in these testing times, but it is a necessity for building future success.

We need imagination more than ever

By Martin Reeves and Jack Fuller

HBR 2020/04