The Ideas Room

Ideas Rooms began as a lockdown initiave of our sister project, JoyFE💛 They are a brand new application of the Thinking Environment, a set of pro-social (community building), anti-competitive processes which allow people to do their best thinking in the presence of generative attention from others.

Everyone is welcome to our regular Wednesday evening public Ideas Rooms 8pm-9pm (direct message @stef_wilkinson on Twitter or WhatsApp Lou Mycroft 07779135201) and Friday term times 9am. We can also run Ideas Rooms for your organisation. They are most effective online, and can be used with staff teams and with cross-sections of the workforce.

A great idea finds its time.

What happens in an Ideas Room?

Using Thinking Environment Processes allows the tiny seedling🌱 of an idea to be exposed to light. We do our best thinking when we can be confident in the generative attention of others. Sometimes we may invite others' perspectives on our idea, but it's never about giving advice.

If an idea has found its time, it may return again and again to the Ideas Room, to benefit from diverse perspectives and more dedicated thinking time. The thinker may identify other processes to run it through, such as Three Horizons or an Influence Analysis (both workshops we can offer) - or it may just fly.

Learning to Listen

In an Ideas Room, everyone gets air time, whether they have an idea or not. Listeners have light bulb moments💡 too! The process is very disciplined. We don't have many rules, but we ask you to abide closely to those few we do have (we explain very clearly). You won't be interrupted (in fact, interrupting only happens if the facilitator interrupts an interruptor!) Knowing you won't be interrupted is what makes the difference to a thinker.

Don't worry if you're not a very good listener. In this fast paced life, few of us are. Like yoga, calligraphy or any other skill, learning to listen takes practice. This is where you learn. If you interrupt, we'll interrupt you, but we'll do it with respect and grace.

Equal as Thinkers

In the Ideas Room, we are equal as thinkers. Role, rank and ego get left at the door. This might be more refreshing than you think.

Incisive means Succinct

Some people bang on a bit when they first come to the Ideas Room. This is natural and it's probably because in 'real life' we have to hang onto what bit of airtime we are allowed. Taking a little pause before you speak (when it's your turn) - knowing you will not be interrupted - allows you to gather your thoughts and be more succinct. This, in turn, helps us follow your thinking.

Being succinct cuts out the hot air. It impacts on your writing and the way you come across to people verbally. If you struggle with it, we will help, and we will give you frequent reminders that it's good to be succinct.

No Idea? Come and Listen

Ideas are great and great ideas need listeners to generate the space to grow. At any time, more than 50% of the room will be there to listen. And in listening, they often have another great idea.

Facilitation Practice

We don't do 'drive by' CPD. If we work with you, we'll be teaching you the skills alongside. In the Wednesday public Ideas Rooms, you will see different people trying out the facilitator role and practising the key skill (harder than it looks!) of being on 'Floo Powder' (getting people into the different breakout rooms. We also run regular Ideas Room Facilitator training.

Not Just for Girls!

For ages, the blokes didn't come. We didn't mind that, because whoever's there are the right people, but it puzzled us. The Ideas Room is a disciplined and rigorous process, far more disciplined than any regular work meeting we've ever been to, and we think there was a misconception that it was pink and fluffy. Anything but! That is really beginning to shift - hurrah! - but in case you're concerned, there are no unicorns or rainbows involved.

Testimony

From Tracey Lee:

"I was hugely daunted by my first time in the Ideas Room, still am occasionally and that's OK. I think it helped that I attended every day for the two-week period of very the Easter holiday. One has to keep going I think to feel the benefit of the Thinking Environment principles, to experience those wonderful lightbulb moments, but it does take courage. A person can only step into that when they feel ready to 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. For me, it's. been transformational, both for my teaching practice and personal development in the widest sense."