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Hello,

Sorry for the radio silence last week. I was planning to send my newsletter on Thursday/Friday last week to share some insights from Blue Earth Summit. But I was having too good a time connecting with generous humans doing meaningful work. I figured you'd forgive me.

It was great to see so many of you there: Abby, Ben, Jonny, Bonnie, Adam, Jordan, Charles, Ritchie, and so many more.

Today's newsletter is inspired by an experience at Blue Earth... so let's get to it.

Last week at the Blue Earth Summit, I found myself in a room full of strangers solving problems for charities I’d never met.

It was part of a hackathon run by Toni Finnimore in partnership with 1% for the Planet. Four charities, four real challenges, and a random mix of people thrown together to find creative solutions.

What struck me wasn’t just the ideas that came out (though they were fantastic). What struck me was how we came up with them.

One person brings a challenge, and a group of random people gather around their table to help. You didn't need any qualifications or job titles. Just a willingness to join.

I joined Lizzie from The Bike Project. I knew two people on our table: a designer and a sustainability consultant. I'd have loved more time to get to know everyone else.

But here we were, 10-13 random people all looking at the same problem from completely different angles. Trying to offer value in some way.

It made me realise:

Creativity doesn’t come from the “right” people being in the room. It comes from unexpected people being in the room.

Most organisations silo creativity

Strategy happens in the boardroom. It's the sales team's job to sell. IT make the systems run. And creativity is left to the marketing team.

But this is the wrong way to think about it all.

Some of the most original ideas come from people who aren’t burdened by the usual assumptions. Those who see things from a different angle. Who aren’t supposed to have the answers.

As I shared the other week in the Cult of Curiosity:

When we only invite usual suspects to the table, we limit the range of possible solutions because they tend to think in the same way they always do. But bring in someone who doesn't usually solve a problem like this, and you get a fresh perspective. (Plus, you get the energy that comes from people feeling trusted to contribute.)

The beauty is: you don’t need a special occasion to make this happen. You can do it tomorrow.

Why this works

When we only invite the usual suspects into a room, we can fall into a cognitive trap known as groupthink: where the desire for harmony often overrides critical and creative thinking. Irving Janis, who coined the term, found this often leads to safe ideas, unchallenged assumptions, and missed opportunities.

But it’s not about having more voices.
It’s about different ones.

That’s where the outsider effect comes in. Studies show that teams think more creatively when someone from a different background, discipline, or mindset joins the discussion. Not because they have all the answers, but because they ask different questions. They see blind spots the rest of the group has normalised.

It’s a reminder that creative breakthroughs often come from the edges, not the centre.

Try running your own Creative Sprint →

You could do this in so many ways. The simplest version is to invite someone from a different department to contribute.

But, to give you a fuller structure, here's my interpretation of Toni's hackathon as inspiration for you today.

1️⃣ Frame the challenge

Pick a real challenge your team is facing. Keep it broad, but focused. For example:

• How can we reduce the amount of waste we produce as a business?
• What's a novel way to increase local wellbeing?
• How do we get new supporters for our cause?

Invite people from outside the usual lot. People from ops, HR, IT, finance, facilities, or front-line staff. The weirder the mix, the better.

2️⃣ Get creative

Follow this rough process:

• Clarify & agree on the problem. Ask, "Is this the real issue?"
• Then identify the quick wins. Things you can try immediately.
• Finally, think about the longer-term solutions. Ideas that might remove this challenge for good.

3️⃣ Start doing

Change happens by doing. So make an action plan.

I love a 30/60/90 day plan. But do whatever works for you and your team. The important thing is you do.

What challenge are you facing right now, where you could use this approach?

Book a room. Invite people from across your team (or network). Present the challenge and see what happens.

I'd love to hear how you get on.

Be well,

P.S. Toni runs a cool project called The Social Society. Check it out.

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