Here is today's quick question for you...How do we balance creative exploration with strategic focus?

Innovation teams live perpetually in tension between possibility and practicality. The creative energy that generates breakthrough ideas can also lead down fascinating rabbit holes that, while intellectually interesting, serve no one. The challenge isn't choosing between strategy and creativity. It’s finding a way to harness the power of both at the same time.

Ask it when you're...

1. Justifying your creative efforts - When stakeholders question your team's "fun" projects, it's time to examine whether you're communicating the strategic value of exploration.

2. Finding brilliant ideas go nowhere - If your team is ‘all ideas, no execution’.

3. Priorities are unclear - When every creative pursuit feels equally valid, but resources are constrained.

Here is today's quick question for you...​What do we expect from each other?

Ask it when you're...

1. Joining a new organisation or team  - When working together for the first time, there can be a whole range of unspoken expectations that, if not acknowledged, can become traps for the team down the track.

2. Navigating tension - If things start to feel tense in your team, sometimes that’s because your expectations of each other are not being met. Asking an open question like this can help uncover the source of the problem.

3. Establishing a new partnership  - New partnerships are exciting, and there can be a tendency to jump into the work without stopping to align on how you’d like to work together. For more insights on successful partnerships, check out Wednesday Partnership by Phil Hayes-St Clair.