Strategic Imagination: What is it? Why do we need it?

Beyond Leaning In

To wrap things up in this final episode of the first season of BEYOND LEANING IN, Melanie and Carla discuss what organizations are up against and why Melanie is passionate about using the imaginative arts as a surprising tool to solve today’s problems. Melanie also shares what her company Strategic Imagination is all about and how she hopes to utilize the arts including fiction, theatre and drawing to help organizations find new solutions to increasingly complicated problems. Tune in to learn why Fortune 500 companies like Lowe’s and Nike are hiring science fiction writers to help them envision their futures, and how Melanie’s innovative work aims to revolutionize the way organizations approach DEI.

Thank you so much for tuning in during this first season of BEYOND LEANING IN. Please leave your suggestions for Melanie through her website, pick up your own copy of the book, and stay tuned for information on Strategic Imagination workshops and events!

Jump straight into:

(00:40) - Introduction: Sparking discussion and further change - “Beyond Leaning In is what I see as the inaugural or first initiative of my company, Strategic Imagination.”

(04:13) - Why artists are being hired to envision organizations’ futures - “Lowe's was suddenly really seen as an innovator and that happened because they were able to unlock the power of science fiction and the arts.”

(08:02) - The importance of liberal arts - “I ended up designing my own major because that was really the only way to figure out how to unlock what the arts could do to help people think about these different kinds of topics.”

(12:36) - A set of tools to problem-solve in a different way - “You can actually think of drawing in a different way, which is just drawing as a way to free your mind, and to think more creatively and think differently.”

(16:27) - The top goals for Strategic Imagination - “My hope is that participants are able to use that power of drawing to begin to envision a whole wide range of potential solutions.”

(19:40) - How to get out of the default answer through art - “Art therapy has become increasingly popular among psychotherapists because it actually does help people deal with difficult issues and talk about things in a different way.”

(22:15) - What is next for Beyond Leaning In and Strategic Imagination? - “What's on your wishlist for how I can help?”

Resources

Learn more about Melanie’s workshops

Sign up to host a book club with Melanie

See and share Melanie’s 31 Days of #BeyondLeaningIn Webcomics

Get the book Beyond Leaning In by Melanie Ho

Learn more about Strategic ImaginationSee MacArthur Genius & Cartoonist Lynda Barry talk about silencing our inner critics

How Reading Fiction Increases Empathy and Encourages UnderstandingFollow Melanie Ho on Instagram or Twitter

Follow Carla Hickman on Instagram or Twitter

BEYOND LEANING IN is a podcast designed to inspire candid discussion about gender gaps in the workplace. All too often, the “real talk” about the challenges that professional women face happens behind closed doors. Author Melanie Ho is on a mission to change that through her new book, BEYOND LEANING IN. She is joined in this podcast by co-host Carla Hickman as the two longtime friends discuss the ideas and research that inform Melanie’s book. You will also be invited to listen and join the conversation with early readers, women and men across generations and a wide range of professions, as they reflect, discuss and debate the ideas in the book. Also, don’t forget to get a copy of BEYOND LEANING IN in any of its formats, now available on Amazon.

Thanks for joining us today! Don’t forget to visit Beyond Leaning In’s website for more information, and feel free to reach out to contribute to these important discussions. This show has been produced by StudioPod Media.