To have truly generative and creative meetings, we need to put our analytic minds aside and open ourselves up to what scientist and improvisational actor,  Uri Alon calls, “the cloud.” Easier said than done! But there are a few tricks we can take from the world of theater to set the stage for creativity, even in the board room.

1) Set up the meeting by reminding everyone …read on.

In the wonderful Ken Burns documentary, Jazz, Albert Murray says that Duke Ellington had an “experimental disposition.” That phrase caught me. I paused the screen, startled. I want that! How does one cultivate an experimental disposition? How does one approach everyday events and tasks as if we are inventing them in the moment, so that everything feels alive, new, fresh, unexpected? This week, let’s cultivate an experimental disposition by consciously inviting in the unknown. Read on to hear how composers and scientist beckon the “cloud.”