Why a blue sky session might just be the thing you or your business needs!

Immediately you are asking yourself what the hell is a blue sky session and why do I need it? Well, first let us start talking about what a blue sky session is and then we can chat about why it’s so important for your business. A blue sky session is a safe ego-free space where there are no rules.

The rules are anything goes and no idea is shot down or considered a bad one. So, a blue sky session typically starts with an idea that is so far out there that you take it to a whole other level. In my history, blue sky session has added additional lines the P&L, created new revenue streams, opened up doors for licensing agreements that I never could have imagined, new sales doors and an opportunity to go global with a product. That’s the thing with blue sky when you allow your team or yourself to take the blinders off with a little bit of guidance you rip the training wheels right off and create some incredible ideas that might seem crazy but in all actuality, they are the start of something gigantic!

Why it’s so helpful? SO blue sky strips away all egos, it allows team members that might not feel like they have a voice to be able to speak up. What you might not know and have trouble understanding, I would be lying if I didn’t feel this way is that you think why wouldn’t someone speak up in a team meeting or why wouldn’t they bring you a solution to a problem? What you might have trouble realizing is that you are intimidating and so is the idea of bringing a solution to a problem for you. You are the boss and you should know every answer and that’s the problem. Most of us are just figuring things out and don’t have our finger on the pulse in every situation. We need to create the environment for this type of behavior and what I have found is that having a specific “blue sky session” is the best way to start that. I have even heard of companies creating judging panels to help identify and fix issues that the employees think is a problem. The winner gets a prize and implementation of the fix. How awesome is that?  It’s giving the power to your team to help fix a problem that they think needs to be fixed and then you get to help pull funds to implement this winning idea! It sounds like a win-win. So with that being said, this is why you should try and create a process like a blue sky session to help usher in a new idea that can help your business continue to innovate.