Incorporating Stimulus into the work environment

And I don't mean economic stimulus.

I spent this week in the most invigorating business meetings I have ever attended and what made them so engaging was the use of external stimulus to get people to approach a problem from an entirely different perspective than their natural business tendencies would be. From a project POV, it got us to a place we wouldn't have discovered if we had done things our traditional way, which is really great.

But more importantly, I think I personally grew this week more than in the last year in total. And I've been thinking for the last day about exactly why the activities of this week had such an impact on me. Here is what I came up with:

• It wasn't death by powerpoint. The 4 days involved live speakers, field trips, arts and crafts type projects and videos. These things not only broke up the days into manageable chunks but caused me to participate at a much higher level than I normally would.
• I got to use the creative side of my mind for a majority of the day rather than haphazardly. I painted a picture, created a collage, discussed poetry, WROTE poetry, talked in metaphors. Those are activities that I haven't tackled collectively since college. It was completely energizing. I love to paint and haven't picked up a paintbrush in almost a decade. And while I read poetry fairly often, I don't get the chance to discuss it ever and haven't created the time to write it.
• People were having fun. There were 17 of us from all over the world, sharing experiences and perspectives, laughing with each other, building on each others ideas. It was a fantastic climate.
• We went on field trips, laid on the floor of a science center, visited an art gallery and wandered through neighborhoods. We didn't just sit in a conference room. We were like children.
  
• It made me want to go back to school, learn new things, find a new career. It made me care more about life.

Sometimes things happen or come along at exactly the right point in your life... this week was one of those for me and I am really glad to have been able to be a part of this experience.