The Power of What If
What if?
It’s a powerful question that kids ask frequently. What if I drop this glass? What if I mix red, purple and green? What if humans and dinosaurs roamed the Earth at the same time?
What if?
What if we kept asking that question into adulthood? What if we never outgrow that kernel of curiosity? Imagination and possibility are essential components of a healthy ecosystem, both personally and professionally. We need people who aren’t afraid to ask “What if?”
During my call with my dad today we were talking about an honorary uncle, Bill. When I was a pre-teen, Dad and Bill took me to my first concert: Alice Cooper. The show was incredible, culminating in Alice’s head being placed in a guillotine. Bill is a lifelong Alice fan and, as dad and I were talking about Bill’s upcoming birthday and his love of music, I said: What if we invite Alice Cooper?
Most people would stop there. A silly idea, it could never happen.
But I went a step further and found Alice’s agent. I knew it would be pricy for him to perform at a private event, but what if we had the extra cash lying around? What if a friend of a friend was connected to Alice’s manager? What if it was for a fundraiser event?
I kept brainstorming off and on through the evening, poking at “what if” and even though I ultimately didn’t end up hiring Alice Cooper to play at the birthday party, but, hey, it’s not entirely out of the question. Part of the fun of the exercise was practicing bringing ideas to life, which I’ve done again and again through my career. We manifested an agency that could support our work-life balance. We hire people we enjoy working with. We place a high value on asking “what if?”
Everyone on our team knows that “what if” is how we “try on” an idea, test a theory, say something out loud to see how it sounds. They know that this is the backbone to productive brainstorming, where we open doors to possibilities. We use the trust we’ve built to decide where the group — in this case, the customer or client — ultimately wants to spend their time, energy, and resources. And it all starts with someone paying attention to that spark of childlike imagination.
But now we are adults, and we know that “what if” leads to “what is.”
