It’s Time to Break Your Bubble

To be clear, what you’re about to read isn’t meant to be some inspirational kumbaya invitation to sit around a campfire together. There’s something more going on here.

The reality is this… The challenges we’re all facing today, the ones that keep us up at night and drive us crazy during the day, will not be solved sitting alone in a bubble. None of us are that smart on our own – and even if we think we are, trying to drive solutions alone is slow.

Want to speed up the process of getting unstuck? Leverage the minds, experiences, and help of other people.

It’s the week of the GOVIT Symposium, an event one of our clients produces here in the Twin Cities. For three days, city, county, state, and regional IT leaders all get together alongside tribal government and public education IT professionals. Why are events like this important? This quote captures it well…

“In an age of vexing challenges, public officials, business leaders, and nonprofits are nurturing collaborative public-private ecosystems to take advantage of shared knowledge and unique strengths to drive solutions.” – Deloitte, March 2023

That concept of shared knowledge is the key. Alone, none of us has all of the answers to any of the challenges we’re facing… and today, there are many challenges. Pick your favorite, or the one that is top-of-mind for you today, and then think about trying to solve it alone. It feels daunting, right? Overwhelming? Maybe like there’s no solution at all?

Now, think about trying to solve that same challenge with other people alongside you. The Deloitte quote nails it. When we share knowledge and our unique strengths, we drive solutions. When each of us brings our own experiences to the table, we open up a world of possibilities.

That’s the spirit of the GOVIT Symposium and so many other conferences like it. When we work together, learn together, and share together, we all win. It’s the same reason peer groups and masterminds are so powerful. As the saying goes, we are stronger together. We just need to make room for these shared experiences to happen. We need to be intentional about investing in one another, especially today.

Call-to-Action
Break your bubbles. Looking ahead to 2024, find and create spaces like the GOVIT Symposium where you can share knowledge and surround yourself with one another’s unique strengths. These are the environments where we’ll solve our challenges together, learning from one another and leveraging the experiences each of us brings to the table.