At this time of year, I like to ponder the things that happen at Christmas and then find humorous ways of saying why they could not possibly happen.
For example:
Jingle Bells (and other assorted tunes) – too loud, causing environmental noise pollution and hearing damage
Christmas dinner – responsible for the obesity epidemic, only healthy eating lunches allowed
Christmas presents – in order to hit recycling targets no wrapping paper is to be used
Three wise men – how wise are they, set up league tables for comparison
Santa’s Outfit – not suitable for visually impaired/colour blind people
Gifts for baby Jesus – select alternative gifts as current ones are choking hazards
Sleigh delivery – restrictions placed by RSPCA on reindeer speed due to potholes caused by government cutbacks
Dining table – workstation assessments required due to incompatible dining chairs/table combinations
But this year we have COVID so add the following also:
Sleigh delivery – no signing for presents. An Elf will leave it on the doorstep (not down the chimney) and take a photo
Christmas Dinner – keeping the required distance away from relatives means that the more resilient members of your family will need to sit in the garden
Drinking – this will be severely curtailed as a great deal of alcohol from distilleries has been converted into hand sanitiser (please do not drink this)
Christmas Crackers – please do not laugh at the jokes. This can cause the dispersal of water droplets into the air
The point is that it is possible to raise objections, cancel events or avoid taking actions altogether by hiding behind ‘the givens’. Normally these are rules and regulations but sometimes these are just personal or organisational barriers that can be demolished if we have the will to.
So let’s turn this on its head. If we can find lots of reasons not to do something as big and fun as Christmas, just think what we could all do next year if we demolished all of the silly barriers or objections that stand in the way (or which we put in the way). I like to call this Boundary Relaxation and it can be a very useful technique indeed.
If you would like to know more about how you can use alternative thinking techniques in your organisation please visit my ReThinking page.
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