Street Wisdom - the innovation tool
Street Wisdom is an innovation tool, if you think of innovation in its broadest terms.
Take the example of VELCRO. While on a walk, George de Mestral noticed that the hook-like structure of burdock burrs meant that seed pods stuck to his dog’s fur.
Let’s get something straight. Hundreds and thousands of people walked their dogs the same way before George did! The burdock burrs were stuck to all their dogs!
But it was George who did something different. It was George who had tuned into the environment around him, who slowed down, who was drawn to what attracted him, who took a pause, who noticed what happened, who asked a question, who shared his discovery with others. Way before David Pearl coined the phrase, George de Mestral was effectively on his own Street Wisdom Walkshop!
After his productive hike, De Mestral decided to explore the potential of creating a clothing fastener using the same technology. In 1955, he filed a patent for a “hook and loop” fastener and called it VELCRO, a portmanteau of the French words for velvet (velours) and hook (crochet).
This incredible innovation has created hundreds and thousands of solutions for all kinds of companies, organisations and brands since, opening up whole new possibilities. It’s the ultimate example of an innovation discovered while outdoors on a wander.
Street Wisdom is all about discovering new things while outdoors (or indoors) on a wander.
There are probably three kinds of innovation at Street Wisdom:
Hard innovation: OK, so this is the “classic” kind - where you use the Street Wisdom process to intentionally discover a new product innovation through R&D. Street Wisdom is your R&D process. Here you can use Street Wisdom intentionally to devise a new product or service for your company or brand. After the Tune Ups, your Quest might be something like: “Streets, give me inspiration for a new product idea”. As you wander, you are alert to all the answers the environment gives you.
Soft innovation: In the Street Wisdom context, this is the more serendipitous, general approach to innovation. Finding solutions as a byproduct of the Street Wisdom process of discovery. Here you use Street Wisdom, and new product or service ideas, or broader innovations, are the indirect consequence of your wandering. After the Tune Ups, your Quest might be something like: “Streets, show me something I don’t already know”. As you wander, you are alert to all the answers the environment gives you.
Self-innovation: Innovation within the inner sphere! Applying the rigour of innovation to your relationships with others and your inner life. Here you use Street Wisdom as a deep self-reflective tool to help you find new ways of being and relating. After the Tune Ups, your Quest might be something like: “Streets, show me new ways of relating to myself and others”. As you wander, you are alert to all the answers the environment gives you.
What’s Street Wisdom again?
Street Wisdom is a creative practice you add to your everyday walk, and we share it every week for FREE in our online and in-person Walkshops.
Very simply put, you take a question for a walk to help you find fresh inspiration. We believe answers are everywhere, all around us, especially when we’re tuned in to our environment. Your question can be about anything - life or work or love or community or the planet or everything in between. Anything you want some fresh inspiration for.
It might be…
A question about work - What’s my next product innovation? How can I best lead my team? How can I achieve more with less energy?
A question about life - What should my next hobby be? How can I meet new people? What don’t I know already? Which of my values do I want to explore more?
A question about love - Should I stay with my partner? Should we move to another city? How can I bring all of me to my relationship?
A question about community - How can I best support my local neighbourhood? What’s being called of me in my local area? How can I meet people who don’t share my opinions?
A question about the planet - What do I need to do to help nature flourish? Which volunteering projects shall I contribute to? What does the planet want me to do next?
The idea is that you take your question for a walk and - once you’ve tuned in to the world around you through our easy three-part process (which you learn on a FREE Walkshop) - the streets send you fresh answers that directly relate to your question through signs and signals.
Suddenly, the world is rich with meaningful sounds, sights, images, patterns, words, posters, overheard conversations, colours, animals, birds, nature, cloud formations (looking up is great!) - all kinds of things.
The world is there for you, if you keep your mind and heart open!
Try it right now!
This curious practice we’ve developed and refined over the last 15 years is backed by the latest mindfulness, neuroscience, creativity and wellness theory.
To give it a go right now, you can try our five-minute taster, or sign up for an online or in-person Walkshop (yes, walking workshop!) to practise it fully. Once you’ve learned it, you’ve got a skill for life!
Fancy going a bit deeper?
There's a whole world of thinking and feeling behind the Street Wisdom practice. If you fancy going a bit deeper, you can make it a regular practice (every day is a good time to wander!).
Join us every month for our Online Walkshop Club and build a regular Street Wisdom practice. You can join from anywhere in the world. The sessions are FREE (like all our Walkshops).
Grab a copy of the insights-galore book Wanderful by our founder David Pearl and dive into the theory and practice behind Street Wisdom. Proceeds from the book go back into keeping Street Wisdom free for all.
Why not become a volunteer host in your neighbourhood and bring people together to practise their curiosity? We support our amazing hosts with special Walkshops just for them, and extra resources to boost their own practice.
Interested?
Have a good proper look around our website www.streetwisdom.org. Remember - answers are everywhere, we can find them together. So whatever your question is right now, you’re not alone, come take it for a walk with us.
Also…
Sign up for our newsletter and get the first chapter of Wanderful for FREE!
So get offline, get off your phone, get off on the wonder all around. You deserve it, and the world does too!
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