Children are our most valuable natural resources – Herbert Clark
Stupid thing to do? See through the eye(s) of a child sometimes. Ask a child his solution to a problem. We have heard of and had those “power moments” of brainstorming, the big board meeting, the big tables and the big chairs, the markers with big wigs and their gadgets that lead to nothing.
Adults could be regimented because of their formed opinion and experience but the heart of a child is always inquisitive, curious and wanting to know. Children aren’t afraid of making mis-take, they see the fun in the activity, and are willing to make ‘trying’ a tool for exploration. Everybody thinks. Everybody including children thinks. This is the age of Experience. Children are quick to state their experiences about places, products and services.
I once went to a “Bank” in Nigeria, after spending half an hour on the queue, a child next to me said, “Mummy, I don’t like this place!” Those lines triggered my thinking system. I was curious to know why he said so. Was it because of the crowd, the long queue, the time spent and wasted? I asked the child, “Why don’t you like this place?” He said, ‘cause he needed to go do his homework’. For the Child, other than spending long time in the bank, there are priorities of his to be taken care of; perhaps the Bank didn’t know that the long queue is an indicator of ineffectiveness. Of course you will say that the Bank is not an environment for play or a classroom for working on an assignment, but what if the bank makes her brand homely & friendly? What if the bank redesigns its process of attending to customers? What if there is a special section for nursing mothers, for physically challenged? What if the bank values the time of my client’s client invariably? When as a business or a freelancer you have succeeded at making your client’s client better, then you are in business.
The creative prowess of a child can be utilized to solve a problem. Children are valuable natural resources. Don’t be afraid to ask a child to come up with a recipe, the prototype of your next product, the sketch/wireframes of your next app, the answer to your research questionnaire, the script for your next play… The result might be the next BIG THING; the result might just be phenomenal.