About Salient Philanthropy
Salient Philanthropy is a tool to break through creative blocks and limiting beliefs to generate ideas for philanthropic practice and impact.
The consideration of prompts from the set of 120 cards to drive inquiry, discussion, and creativity can be applied to any process of planning philanthropic strategy and implementation. By design, the prompts will surprise, challenge, and disrupt thinking to improve strategy and plans. The Salient Philanthropy prompts will jumpstart the intellect and spark reaction and instinct. See Card Demo below.
Salient Philanthropy echoes the Oblique Strategies cards designed by musician and creative pioneer Brian Eno and painter Peter Schmidt to stimulate the resolution of creative dilemmas (see EnoWeb Oblique Strategies).
The solution of pressing societal and environmental challenges should be no less a creative process than painting, music, poetry, or dance. The same blocks to innovation of boredom, habitual thinking, discomfort, and fear that suppress artistic creativity are blocks to social solutions.
The oblique philanthropy prompts ignite the opposite states of alertness, awareness, chaos, and alternatives as the starting points for innovative thinking. The prompts are rooted in research and practice to train and stimulate creativity skills through tools that generate new thinking patterns such as lateral questions, random entries, provocative statements, logical challenges, and movement. Note: The prompts intentionally exclude the questions that are part of standard, contemporary strategy and planning practices.
What are your needs for creative thinking?
The only limit to uses of the creative prompts is your imagination and commitment to inquiry! Cards can be used by individuals or teams, in a weekly meeting or team retreat, in a conference room or around a campfire, by a facilitator or by a team leader.
Individuals
Are you stuck on a tough strategic challenge or creative endeavor? Pick a random card from the deck. How can it apply to your problem or its proposed solutions? How else can you interpret the prompt? Shuffle. Repeat.
Teams #2
Pick a random card from the full deck. How can it apply to your problem or its proposed solutions? Share and discuss the ideas with your team. Document insights, questions, and action items. Pick another card and repeat.
Teams #1
Every team member picks out 2-3 cards to create a custom deck. Now, pick a random card. How can it apply to your problem or its solutions? Share and discuss the ideas. Document insights, questions, and action items.
Anytime
Pick a card. What could that mean for your challenge? What is the opposite? Stretch your mind. Challenge the weakly supported assumptions. Capture wisps of ideas. Explore ambiguities. Pick again.
Shop?
Would you like to purchase a set of the Salient Philanthropy cards?
Cards are printed as a high-quality playing card deck and packaged in a hard case. The cost per deck is about US$45.00 including shipping and depending upon quantity. Please let me know your interest by email.
* photo of Oblique Strategies cards © Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt
Or Workshop?
Are you ready to take the Salient Philanthropy prompt deck for a spin with your strategy and planning team?
Please contact me if you’d like help in the design, facilitation, or full implementation of a workshop to generate ideas and pressure test your strategy with the power of creative prompts.
