I'm increasingly convinced I need to FA to FO.

FAFO - Fuck Around and Find Out —  is usually a warning. Do something 'stupid' and discover the consequences.

But I think it deserves a more positive interpretation.

When I worked in the corporate world, I was required to spend an awful lot of time doing things where I already knew what the outcome would be: Groundhog Day meetings, 'sheep dip' training that ticked a box but changed nothing, and consultations where the decisions had effectively already been made.

And the irony is that we were often required to justify, in advance and in considerable detail, anything that might actually have produced an unexpected outcome.

These days, I increasingly find myself doing the opposite. Trying things without knowing whether they'll work, where they'll lead or what I might discover along the way.

I'm reminded of Rory Sutherland's response when asked to justify attending a conference by explaining what he'd learn from it: "I don't know yet, because I haven't been."

Exactly.

It's also part of the thinking behind The UnConvention, which I'm co-organising with David Grosse in London on 12 November. Though, ironically, we've even created a way for people to justify attending to their bosses: https://lnkd.in/d6jZR-JF

Because sometimes you need to fck around in order to find out.

And I intend to do more of it.