There is no money

There is no money, the coffers are empty.

I hear this so often at work, it has become a mantra. The flip side is, when the coffers were full (the good old days) we were too busy spending to appreciate what we had.

Austerity versus plenty.

Two sides of the same reality. Both jangling in your pocket as you work-out where to go.

The UK is one of the richest countries in the world – a world that is experiencing unprecedented wealth. Massive riches simultaneous with swingeing poverty.

Wealth and poverty.

And, despite our experience of plenty, we also feel restricted, put-upon. Limited by what we can or cannot do because of…

Much of this boils-down to creativity.

How creative are you? How big is your imagination? Can you dream-up new ways of organising at the same time as running from the storm?

We have no money.

I bracket this with the same ideology that makes people shudder at new ways of working or collaborating , adopting concepts of risk-taking or thinking differently.

Don’t suggest, do, think or even look in that direction (of new idea, methodology, practice, approach) – keep your bowler balanced straight and keep moving forwards. Deviate and you become a deviant. Too dangerous, too new, too unusual, too risky, too little or too much. Just… don’t.

This is at the core of conservative orthodoxy that keeps people sheltering in caves; that maintains the status quo.

And,

We have no money.

Is another form of this, it is another constraint on action or thinking; instead of viewing our situation as being one of prosperity, we live in limitation.

Our health service is considered cash-strapped and battles are fought over what are perceived as the last remaining scraps.

To grow, create, evolve, you need to take risk, you need to feel safe, you need to not have someone saying – ‘We have no money!’

Park the money, park the fear and experiment; it is surprising how far you can go on the back of ideas and enthusiasm.