Imagination isn’t a vibe; it’s a tool. Aim it at real work and it unsticks stalled projects. Let it roam and it turns one unread Teams message into a plot twist starring your job. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-imagination, I’m anti-runaway-storyline.
Imagination can help when you… Picture “the day after a launch.” This allows you to tighten scope and nail down acceptance criteria… Walk a customer’s Black Friday at 6 p.m., that’s when you recognize friction fast… Sketch a new hire’s first week, so onboarding becomes a welcome not a scavenger hunt.
Where Imagination can hurt… When a rescheduled meeting becomes “they’re done with me” in your head… Or you build 27 defensive slides no one asked for… Or you pre-apologize in emails like it’s your side hustle.
How to keep the balance:
1. State the story. “The story I’m telling myself is X.” Hearing it shrinks it.
2. Ask for proof. Name one signal that would be actual evidence.
3. Make it testable. Ten minutes to imagine, then one next step with a date.
4. Right-size the effort. High effort + unknown impact = theater.
5. Borrow a brain. Quick gut-check from someone who tells you the truth.
How I wire this into growth (SNAK):
SKILLS: Use imagination to prototype outcomes (what good looks like), then convert to repeatable behaviors, checklists, and QA. Skill = buildable, not just beautiful.
NETWORK: Don’t guess alone. Pressure-test your story with two people: one optimist, one realist. They’ll separate spark from smoke.
ACTIVITIES: Run tiny pilots. One email, one mockup, one user call. Let actions, not that little gremlin in your head, decide what lives.
KNOWLEDGE: Feed your ideas fresh data. Customer quotes, performance metrics, post-mortems. The better the inputs, the calmer your plotlines.
In other words, brainstorm with crayons, but activate with a checklist.
Try this today; write or say out loud;
-One sentence describing the future you want. (State it)
-One proof you’ll track. (Define how to Prove it)
-One next step on your calendar. (Test it)
-One person to react. (Borrow a brain)
-One thing you’ll stop to fund the new thing. (Don’t just pile on)
Your turn: What was a time when your imagination improved, or wrecked/almost wrecked, your outcome? Bonus if you can share what grounded you.
