Soul Business networking – where thinking is allowed

30 Aug Soul Business networking – where thinking is allowed

Thinking Allowed. I just love the duality of that phrase and the Radio 4 programme of the same name presented by Laurie Taylor.

It sums up the station. No radio station in the world inspires fresh, free thinking like Radio 4 – it is the best free education you can receive and Thinking Allowed is an accurate description of what you will hear.

So every month when we throw open the doors at the CGM Media Centre – mainly for folks who either drop in regularly, visitors who are maybe curious about who we are, what we do and the way we work, or have just heard about the media centre and want to nose around – we like to give them more than leaflets in a hessian bag.

We prefer to inspire with fresh ideas, a splash of creativity, ways to be different, new and nuanced. Thinking is definitely allowed – indeed encouraged.

And it’s not top down. There’s no ridiculous pounding of our mantra or ways to hard sell you into submission.

We live in the information age where ideas are king.

In the past, we’d run through our Soul Business principles (the ethos we work to at CGM) but rarely got past first base as we’d introduce a topic or theme for discussion and run with it. People like to have their say, want to be heard and to share their opinions so we’d listen to their thoughts – their thinking aloud.

Interaction is the key to understanding and most of all, debate. You can’t be an effective communicator and not be an advocate of free speech.

And there are few rights or wrongs in life. Opinions can change. But that comes from thinking…sometimes aloud and it should always be allowed. And listening – a key skill.

Our Soul Business networking afternoons instigate debate so hopefully people leave that bit wiser or clearer about their own vision as well as the views of others. It is time out well spent.

It includes a show around our in-house media and sport artefacts (our media equipment – what we call our ‘ancient weapons’ – helps to create a context). 

The world has got smaller, it is digital but we’re hard-wired to be analogue (check out another Radio 4 series, The Digital Human, for the devil of this detail). We have many examples that typify the distance we’ve all travelled in recent times.  

Fundamentally, we’re free thinkers and doers and artisans by default. Digitalising and automating us into numbers work for process but not for spirit. And we are spiritual beings. Why else would we have ‘gut’ feelings or act on intuition?

If you come along to one of our Soul Business Networking Afternoons at the CGM Media Centre we’ll discuss all these things and more – oh, and we’ll have some sweet treats on offer too.

Our next Soul Business talk and networking afternoon is on Wednesday, November 6 (2.30-4.30pm). The topic for discussion is – The importance of creative thinking

For further information and to book your place, visit our Soul Business page.

Soul Business is presented in partnership with Business & Innovation Magazine.