Mission OR Adventure is your weekly guide to mastering business as usual while embracing bold innovation—helping you balance what works with what’s next, so you know when to leap or lead. With just a little bit of sparkle thrown in….

From Amanda's Desk

Cultivate Cultural Cues That Support 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀

The future doesn’t belong to the most efficient—it belongs to the most curious. Stay with me here.

Just look at Netflix. While Blockbuster doubled down on what worked, Netflix kept asking, ‘What if?’ That curiosity didn’t just disrupt an industry—it redefined it.

Before pointing a finger at me - yes - Netflix DID have efficiency baked into the equation as well.

And it pains me every time I say it - I’m all for progress, I’m all for efficiency….I just miss Friday nights at Blockbuster you know?

And it was my first job.

Check it out. Actual Footage : Circa 2005ish

Back to the it, then….

Most leaders say they want innovation. When you zoom in on how their teams operate, what I’ve found is this:

• Failure is quietly punished. (Sometimes NOT so quietly)

• New ideas need to be perfect before they’re shared.

• Meetings are spent defending decisions, not exploring possibilities. Gross.

In that kind of culture, adventure isn’t just rare—it’s risky for the adventurers.

Here’s the thing: Innovation doesn’t start with a brainstorm.

It starts with belonging.

When people feel safe, seen, and supported, they start exploring. Adventuring.

They speak up.

They share half-formed thoughts.

They test things out without fear of being shut down.

That’s where your breakthroughs live.

You picking up what I am putting down?

So, how do we build a culture that supports exploration?

Here are 5 practical ‘cultural cues’ you can bake into your team’s daily mission to create adventures today:

1. Make curiosity visible Start meetings with “What did you learn this week?” instead of “What did you do?”

This tiny shift signals that learning matters more than checking boxes.

2. Celebrate experiments, not just outcomes Shout out team members who ran a test—even if it didn’t lead to a win.

When you reward exploration, you get more of it.

3. Build “idea drop zones” Create Slack channels, Miro boards, or team rituals where ideas don’t need to be perfect to be shared.

I have a colleague I do this with and it’s literal FIRE.

No judgment.

No need for polish.

Just space to play.

4. Turn failures into fuel After something flops, ask: “What did we learn?” not “What went wrong?”

Use retrospectives to extract insight, not blame.

5. Model it at the top If you're the leader, share what you’re exploring.

Show your team that you’re still learning, too.

If you never make space for questions, your team won’t either.

Culture is built in the micro-moments. Magical Moments.

The way you open a meeting.

The way you respond to a rough draft.

The stories you praise—and the ones you quietly ignore.

These are all cues. And your team is picking them up every day.

So here’s the question worth sitting with this week:

Do your cues invite curiosity—or shut it down?

Because if you want innovation to show up in your outputs, it has to exist in your inputs first. And that begins with culture.

Want to go deeper? I’ve put together a short resource on embedding exploration into onboarding, training, and team rituals.

Drop a comment below or DM me, and I’ll send it your way.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Gamified Training! I get asked about this ALL the time, so I made this one just for those of you with questions….

https://youtu.be/AWCnwj4drgU?si=6yGwM8--o6ikx56I

Have an epic week out there and remember to keep dreaming and doing!

Amanda 🦄✨

Amanda Rosazza

Chief Imagination Officer

Imagine8 Consulting

At Imagine8, we help businesses transform through learning experiences that actually stick (and don't bore everyone to tears).

Whether you're mastering your mission or planning your next adventure, we're here to turn your business challenges into extraordinary opportunities.

180+ organizations and 3,500+ individuals transformed (and counting!)

Ready to explore what's possible?

Book a Curiosity Call: calendly.com/amandarosazza/letschat