by Monica Davidson

When we’re discussing strategic work with creative clients, someone always wants to know if we’ll incorporate any ‘blue sky thinking’ activities into our planning workshops. 

No. No, we won’t. 

Blue sky thinking is a luxury only fit for organisations with bottomless budgets, energetic teams and endless runway. For arts businesses, cultural not-for-profits, and independent creative enterprises, unconstrained brainstorming usually leads to giant impractical ideas that get everyone excited in the moment, but then sit in a server folder collecting digital dust. When cash is tight and operational burnout is real, you don’t need high-altitude blue skies. You need down-to-earth Green Grass Thinking.

Green Grass Thinking is our very own approach to planning that is grounded, pragmatic, and intentionally ruthless. It isn’t about “what if?” It’s about “what now?” It forces teams, boards and individual creatives to look straight at the ground beneath their feet and see what’s possible right now. It also asks you to tend to what is actually growing, and pull out the weeds that are choking your capacity.

If your creative team is exhausted and your budget is stretched, run your next strategy session through these four green-grass filters:

Filter #1 – The Pruning Sheet – What gets cut?

Every arts enterprise carries zombie initiatives, like legacy events that nobody enjoys running, secondary social media channels, or inefficient programs kept alive purely by nostalgia or that one patron who complains about every little change. If a project drains energy without delivering revenue, clear audience engagement, or direct strategic value, cut it today. Clear the dead wood to make room for air and light.

Filter #2 – The Quick Harvest – What yields immediate wins?

Identify actions you can fully execute within 1 – 2 months using existing assets. Where is that quick, easy money? Can you re-engage with past donors or previous clients by sending a personal email to say hello? Can you bundle up some unsold venue inventory, or cross-promote with a local partner to celebrate something new? These are low-lift moves that generate fast momentum and direct cash, just when you need it.

Filter #3 – The Trellis – What gets systematised?

Creativity needs infrastructure to survive. If your team reinvents the wheel every time you launch an exhibition, project, or marketing campaign, you are burning precious time on administrative friction. Take some time to create systems and implement processes that will eventually save time and money. Can you create more templates, or use an online project management system, or figure out ways to make AI your assistant?

Filter #4 – The Fence Line – What are our boundaries?

Introducing new ideas in the green-grass process is perfectly fine, as long as there are clear guardrails in place. What are your boundaries? How do you define your decision making process? Formalise your methods, whether that’s a cost-benefit analysis or a Decision Tree, so everyone knows where the fences are (including your customers). 

Another element of Green Grass Thinking is practical, short-term goal setting, with clearly defined actions and accountability built in. The SMART method is ideal for this, because the clearly defined steps prevent practical decisions from evaporating into good intentions.

• Specific: Ditch vague ambitions like ‘improve our marketing’ or ‘save money’. Create precise outputs like ‘post three times per week to Instagram’ or ‘create a new budget by end of month’ to create instant momentum.
• Measurable: Attach an undeniable metric to each goal, such as dollars earned, hours cut from a process, or donor emails collected. If you can’t measure the harvest, you can’t tell if the strategy actually worked.
• Achievable: Match your goals to your actual current capacity, not an imaginary team working 60-hour weeks. If you only have 15 hours in the week to focus on your business, set targets that define that reality. 
• Relevant: Every target must either generate direct revenue, reclaim lost operating hours, protect your core creative mission, or allow some time for rest and play. If it doesn’t meet the criteria, compost time!.
• Time-bound: Lock in tight, short-horizon timelines – no more than 3 months. Also enforce some regular way of checking in on the process (the Monday Morning Meeting is a great start) and implement strict quarterly reviews for structural changes so work never drags on indefinitely.

A 5-Question Green Grass Audit Checklist is a quick diagnostic tool to help:

1. What is one project we are keeping alive purely out of habit or nostalgia?
2. What can we ship or release in the next 14 days to generate cash or momentum?
3. What task did we repeat manually three times this month that needs a template?
4. Where did scope creep cost us money or time on our last project?
5. What single rule can we set today to protect team capacity next month?

Finally, don’t forget to ‘Weed & Feed’.

Green Grass thinking fails if it’s just a one-off workshop. Make it a seasonal event, and spend some quality time each quarter reviewing what needs pruning, what is ready for harvest, and where boundaries need tightening.

Of course having a long-term vision is necessary for the survival of our organisations, but not at the expense of our teams, our audiences or our bottom line. Stop waiting for that grant, client or philanthropist to save you. Get down in the grass, pull the weeds, systemise the daily grind, and build a model that keeps your creative output sustainable and your spirit supported. You’ll be surprised at how energising and inspiring a practical green-grass strategy can be.