Sometimes our best ideas grow from a spontaneous conversation with a friend or colleague. Little nuggets of wisdom often emerge from something as innocuous as a morning chat over a cappuccino (my rationale for frequent coffee shop visits). Grand ideas are often conjured in the middle of a golf game (and forgotten when the beer cart comes around for the third time).

Unfortunately, Time never graces most of us with the opportunity to pursue those great thoughts, and so they get lost in the land of abandoned ideas.

To me, this is a tragedy because some of my greatest ideas have sprung from those times that I took a step outside the day-to-day chaos to think about things from a different perspective. (The idea for Incite came to Ted and me in a theoretical discussion about business during a hike around a lake.)

What’s more, there’s something to be said about the excitement of a great discussion. There’s an energy that flows when colleagues share ideas and have the freedom to discuss them openly—it’s truly an inspiring experience.

Lately, I’ve noticed that some of the moments I value the most are those time-outs for high-level thinking, those moments that I experienced the excitement of fellow (great) minds sharing ideas. I value those moments because each time I feel like I come out equipped with the power to navigate the world of business.

Out of a desire to set more time aside to think and share ideas with colleagues, out of a desire to experience that excitement as people discuss strategies to navigate the scene, a group of leaders in the Edmonton marketing industry recently got together to form TEN.

TEN is a group of marketing industry professionals who will meet ten times annually, and each of the ten members will present on a topic of choice to generate discussion and ideas. The goal is that TEN will be used as a strategic tool to stay ahead of the curve on marketing trends and ideas. By formally setting aside time, members will give themselves the chance to connect with other industry leaders as they navigate business issues and opportunities.

TEN recently had its first idea-sharing session, and it was a great success. One of our goals is to create a series of short blogs or articles about an idea that comes out of the group’s discussions, so that fewer ideas are lost in the shuffle of day-to-day business.

Groups like TEN are a great opportunity for people within or across industries to take time out to connect and have a look at business from a different perspective. It’s something most of us would like to do more often, and setting up a formal group for regular gatherings is the perfect way to make sure that happens.