I wasn’t planning to write a post about being wacky.

Actually, I started to write a post about my favorite content curation tool. (That post is in the queue.) But then, because it’s Martin Luther King Day (aka, a holiday) and my mind is in 10 places at once, I spotted the Creative Whack Pack on my shelf. I pulled it out and was getting set to pull a card when “Be Wacky” popped out.

I’m good with that.

A little oddball in business (and life) is a good thing.

Let’s talk about being wacky.

It’s why asking beautiful questions is so important.

It’s why Apple’s 1984 was so effective.

It’s why un-sexy Intel has over 35 million Facebook likes.

It’s why Disney makes a fortune on merchandise. I have a love-hate relationship with the brand. And I own Mickey and Minnie coffee cups and have a magnetic Daffy doll clinging to my fridge.

Frankly, it’s also why I went into business for myself. You have to be a little zany, silly, crazy, and eccentric to decide you can forge your own path and figure it out as you go. But it’s that same unpredictability that lets me see other people’s problems (aka, my clients’ challenges) with fresh perspective. And sometimes also my own.

Too many people don’t give themselves permission to walk outside the lines. Too many companies reward conformity and compliance and don’t know what to do with their employees who question the process or wonder why there can’t be a different outcome. It’s why the business landscape is littered with so many “sure things.”

Give yourself permission to be wacky.

It doesn’t have to be a big deal or a big thing.

I dance around on the Metro platform when waiting for the train.

Find your wacky. Some days it will help you be more centered or more focused. Some days it will help you come up with your next big idea. And, maybe, sometimes, it will just make you smile.

Feature photo by wacky stuff (Flickr).