Is it a woman with flowers, creativity, or a different way of looking at things?*

It doesn't take that long to go from one to twenty-one... we have all done it, we have all seen it happen, and if by chance you are less than twenty-one and reading this; trust me, you will be there before you know it. As a father watching his daughter grow into a lovely young woman, it seemed to all happen within a couple of heart beats** - The heart of a loving father who is so very proud; I hope you can appreciate with a knowing smile that most of what I'm about to say will be heavily biased. 

A poor photograph of a stunning Sarah Edwards original that is hanging on my wall.

The title on her very first business card is "Visual Merchandiser and Fabricator". What that actually is becomes apparent as you look at her website, her LinkedIn profile, and almost everything she does for that matter. She is very much a CREATIVE by nature.

And what she creates are "visuals" that capture your attention.

Sarah Edwards Design Website

Sarah Edwards LinkedIn profile

With that obvious and shameless promotion by a loving father behind us, I wanted to offer some thoughts that came about when I attended my daughter's year-end visual merchandising show - All pertaining to the development of better ideas, better plans, better solutions, and ultimately better results (no matter what you are doing). 

Before I take us down any "creatively designed" bunny holes, it's probably worth framing up the context of my thoughts... I've found this can be done very nicely with pithy truisms.

Truism #1: Everything done will be better if more than one person is involved, which fortunately or unfortunately leads to "team dynamics".

Truism #2: Groupthink can offer some advantages but it will compromise Truism #3

Truism #3: Different perspectives lead to a "better everything" - situation understanding, ideas, and solutions.

Truism #4: Just because you don't understand it or agree with it, doesn't mean it isn't a better choice. 

Truism #5: Change will happen and what used to work will eventually stop working.

So as I wandered the show surrounded by dozens of creative souls, their talents and efforts, I found myself saying a couple of times, "I wouldn't have done it that way, but I really like it!" - And with that said, I was reminded THINKING DIFFERENTLY IS GOOD and it leads to new perspectives and ideas; all offering better outcomes. More importantly, I was reminded to search out those who have a different way of looking at things, listen to what they have to say, add their voice to the mix, and let their creativity capture your attention. 

How better to bring creativity to your situational analysis, ideas, planning or implementation then involving a "CREATIVE"... literally.

Here is to the Class of 2016!

iamgpe

*In my mind, the answer to the question in the title is all three.

** Saying  couple of heartbeats is artistic licence as a rough calculation of the number over 21 years is approximately 827,820,000 not accounting for leap years.

The "White space"* that so infrequently gets used...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Whitespace seems to be one of those terms that is blessed with a wide array of definitions - Who knew?

• White space is the empty space in a design. White space is used to separate disparate design elements and group similar ones. White space is the lack of graphics or text in the layout.
• White space, in a communications context, refers to under utilized portions of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.
• White space, in computer science, is any character or series of characters that represent horizontal or vertical space in typography.
• White space is a process management concept described by Geary A. Rummler and Alan P. Brache in 1991 as the area between the boxes in an organizational chart—where, very often, no one is in charge.
• White space is an esoteric programming language developed by Edwin Brady and Chris Morris at the University of Durham (also developers of the Kaya and Idris programming languages).
• The White Space (Italian: Lo spazio bianco) is a 2009 Italian drama film directed by Francesca Comencini.

And finally the definition that came to mind first (although it seems to be used so infrequency, let alone recognized as an important practice):

• White space is time to provide the opportunity to think.

Or... ponder, reflect, deliberate, consider, meditate, contemplate, muse, ruminate, be lost in thought, be in a brown study, rack one's brains or put on one's thinking cap. 

Something, that in a culture where it can be said "busy is glorified" we just don't seem to do enough of. Mostly I wonder if it is because "thinking" just doesn't seem "busy enough"... it is rare thing indeed to hear someone say they spent their Friday night "thinking".

My humble aim here is to offer a thought or two regarding why it's worth considering "White space for thinking time" as an important practice, and not necessarily how to free up your time to find it - My experience is if you think something is important enough, you will find the time. I should also point out that at no level do I want to go down the bunny hole of "thinking as a philosophy", "frameworks of thinking" or anything of that ilk, but rather the recognition of how important it is to set aside time for thinking.

Thinking: the process of using one's mind to consider or reason about something.

As an important consideration, it should be pointed out that thinking, real thinking, is a solitary activity. So in the context of "White space", it specifically refers to time alone to think... you, by yourself, left to ponder whatever needs pondering. Thinking feeds everything you will be involved with - 

• Planning
• Brainstorming
• Conversation
• Presentation
• Action
• Interpretation
• Implementation

It goes without saying (and I am certain there is data to back this up), the more you have thought about something, the higher the quality or probability for success in whatever you are involved with.

It is probably also worth pointing out that planning sessions, braining storming sessions and meetings are not for thinking, but rather to bring thoughts together to drive tangible action forward; the more cynical may suggest that's more of a "stretch goal" at the best of times. These meetings do not become a default for real thinking - White space for thinking time is needed drive better planning and execution and needs to find its way onto your calendar for "you, yourself and I".

Whether you agree with me or not, it is worth thinking about it. Have you freed up some White space?

iamgpe

* As always thank you Google and Wikipedia.

A piece of banana cream pie... the 2016 version.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

There will be a point in all of this; I am almost certain.

I was out to dinner the other night with my father and daughter; at the end of the meal I thought I would treat myself to dessert. As I was looking over the menu, I noticed they offered banana cream pie (number two on my dessert list... number one is chocolate, but only by a hair).

As I placed my order with anticipation, I was instantly reminded of a small circa 1930's diner just north of Carlsbad, California that serves the best banana cream pie ever - The pieces are generous, five inches high, large pieces of banana prevail and covered with whipped cream in just the right proportion to bring all the flavours together. Best pie in the county I was told... maybe even the state. 

Banana cream pie was about to be redefined for me. 

As the server placed the banana cream pie in front of me I had to take a moment to comprehend what I was seeing; what I found myself looking at was a white bowl and a spoon... it was explained to me the banana cream goodness was inside. Admittedly, the dessert was good and it did have real banana in it, but in the end there was no pastry, and I missed the signature wedge that defines a piece of pie. 

When the server came back she asked how it was and I said, "It was good, but it really wasn't pie you know." She smiled and said, "Yes it is. It tastes like banana cream pie and there is pastry* at the bottom. We bantered back and forth until I paid the bill. We parted with differing opinions.

Looking back, the natural question to ask is, "Who was right about the pie?" We both agree that it tasted like banana cream pie, but differed in aspects of crust and presentation. Hers comes with a spoon, when everyone knows you eat pie with a fork.... I mean really, what's up with that?  

And finally, we get to some sort of point in all of this. 

The banana cream pie is not about "right" or "wrong", but rather about individual experience, creativity, way of thinking and interpretation... all to be respected, considered, and appreciated. A simple reminder that not only will people look at something differently, but will also have differing ideas on what something should be - A crucial consideration for driving change, progress and evolution. 

What the banana cream pie is really about is "expectation"... and the importance of clarifying what exactly that is.

If the expectation is to have a tasty "banana cream pie like dessert" that can be served quickly and at low cost for a busy restaurant, then the 2016 version is spot on (as I said, it was tasty)... but if the expectation is to have a generous piece of pie with pastry, banana cream, whipped cream and a real fork... well, I guess a trip to California will be required.

The best pie in the county I've been told,

iamgpe 

* The pastry she alluded to was a granular substance and impossible to define with regard to its origin... all I know, it sure wasn't wheat.