26 February 2008

The gift of failure

Last week I presented some new work to a group of colleagues and peers and, not to put too blunt a point on it, I stuffed up big time. My presentation was unrehearsed and not targeted at the group of people I was talking to - in fact I had started by saying, "This is an outline of what I will present overseas next month." So straight away I had alienated my audience.

At the time I felt awful - and my confidence about what I was presenting took a bit of a beating. But over the last week I've had several insights as a result of my reflection.

I was reminded of a time I did a comedy gig where I did all new material. I died a terrible death on stage and vowed always in future to sandwich new material between gags that were tried and true. That formula has served me well in the last ten years. I broke that rule with this presentation and have since reworked the presentation to include familiar content that actually strengthens the new work.

From the feedback I received about the complexity of the ideas I was presenting, I realised that, in essence, I was trying to sell a car by opening the bonnet and explaining how the engine worked. Selling cars has almost nothing to do with the engine - it's the look, the feel, the style of the car - and how that will benefit the buyer - that sells it. I had made the mistake of explaining in detail my thinking, rather than the effect of my thinking on others.

The final gem from my failure was the chance to get it wrong in front of people I respected and who were respectful enough of me to give me honest feedback. I would have hated to get it wrong in front of strangers who may not have felt comfortable to tell me it sucked and I kept on sucking!

The gift of failure - one of those things you get given that you don't really want but it grows on you over time!

14 February 2008

Trusting our ability to adapt

The foundation of my concept of Constructive Functional Diversity (CFD) calls for the complete removal of any notion of difference or deviation from a predetermined functional norm. The potential of functional diversity to truly change the social mindset is to create one box only, labelled “functional diversity”, in which all human beings sit, stand, lie or otherwise exist.

The average person lives in denial that at any time they could have a car accident and become paralysed or brain injured; they could have a stroke, develop an anxiety disorder or become depressed, lose hearing or sight. I believe this denial causes society to fail to provide support, remove barriers and challenge discriminatory attitudes – the things that dis-able people. This denial occurs in resistance to an effective societal response, which would require an admission that a non-disabling society potentially benefits all people, not just the 20% perceived as needing the intervention. Importantly, I believe that the root fear relates to the inability to cope, rather than the change or loss of function. We are infinitely adaptable; disabled people adapt when adequately supported and newly impaired people share this potential.

Here's an example of a young man who adapted to his "unique function" and achieved beyond the standard of most of his peers. Read the NZ Herald story here.

More about Constructive Functional Diversity »

02 February 2008

Slowing down to speed up

In an address at the launch of ArtVenture 2008, I spoke about my experience of business acceleration from the perspective of a social and creative entrepreneur. I shared briefly my learning that acceleration is not just about speeding up – it’s about first ensuring that the vehicle, conditions and destination are suitable for a faster ride forward. This post expands on these ideas:

On a recent journey from Auckland to Wellington in my new "sensible" Mazda MPV people mover (upgraded from my "boy-racer" Mitsubishi Legnum), we encountered road resurfacing. The purpose of the roadworks was to make the road smoother, safer and, as a result, faster. However, to create that result, the road had to be stripped back to the metal, requiring us to comply with a 30 km/hour speed limit rather than the usual 100 km/hour. At times we had to stop completely to allow cars from the other direction to pass. The boy-racer in me would have been frustrated, given the lost potential for speed, however temporary. But now, in my new, sensible Mazda, I conceded that the situation demanded short-term patience and the foresight to recognise that, long-term, the road would be better, safer, faster.

"My new car is bigger, more powerful, newer and mechanically more sound," I reasoned. "When I return to this stretch of road, I'll be able to take more people along for the ride. And it'll be even faster than the Legnum!" I thought, constructively keeping traffic cops out of the metaphor.

"Standing still" is a well known term in the field of social innovation. It describes the need to reflect and listen, observe and understand the social landscape, in order to prepare for decisive action. The tension and contradiction between reflection and action needs to be "held", in order to understand the subtlety and complexity of social change. In itself this is an art - that of becoming comfortable with the discomfort of dichotomy.

For creative entrepreneurs, social change is a strong driver in the creative process. The focus is not, for example, simply on choreography, but on discovering a new relationship between movement and the soul. It is not just about creating a land sculpture, but replenishing life force to enrich the environment. And it is not just a matter of running a writers' festival, but creating a new relationship between people and literature.

As such, the race for business acceleration in the creative sector needs careful pacing. The time to stop, reflect, tune in and evaluate the complex balance between creative integrity, social responsibility and business acuity is, in my opinion, absolutely crucial. After all, going too fast on a stripped back metal road has the potential for disaster and destruction for oneself and others.

In my own business experience I have needed nearly a year of complete confusion and intense speculation about my products and services, in order to begin to identify a new, unique and (hopefully) profitable direction that integrates the social and creative aspects of my work.

To truly reach our potential, we creative innovators need to slow our boy/girl-racer urges, choosing instead to purposefully accelerate in our sensible but powerful people-movers, filled to the brim with those whom we wish to take with us on our pioneering journeys.
© 2008 Philip Patston & Diversity New Zealand Ltd (unless quoted or otherwise attributed). All rights reserved.