It’s interesting to think of the ramifications of the work we do. None of the people that worked on the beginning pieces had any idea what their work would become.

That should inspire all of us to work with:

• humility to know when we are wrong, hear the critique, and make change
• imagination so we can even begin to conceive of vision and unintended (or intended) consequences
• love so that we can seek the betterment of society through what we do

When you look at something while listening to music, the thing you’re looking at takes on stunning new meaning. Music creates mood. That’s why great music is key in film and key in the communication of a message.

Music also implies story. Both music and story require the passing of time for them to even exist. Music is completely incoherent if all of the notes of a piece are played at once. Music only has meaning when notes are spread out over time and played in rhythm.

May I make an odd suggestion? Make sure that you have a strategic adviser that’s either a musician or someone who “gets” music deeply. Here’s why:

Music is art that is directly tied to time and process. What’s happening at any given moment only makes sense in the context of what has already happened and what will happen.

There’s movement. There’s change. There’s direction. There’s preparation. There’s fluidity. There’s purposeful tension and dissonance… that resolves. There’s story. And there’s meaning in it all.

Sound like something your organization needs? Music people get it. Have them write your song.

Then you can get others to sing along.

Clap your hands,

brody

P.S. Need proof? Watch this.

Listen to all those “bad” notes.

They are exactly the reason this experiment was a success.

And they are exactly how to get people to walk up your staircase.

Because if people are hitting bad notes it means that they are allowed to hit bad notes. And if they’re allowed to hit bad notes, then they have freedom. And if they have freedom, then they can choose to contribute. And once they contribute to something, then they are vested in it.

And if someone is vested in you, your history is changed.

None of this happens if you stay in control. How do you give up control? Enable your customers to be creators, sharers, collaborators, lovers, fools, fans, advocates. To put it another way, let them be themselves. Just make sure you’re a valuable part of the conversation along the way.

Practically speaking, what can you do? Make your content accessible. Allow comments on your blog. Respond. Give away secrets. Tweet. Ask for advice from your clients. Post that ridiculous photo. Put down your defenses. Talk about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. Don’t just give the polished impression of yourself. Give the transparent one.

And follow it up with engagement. Prove you’re listening. This is a fundamental shift in the way most “marketing” has happened in the past.

The days of control are over.

The days of inspiration are here. Better start getting more creative… and more humble. Why? Because people have more options than ever. We are all more likely to be commodities. Most of us are staircases. Some of us are cool, flashy escalators. Few of us have the courage to let people walk all over us by turning ourselves into instruments.

But if you believe in what you’re doing in the world, if you believe your product or service makes a difference, isn’t that exactly what you want people to be doing? It’s the only way you can earn the right to be heard and gain influence. Why? So you can be the staircase that guides your clients to the light of day.

Inspire,

brody

P.S. If people are going to use your staircase for all its worth (and give you their time or their money along the way), they must be delighted to do so. There is no delight without surprise. It is incumbent upon us, not the pedestrians, to make our staircases surprising. That’s why Wordswell asks our clients to take risks. We help you create surprise. Wanna start 2010 well? Jump. We can push you if you need it.

Visit TheFunTheory.com for more information. In the meantime, enjoy these films:

I want to explore using this methodology in my own creative thinking – if only just for fun.

The way the application works is that it will randomly shuffle three columns of words. The words available in the left column are different than the words available in the middle column are different than the words available in the right column. Once the word in each column is randomly selected, they are put together to form a 3-word phrase. The example given on the app’s preview images is:

automatic | tubular | toy

Once you have that abstract phrase, you can let yourself run down a road of imagination because your brain is working with a new concept altogether.

Looking through the pattern of this app, there are two key things that make it work:

1. The words must come out in a left-to-right order. Meaning, the placement of all the words is not random, just the words in each column.
2. It looks like the words in the left and middle columns are all adjectives (including participles).
3. The words available in the third column are all nouns.

Experimenting

Humans think in and through words. We are language-crazy. To discover a new concept, we need to have new words, or new word orders. That’s why education is largely about developing a vocabulary, and expertise is largely based on knowing the jargon (only to then gain wisdom when you can describe concepts simply).

What I would like to do is put hundreds of words in hats. One hat would be nouns. Another would be adjectives. Another would be adverbs. Etc. Then, by picking out words from hats, we could construct any new concept following any phrase order. We could also play with the structure of these phrases. Something like “adjective-noun-verb-adverb” could be used with as much gusto as “adjective-adjective-noun”.

Of course, software makes this easier. If someone were to develop thematic sets of words that you could add or remove from the mix of options, that would add some scope to our possibilities.

Regardless, the take away is this: when stuck for ideas, let’s rearrange our language to spur us on.

It’s not a junk yard, it’s a parts garden.

Take a look at their website:

Crazy Rays

Here’s the copy from their home page. It should be their radio ad.

“A car-enthusiast friend once said, “It’s a parts garden, not a junkyard.” Graceful words for an auto scrap yard. But as anyone who’s called a dealership for a replacement window or radiator can attest, car parts are mighty pricey. And if you’re cheap and drive old cars, like we do, salvage yards are the places to go. That in mind, the best parts garden around is Crazy Ray’s, the kind of scrap yard you have to explore yourself–they don’t log every vehicle towed into their gates. Pick a location–there’s a yard off Pulaski Highway on the east side and another off Washington Boulevard southwest of town, in Jessup. You pay your buck to get in (paradise has its price), lug in your toolbox, and set out to find that radiator (all radiators, $40), windshield (all windshields, $50, and they pull it for you), or, if you’re a true motorhead, a full engine ($150). Mercedes Benzes and Escorts alike are jammed together, Jaguars ignobly gutted, and an iron curtain of crushed cars surrounds the lot. It’s not for the timid or those uncomfortable with grease, mud, and weeds, but Crazy Ray’s is a godsend for folks who don’t mind getting a little dirty to save some money. For the rest, the dealership parts counter will be glad to take your money.”

Don’t you want to go to Crazy Ray’s?

Don’t you want your message to sound like that?

Write with creativity, honesty, story, and courage. All you have to lose is the interest of your reader.

“One must not work in a thousand fears, and yet that is what many do who are so anxious to get hold of the right colors and tones that through this very anxiety they become like tepid water. The real artists say, ‘Just dash the color on!’ Otherwise, we reach the summit of wisdom when nobody has any daring left.”

I found this on the blog for the Dirt Conference. I don’t know much about what they’re doing at the conference except brainstorming on how to do more with what you already have. Seems healthy.

You can view their original post (Inspiration – #001) here.