mindset

The Gutter

Gutters help keep the primary travel surface free of debris and precipitation. They collect everything from snow to trash to lost treasure. We barely see the gutter if the central lane is free of obstacles. But we reach a liminal zone when forced to navigate using the gutter due to hindrances, too many pedestrians on the sidewalk, or to evade collision. Gutters serve as thresholds between different forms of travel. Until we venture into one to expedite our journey or utilize it in an emergency, we rarely pause as we cross this boundary.

However, it can become emotional when forced into the gutter to accommodate a person or object deemed a priority. For example, proprietors may claim sidewalk space for their enterprise and route passersby into the gutter as egress. A poorly parked vehicle that

Navigating by gutters can add to our journey: it can make room for a wedding party spilling out of a church, creep past a fire truck engaged in emergency services, or accommodate a new neighbor moving into an adjacent property.

How might we recognize that how we position and communicate a detour, a reroute, or a temporary barrier may be interpreted in various ways?

The Making of ____ Was A Sh*T Show

A YouTube channel (The Making of ____ Was A Sh*t Show) highlights iconic movies and the lesser-known details behind each film’s production. The primary focus is on the movie’s obstacles and challenges it overcame. Many films made it to the silver screen despite all the odds stacked against them.

It reminds us that some of our best work encounters more obstacles than our less impactful efforts. A Tour de France cyclist can ride considerable kilometers of training on flat roads, but they will not be prepared for the race if they forego training in the mountains. We must venture into challenging terrain to fully develop a project’s potential. Getting lost, scraped up, and uncomfortable creates the stories we remember and tell afterward.

Disruption

What activities do we disrupt to focus on alternate action? Brushing my teeth, I often pause to take on another task before I return to finish the job. A spontaneous comment can carry a team off the agenda and into problem-solving mode in meetings. A single large donation can alter an organization’s strategic priorities. A law change from the state legislature might modify how programs are executed.

How might we assess whether disrupting one activity for another is intentional versus snack food satisfying? How might we honor fidelity to the act of decision-making?

Archeology

If we participate in archeology, gaining a spotlight for our work is formidable. We are as remarkable as the people/objects/history that preceded us and occupied the space where we excavate. If we find something never cataloged before, we can draw much attention. However, our site and work can diminish in significance when an older or more preserved version of our find is discovered elsewhere.

If we are committed to doing the work that matters, we may need to be comfortable making meaningful contributions rather than generating headlines. If we are in it for the glory, then we must be willing to sacrifice long-term gains for short-term attention.

Tracking

If you are a plane spotter, you can track inbound/outbound flights using an app like Flightradar24. You can see all the relevant information about the aircraft type, destination, speed, altitude, and estimated route online. But you miss the sensation of sitting in a seat as the plane approaches a runway for landing. The noises emitted by deploying the flaps, the landing gear being lowered, the engines varying thrust patterns, the hush of the passenger cabin just before touch-down, and the phenomena of controlled flight.

When we support an enterprise, we are often relegated to flight-tracking mode. We can read the annual reports, review strategic plans, and glance at periodic emails. The majority of our interactions might be fleeting check-ins. We experience the virtual reality version of the in-flight paradigm when we attend a program or visit a site. We get closer to sitting in a passenger seat when we serve on the board or volunteer. The juxtaposition of tracking an organization versus being involved in executing the vision and mission is significant.

How might we provide context for our supporters who are in flight-tracking mode? How might we give the occasional test flight for those interested? Who might we recognize that we have a limited number of seats on the plane and want to populate them with those we serve and a team committed to the voyage?

Original Cast

If you are a member of the traveling cast in the Broadway mega-hit Hamilton, how do you benefit from the DNA embedded by the original cast? With multiple productions worldwide, there are some links back to the original cast members who developed the characters and added depth and dimension to the songs. If you play King George III in a current production, you can trace nuisances to Jonathan Groff, the original performer portraying the Broadway King George. Your performance is calibrated in some measure based on the first iteration.

How might we recognize that when we join a cause, we have some connection to the original cast who started the enterprise? How might we benefit from their insights and add our own perspective as we build the best version of the cause? What transitive properties from the founders have cascaded to your work?