Performance

Paper Bags and Hair Dryers

If you take a paper bag and aim a hair dryer towards its open end, the bag’s kinetic energy is released and assumes flight. A bag is an excellent option if we need to hold some produce, and a hair dryer is perfect if we need to dry our hair after a shower. When we pair them together, we get a dramatic result, which may or may not reveal the most productive use of both instruments.

When odd pairings work, they are sensational but can also fail us. Iterating in the design studio is an excellent option if we are willing to go on the adventure and open to uncertain outcomes. If we need a sure thing, we might hedge towards the predictable.

Booking two artists/authors/scientists/athletes to interview each other might be an insightful option. However, they might speak an insider language that is hard for the audience to access. A good interviewer can ask questions that help decode the artist’s superpower without abandoning the audience.

A hair dryer chasing a paper bag around a stage might be the pinnacle of performance art. But we must accurately represent the performance so our audience can live on the edge.

One More Interval?

If you have energy for one more interval (high intensity, shorter duration effort) during endurance training, should you do the interval, or is it more beneficial to finish the workout before reaching empty? Sports physiologists suggest that the body is like an iPhone battery. It performs best between 80-20% of charge. Draining the battery (body) too much causes the battery to lose functionality, and maintaining a constant 100% charge decreases total battery life. We can take steps to expand our functionality in that sweet spot, but ultimately, there is a threshold for return on investment.

How might we understand that the attributes of ‘grit,’ ‘fortitude,’ and ‘never say quit’ are noble but potentially misguided if not utilized in the right circumstances? Leaving one more interval (effort) in our capacity may be more impactful than finishing the workout (project) in total exhaustion. What is your ideal performance bandwidth if you selected a percentage of effective output (like a mobile phone battery)?

Contract Riders

Musicians pay for the special requests made by riders in their contracts. Many might have read about outlandish requests submitted to local concert venues. A rider’s purpose in a contract is to modify or add more information. If it is non-negotiable to have a three-legged Bengal Tiger in your dressing room to perform, then the rider captures that information.

What would your cause be willing to pay for from its resources to be more effective? What instruments, amenities, and upgrades might make you immensely more productive? How might your list change if the list was the production team’s responsibility to purchase? There are the ‘nice to have’ and ‘essential’ lists.

One of my epiphanies while thru-hiking was several items that I thought were essential for a multi-week backpack. A few pieces of equipment were sent home after a week because the return on investment of carrying them versus the value provided was not high enough. Had an outside agency been transporting the items, I might have kept them in the gear bag.

What must be in your backpack? What do you pack if somebody else helps you carry the load?

How Do We Know Where We Rank?

Without awards, how would we know where we rank? How do you measure progress? Do you wait for the annual award show to allow for recognition or disappointment? What if you only have your personal results to use as a measurement? What if you only get a data report once a year? How long does an award sustain your efforts? Are you still talking about an elementary school spelling bee victory, a middle school track and field win, a high school team victory, a college academic achievement, a workplace honor from an accrediting agency, or the nod of appreciation from a co-worker? Awards have a shelf-life unless they are extremely rare (Noble Prize, Olympic Gold medal, World Championship). Awards might be waypoints to acknowledge and re-energize our efforts, but they cannot nourish or sustain us unless high school is the highlight of our lives.