DESIGN CONNECTIONS? > ODE TO THE IMPERFECT, UNFINISHED, RAW WORK
Ayse (Eye-Shay) Birsel
Co-Founder + Creative Director | Fast Company Most Creative People
This idea came to me in a dream.?
In my dream, I was with friends from Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches. I remember Beth Polish telling the others she loves my idea sketches, those unfinished and raw drawings I use to communicate ideas I am excited about.?
I woke up happy and scribbled what it is about this?early work that is so essential to creating something original.
Often, we,?see only the end result: the play on the stage, the music in the concert hall, the product in the showroom or store, the published book.?
We rarely see the beginning. The 1st Draft. Raw Material. Rough Cut. Idea Sketch. Mock-Up. MVP. Pilot.
I love these early works. One moment?there’s nothing except the blank sheet, the silence, and the paint in the tube. Next, there is something tangible: an explosion of lines, melodies, images, equations, and forms.
Here is an ode to early work. Yours and mine.
1. Early work is shorthand for a future vision. If it is strong despite its humble materials or unrefined prose—think napkin sketch—it will only improve as you continue to work on it. It gets you started, even if you don’t know how it will end.
2. Early work is forgiving. It is only just emerging. There’s much room for improvement. You can edit the copy, refine the form, add the missing elements, and subtract the pieces that don’t belong.
3. Early work can also be less forgiving. There’s no fluff to it. You haven’t had the time or the resources to style or refine it. In these early stages, if the idea is not strong enough, it won’t survive, and that will save you time, money, and energy.
4. It is fragile. Early ideas are beautiful and delicate and need to be cuddled, fed, and protected—like newborns. They promise to bring an idea to life and bring out our maternal instincts. Tread lightly and continue to shore up the idea to survive long-term.
5. It is a work in progress. This is when you can sleep on an idea and let your unconscious do some work. Some of my favorite work moments are when I leave something wanting, where I have written the first draft, outline or sketch, and know I will return to it with fresh eyes in the morning.
6. Early work is inclusive. You can start alone but finish it with others. The first kernels are there, but if you are lucky, you will have others—your team, clients, collaborators—to make it better. This will help build increase?the chances of survival of your original idea.
Where are you in your work? Are you starting something new? If so, take a moment and relish this precious moment and the promise early work holds for the future.
I am doing that with our Design Connections? Pilot with the Mat-Su Health Foundation in Alaska.
Ayse?
领英推荐
INSPIRATION ?
I quoted Michael Bungay Stanier (MBS) in last week’s Newsletter. MBS is the #1 thought leader on coaching and the author of The Coaching Habit (1 million+ sold). He is a dear friend and mentor (he has helped me many times over) and has a new program to help you unlock your greatness: yours and others. All you need to do is buy a copy of?The Coaching Habit?between?Tuesday, May 14th, and midnight on Monday, May 20th, register?here, and MBS will invite you for a brand new and fantastically good training in June.?See you there!
I just read Marginalian’s beautiful reflection on John Ruskin and the value of imperfection. Have a read?here.
“All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections which have been divinely appointed, that the law of human life may be Effort, and the law of human judgment, Mercy.”
—John Ruskin
If you missed my earlier reflections on Design Connections from Alaska, you can read them here:
For our design programs, please email Leah Caplan, VP, Design and Project Planning, Birsel + Seck, at?[email protected].
For coaching engagements, please email Jacquelyn Lane, President, 100 Coaches, at?[email protected].
For speaking engagements, please email Nancy Aaronson at?[email protected].
Previously worked on ethics in health and leadership. Don't ask me about Work Do Feel? workshops!
9 个月Insightful! I sometimes revisit first drafts and discover that what I'd assumed to be later additions had been there all along. My redrafts are mostly tweaks of an image or format: I'd already done the thinking, though bits had dropped off!
Pitch Coach and Master Trainer of the Best3Minutes methodology. Purpose-driven entrepreneur and professor. Passionate about empowering people, and helping businesses make an impact.
9 个月I just started to read your book today, again, for the third time!!