(My family's first new car, what a beaut. So proud. Circa 1979.)
I bought a VW and moved to WV.
The back seat is a place for naps, taking in the scenery and "Are we there yets". Plopping into the back seat can can be glorious, an opportunity to literally watch the world go by. Getting back into the front seat, though, feels as good as putting on a clean pair of socks after a long day at the beach. I'm choosing to drive.
Some Driving Principles:
1. High5 Failure!
Rapid prototype everything. I am a rapid prototype. You are a rapid prototype. Life decisions are design decisions, making them is trying them and failure is inevitable. Test, try, sample. Then do it again. Embed the learnings from the first failure into the next.
2. Be the alien in the room.
Push boundaries, comfort zones, limits. Embrace awkwardness; it makes us human.
3. Celebrate ambiguity.
Know that you have the thinking and doing tools to make the muddiness clear again. Take the time to sit, listen, watch, feel and bask in the unknown with confidence, knowing how to navigate and drive yourself forward when the time is right.
4. Plan for serendipity.
Through physical environments (artifacts, fixtures, tools, workplace interior design) and recurring brainstorms.Plan on being creative. Get together weekly with the intentions of problem solving with and for each other, focusing on development of individuals and growing tools and a shared language. Don’t wait for the great idea to come, create the space to facilitate the flow.
5. Roar with laughter from your belly. A lot.
Be ridiculous, laugh at yourself. Make the familiar odd again. Create nicknames, code words and secret languages. Keep a laugh journal. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? Capture that, share it, and enjoy the sweet delight of gasping between bursts of joyful appreciation all over again.
6. When in doubt, map it out.
Trust in the process of getting all your thoughts out and in the power of visualization to bring them back together.
7. Support your tribe.
The people that electrify you with insights, push you toward greatness and challenge you to stand tall and speak with confidence. Those who believe in who you are today and how much more awesome you'll be tomorrow. Those who are inspired, not intimidated by your success. These are your people, they are precious and they deserve your genuine and frequent expression of gratitude -- through language, gesture and reciprocity.
Great post. Got me thinking about several items...love all the old pictures you have these days.
ReplyDeleteYou drive girl!
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteOf course you know that I know that you are awesome, but I'm letting myself say it again. YOU ARE AWESOME, and it's not just because of this post, but let's face it this post is really great. I especially loved High5Failure. I think I have a really good grasp on prototyping, as well as failing fast and failing cheap in business, and about learning from "mistakes" or "trials" (yah had to throw that one in there as the start of an inside joke) but never have I had all three of them so simply wrapped up into one paragraph TOGETHER.
I like Be the alien in the room for number two, I call it, "don't be afraid to ask why" and I often associate it with this question I ask myself, "If the only thing that is holding me back from initiating or joining something wild or different or off the wall is what others will think of me, the forget that, I'm doing it!" OK your version is shorter, but that's what crossed my mind.
I hadn't thought about 7 that much (and did you steal tribe from me? because I totally own that ya know!) and I like it.