Is it a woman with flowers, creativity, or a different way of looking at things?*
It doesn't take that long to go from one to twenty-one... we have all done it, we have all seen it happen, and if by chance you are less than twenty-one and reading this; trust me, you will be there before you know it. As a father watching his daughter grow into a lovely young woman, it seemed to all happen within a couple of heart beats** - The heart of a loving father who is so very proud; I hope you can appreciate with a knowing smile that most of what I'm about to say will be heavily biased.
A poor photograph of a stunning Sarah Edwards original that is hanging on my wall.
The title on her very first business card is "Visual Merchandiser and Fabricator". What that actually is becomes apparent as you look at her website, her LinkedIn profile, and almost everything she does for that matter. She is very much a CREATIVE by nature.
And what she creates are "visuals" that capture your attention.
Sarah Edwards LinkedIn profile
With that obvious and shameless promotion by a loving father behind us, I wanted to offer some thoughts that came about when I attended my daughter's year-end visual merchandising show - All pertaining to the development of better ideas, better plans, better solutions, and ultimately better results (no matter what you are doing).
Before I take us down any "creatively designed" bunny holes, it's probably worth framing up the context of my thoughts... I've found this can be done very nicely with pithy truisms.
Truism #1: Everything done will be better if more than one person is involved, which fortunately or unfortunately leads to "team dynamics".
Truism #2: Groupthink can offer some advantages but it will compromise Truism #3
Truism #3: Different perspectives lead to a "better everything" - situation understanding, ideas, and solutions.
Truism #4: Just because you don't understand it or agree with it, doesn't mean it isn't a better choice.
Truism #5: Change will happen and what used to work will eventually stop working.
So as I wandered the show surrounded by dozens of creative souls, their talents and efforts, I found myself saying a couple of times, "I wouldn't have done it that way, but I really like it!" - And with that said, I was reminded THINKING DIFFERENTLY IS GOOD and it leads to new perspectives and ideas; all offering better outcomes. More importantly, I was reminded to search out those who have a different way of looking at things, listen to what they have to say, add their voice to the mix, and let their creativity capture your attention.
How better to bring creativity to your situational analysis, ideas, planning or implementation then involving a "CREATIVE"... literally.
Here is to the Class of 2016!
iamgpe
*In my mind, the answer to the question in the title is all three.
** Saying couple of heartbeats is artistic licence as a rough calculation of the number over 21 years is approximately 827,820,000 not accounting for leap years.