I love this quote from a now obscure teacher and philosopher, Amos Bronson Alcott... "The less routine, the more life"

 

I puzzled over this quote for a minute and realized that, as usual, this is worthy of a debate. One could argue that he is advocating in favor of CHAOS here. For Heaven's sake, we know that babies and children THRIVE on routine, even though they also seem to specialize in THWARTING the routines we design for them. Without routine, we would have no systems and we would not bother to create patterns. We would be shooting from the hip, operating in willy-nilly or random fashion, and what we do would be very hard to duplicate later. We might be called impulsive and disorganized, even irrational.

 

On the other hand, we can become CONSUMED by routine. We can become numbed both emotionally and spiritually by it. One of my favorite quotes about that comes from T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": He is reflecting on his existence and says "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." In "modern" factory assembly lines, it was discovered that giving a person just one task to do made the line more efficient, but in the end, it was mind-numbing. The team approach to assembling automobiles, in fact, was shown to engage the workers in a much more meaningful and interactive creative process. The workers seemed to take much more pride in their product.

 

The creative process is something that probably lives in the middle of these extremes of planning and spontaneity. I think it may originate with some uncensored "wild" brainstorming, or a fantasy, a brand new idea, an unlikely combining of things that have never before been combined. The planning is what allows the ideas to take shape, and to be articulated and tested along the way. The commitment we need to be in a creative process is something that cannot be faked. We need to be fully present with the resources we have available, and ready to stretch ourselves, question ourselves at each turn, and apply a tremendous amount of determination toward achieving the desired outcome.

 

It's funny, but I am remembering a weekend spent with my daughter when she was in seventh grade and was faced with a deadline to turn in a serious science project. I cannot really describe what we designed, but it turned out to be amazing. We didn't really know it would work until the very last minute, and we had spent many hours on it. It was basically a " Rube Goldberg device" (see Wikipedia for the best description of this reference). It started with a heavy wooden painted ball dropping off a surface, which then caused several other things to happen, which finally caused a pair of scissors to cut a string which then caused a small object to drop off into a bucket! It was such a challenging adventure for us, and so satisfying when it actually worked. Now THAT was a creative process. We had to stay so flexible and determined along the way to get it to work.

 

Those memories are very strong, and I think it is because we were using all our brains, the right and the left side, and we were fully present with the challenges. We were a very effective team.

 

In today's world situation, we definitely need to be in a creative process, to be reaching out to each other, to "think outside the box", use our resources wisely and in new ways, and to be fully present. Our families, work teams, corporations, institutions, nonprofits, government agencies, and leaders need to question and rethink our "routines and systems", and to throw ourselves behind the long process of building a healthier and much more accountable structure that can truly hold the weight of our (more realistic) dreams.

 

Our natural inborn instincts can drive us either toward spontaneity in approaching a task, or more toward a planning/systematizing approach to a task. There are luckily those people in mid-range between the two approaches who can help us bridge the gap and mediate these instinctive forces in order to avoid polarization and achieve synergy in working toward the goal. The understanding, acceptance and appreciation of these different instincts is vital for effective teamwork.

 

 

The Kolbe-A Index (TM) is a powerful predictor of a team's success. Also of your personal success when given certain tasks to do. Whether a college student, mid-career, or about to retire, you will be freed by knowing your Kolbe M.O. Call Dr. Pam to get a free phone consultation. She can be reached at 443-742-6038 or leave a voice mail at 410-995-0760.