I’ll start from the conclusion, just to turn things around: are we more animal / less civilised than we would like to admit?
I’ve been thinking about the last month, what I’ve learned and my feelings after the impact with the MACE, and the more I think the more I realise that it’s always and all about People and relationships.
My thoughts are used to dancing in circles, coming and going like people at an open party; therefore, I tried to hold them together mapping my reflections and, even though I’m sure it will look incredibly messy to most of you, it clarified a lot to me.
The Frieze Art Fair we visited a couple of weeks ago made me realise that the value was not in the Art works themselves but in the overall experience of the Fair as hub for cross-pollination.
As I wrote in my essay for Mapping the Creative Economy, it looked like a proper Ecosystem where people gravitating towards the world of the Art Industry – Critics, Curators, Artists, Galleries, Audience – cooperate in building an evolving meaning.
It’s a herd. We are influenced by the society we dive in, we feel the need to understand and to be understood, be part of something bigger, share rules and problems for many different reasons. The designer’s hand – from the first tool created by the first man – is driven by people.
Prototyping, as a conversation between mind and hands, reminds us once more that we approach the world better when we have something tangible to gather around. It’s our fire; as pitching and storytelling it’s our way to share meaning though symbols.
We need to built friendships fostering trust and playfulness to collaborate to modify the world around us. It’s the only way to overcome the fear of judgment and discuss pre-existing patterns, as Tim Brown explain in his amazing performance at TED:
We need mentors as we needed leaders and guidance, it’s once again the need to share meaning and be encouraged (as Dr Sugata Mitra proved us) that can make the difference.
Moreover, after our panel discussion last Friday about funding and how to get the investors’ attention we realise that “People buy People”. Investors are looking for Good Teams rather then perfect products. Our speakers suggested to find a way to build a personal relationship attending networking events. Once again enter a community and share. It’s about trust and balance and passion, something far from the cold and inhuman world of banking and finance as we imagine.
It turned out that if your business fits your personality, if you do what you love following your ethics people around you can feel it and this makes a difference.
My opening question could has been a bit above the lines, I was trying to wind you up. I’ll be honest.
We look at ourselves as emancipated animals and indeed we are, but there is a huge share of instinct in our lives. We are fighting and embracing unconsciously and at the same time our being “animals” and I think this is exactly what makes us unique.
Thinking. Feeling. Doing. We can accomplish anything.
thoughtfromthemace 