What I Learned from One Too Many Dream Sequences

Do you like art that's on the edge? Does it interest you when a work of art tries our patience by breaking what were once-comfortable boundaries?

For some people, boundary busting is the very essence of art. For others, it's cause to change the channel, cancel the subscription, pull the grant.

On the continuum of innovation that stats from extremely conservative and extends to the end of wacky bizarre, the art that I appreciate the most (and sometimes create) leans way toward the wacky. My nickname in college was Wildman for a reason.

For many theater productions I worked with a long term partner who was great at reigning me in when I got too far along that continuum. She was always instantly candid when the wacky drifted off the chart. She kept our audience in mind and painted some boundaries on my creative landscape.

One year, when I was helping to develop a Christmas play for our church, without that valuable partner (who was busy with other stuff) my boundaries expanded to the level of the absurd. I was a crazy goat in a field full of sleeping sheep. And, what should appear in the Christmas play but a twenty-minute dream sequence. It was edgy enough to be an experimental project with loud music, overdubbed vocals, dark lighting, twilight zone narration, and tutus. Yep, the actors, who were not trained dancers, wore tutus.

You probably wouldn't care for a twenty-minute dream sequence with all that, and neither did the audience members who were expecting cute little skits featuring their children and grandchildren.

Instead of roaring and appreciative applause, the end of the sequence was met with silence. The sound of befuddlement. It was also the sound of me NOT being asked to direct the next year's production.

So, what did I learn?

Every visionary needs a realist

I'm not saying to limit your vision. It's great to dream big and we need people to be creative. We also need to keep one foot (or at least a toe) on the ground while our heads are in the clouds. What if the brilliant idea doesn't fly? What if our customers don't like our edgy campaign? What if our product loses money?

Ask your customers what they want

I'm the first to say that you've got to be ahead of the data and innovate. Customers don't always know what they want or more importantly will buy in the future. But you do still have to meet their current needs and expectations as you prepare for that creative future. Make customers happy now to earn the right to teach them something different ahead. I once worked for a very wise boss at Whole Foods, Brian Doyle, who told me that "customers come into the store for their favorite thing. If they can't find it, and if it isn't what they expected they leave without their favorite thing and might not come back. Give them their favorite thing!"

Do a pilot before you roll out!

Even Broadway shows run previews and pilots first. Training programs are never perfect the first time I deliver them. New products need to bump against their weaknesses before their weakness can bump them out of the picture. We need time to work out the bugs and we shouldn't hesitate to do that for some patient and honest people who care enough to provide feedback. I don't need to use ALL of the feedback, but I'm better off if I listen.

There it is. Boundaries aren't all bad. Partnerships are built on diverse skills. Perspective sometimes needs calibrating. I'm still as edgy as ever, but I've learned a few things about getting help along the way.

Points to Ponder

What's the most revolutionary change you've ever made to a product, service, or performance? What would you do differently next time?

Whose opinion do you trust the most? Are you asking for regular feedback from that person? Have you made it a point to thank them recently for the valuable role that they play in your work?

-- Doug Smith

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