“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” ~ Marcel Proust
Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi in 8½ directed by Federico Fellini.
Gregory Ronczewski leads the design of the TeamFit - view his skill profile
One of the first things we learn at any school of design is to embrace the change. Change is good. I vividly remember my grandfather throwing away one of the pieces he was working on (he was a sculptor) and telling me that “if you fall in love with your art, you better find a new profession.” It sounded odd at the time. Over the years of my design practice, I see how wise it was. It was not about the disapproval or forced rejection for the sake of changing it - it was about welcoming the creative process. A process that never ends not because the artist left his post halfway through, but because of the world around changes. So are the perspective and the context.
When you read the Russian author Anton Chekov, time starts to flows differently. You can almost feel the silliness of the air in the never-ending evenings. There is no need to rush and plenty of breathing space. He captured so well this way of thinking. The ideas are generated and discussed bit by bit. For me, the same happens with classic movies. For instance, Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ (1963). “Has any film better captured not only the travails of filmmaking but also those of the creative process more broadly than Fellini’s 8½? The film cast a long shadow on subsequent films about filmmaking, most famously perhaps on Woody Allen’s 1980 picture Stardust Memories,” (BFI Film Forever) or Everything for Sale (Wszystko na sprzedaż), a 1969 Polish production filmed in memory of Zbigniew Cybulski who was killed by a moving train, just like the "invisible" and much-talked-about protagonist of the movie.
Today, everything seems to be moving faster and faster, trains included. I feel that in recent years “time” has become a factor that has to be added to almost anything we do. It’s not new, but the way it affects businesses is much more powerful. Innovation is one of the key elements businesses want to be part of. But innovation for the sake of change will not cut it. Going back to the characters from Chekov or Fellini, time allowed them to connect, to bond and find a common language. It seems that we have lost the luxury of time. Companies struggle to get collaboration within their teams and they want them to have gelled as a team right away - you are hired, here is the project, you can start now. Like those new cars with this big button press-to-start - no need to take time to insert the key into the ignition, turn it and release. I heard the other day that someone was so eager to go skiing that the car on the parking lot was left running... for 4 hours. The expectations are so high, the stakes even higher.
So what can be done to bypass the lack of time and engage people immediately? First, you need to find the right people. People that complement each other, who will push the ideas forward. People who understand and share company’s strategy. People who trust each other and are not afraid of challenging each other. One of the essential elements to look at are the skills, the experience, and the teams who have successfully worked together in the past. TeamFit is unique in combining all those elements into one profile. A profile that is not static, but dynamically changes over time. Individual Skills, Teams and Companies. Embrace the change. Ride on it.
As much as we may genuinely enjoy Marcello Mastroianni (if we find the time), we have plenty to learn from those films. It is the holistic vision, perseverance and integrity that resulted in the work that is timeless. Both Fellini and Chekov were brilliant observers. The attention to detail created such vivid stories. We can find today examples of businesses that, because of their ability to observe changes and to acknowledge mistakes, were able to adapt and grow to become icons of our time. Apple is one of them. Let’s not forget that their success was possible because of the genuinely engaged teams that share a vision.
Good people are more important than great ideas. It is not about optimization but a radical departure from the traditional HR models. Not for the sake of being different, but because it makes sense. Because it makes sense to see the skills “with new eyes.” TeamFit will help you find those people.
