why groups?
“it takes a group for me to become more than what i am”
Along the long road of moderating a thousand-plus advertising focus groups, I started to become really interested in “what makes a good group?”. I started to look at the stuff of life — families, brands, sports teams, musical ensembles, accounting departments, theatre productions — not as things, but as relationships, as activity, as making together. I also noticed how prickly the experience of making with others can be. And how little we discuss or teach the subject.
One of philosopher Rene Descartes‘ gifts to the modern, western world has been the declaration of his individuality, the right of a mind to declare “I exist, I am a human being”. Descartes set a foundation for the ideas of democracy and human and economic rights, of the freedoms of speech and press, and yes, the personal art statement. We’ve been perfecting his machine for 350 years, our market-driven luxury-suite access to “self-expression” the crowning achievement of the 20th century.
So where’s the growth for the 21st century? Group creativity and productivity. Perhaps in shared agreement on values, behaviors, and definitions of success. Trust and commitment. Across silos, across company lines, across geographies, across cultures. Its a branding strategy, a service strategy.
I do believe the time has come to pay more attention to group creative process, to promote better conversations among partners about what we’re making together, and who we want to be along the way. So I’ve been training as a systems coach, and studying theatrical & movement improvisation, gleaning best practices from these areas, and helping groups learn, grow, and change.
The quotation at the top of the page was uttered by my friend & colleague Randy Wilson at the Performing the World Conference. I like the idea that one’s humanity can be larger than one’s identity. “What I am” is usually based in recalling history (what happened), and is focused on the individual. Randy’s “what I am becoming” is focused on the future, the making, and on his partners.
His statement reflects a radical human developmental idea with wide-ranging post-modern philosophical repercussions. If you’re at all interested in following the rabbit down this hole, click here. These people blow my mind…