Artists & Leadership

I just finished a new design project and was looking over my strategy notes and started thinking what if I approached a leadership decision like I do a new design project. I jotted down the steps I take when starting a new design project and quickly adapted them into a strategy for making a leadership decision. I think it turned out pretty good and I don't think it's too much of a stretch.

1. Start With A Blank Slate.
   Every design strategy starts with a blank slate, even if I have ideas or looks in mind, I still begin with the blank page. Every leader should begin the process with a "blank slate." Leave your ideas and assumptions at the door and lead from your values.
2. Listen, Listen, Listen.
   Great graphic designers listen to their clients first, then design second. To capture your client's ideas and bring them to reality is the task at hand. Great leaders listen first and react later.
3. Get a Mental Picture of What You Want.
   Artists by nature "see" their design in their head, they use their imagination, if you will. Leaders "see" the result before it becomes reality. They use their "vision", if you will.
4. Get Inspiration.
   All artists need creative inspiration. We look at magazines, web sites, other designers' work to get our creative juices flowing. All leaders find inspiration from other leaders. Read magazines, books, web sites and talk with other leaders to help you with the decision or project in front of you.
5. Do a Rough Sketch (Don't Be Afraid to Erase It and Start Over).
   Art is about color, placement, meaning, beauty and message. The end result is NEVER what we started with. We always use more erasers than we do ink! Leaders should always "rough draft" their ideas or decisions. Brainstorm, mindmap, use whatever, just be willing to use more erasers than you do ink.
6. The Beauty is in the Details.
   As an artist, I spend a lot of time on the details. Color, space, symmetry, etc. It's never the main elements that make or break the piece, it's the details. Many leaders don't spend time working through the details of their decisions. Take time for the details, it could be the difference between paint by number and the Mona Lisa.
7. Add a Unique Touch.
   There's a difference in design technique and design style. Everyone uses the same techniques, no one has the same style. There are times you can look at a piece of art and you instantly know who the artist is. Leaders are the same way. Too many times we, as leaders, lead too much from technique and not enough from the gut. Be sure to embrace your style and go with it. Sometime you look at an organization and you instantly know who the leader is!
8. The Result is Something You Would Proudly Put Your Name On.
   The last thing artists do is add their name to their work. It says, "This is something I created, a part of me for the world to enjoy." Leaders should ask themselves, "Am I proud enough to put my name on this?" I think this would go a long way toward creating a better decision in the short and long run.

I would love your feedback on this or feel free to share it with your team.

Two Thousand Verses

I read a story today about a man, Jim Wallis, who went through all sixty-six books of the Bible and underlined every passage and verse that dealt with poverty, wealth, justice and oppression. After the experiment, he took a pair of scissors and cut every one of those verses out of his Bible. The result was a book in tatters that barely held together. His Bible was left in shambles.

Today, Mr.Wallis speaks on issues of poverty and justice while holding his ragged Bible full of holes.

Brothers and sisters, this is our American Bible; it is full of holes. Each one of us might as well take our Bibles, a pair of scissors, and begin cutting out all the scriptures we pay no attention to, all the biblical texts that we just ignore.

According to The Poverty & Justice Bible, there are almost two thousand verses in Scripture that deal with poverty and justice.*