Foreground/background

Window patterns

Design exploration

Elevation study

Rhythm in lines

Many would not want to speak out of turn even when seniority and rank have been checked at the door. We do not always find open participation and honest appraisals.

How to free up people’s innate creative energy? We all had it in abundance when we were in kindergarten but somehow it got buried somewhere along the way.

Oddly enough conflict is an essential ingredient of collaboration. Until we push up against each other, we don’t know where we stand. Conflict helps establish the starting point of a conversation and invites a full spectrum of possibilities.

Behind it is the great inhibitor, FEAR. The acceptance of failure as a crucial stepping stone accelerates any collaborative effort. It unites people in a core experience of shared sympathy and ultimate transcendence: a corollary benefit.

True communication, of course, involves both speaking and listening. It’s the listening part that goes by the wayside. Or we focus on listening to ourselves, a favorite pastime.