Wednesday, August 24, 2005
imaginary board of directors
here's how they explained the idea over at idea sandbox:
This board may consist of any person you admire most, living or dead. The instructions Michael Michalko offers in Thinkertoys to form and use this board are as follows:
-Select three to five movers and shakers, living or dead, whom you admire most.-Get photographs of your Board and pin them up to constantly remind you of the talent at your disposal.
-Research your heroes. Read everything about your heroes that you can get your hands on.
-Take notes on your favorite passages. Pay particular attention to the creative techniques they employed to solve problems.
-When you have a challenge, consult the members of your board and imagine how they would solve it.
i absolutely love this idea. it reminds us that we get to rely on those who have gone before us and it helps us remember that we get to have a team.
i'd encourage you to take it a step further than michalko suggests and if your board members are living get in touch with them. why not? write to them and tell them why you admire them, tell them a little about yourself, and how they have had an impact on you. anyone would love to get a letter or email like that. so go for it! you never know you just might find yourself making a connection that pushes your board from imaginary to real.
i haven't had a chance to think through who all of my board members would be, but i've included a list of the few i am certain of.
here's my initial list:
ani difranco - because she's passionately herself, amazingly brilliant and gutsy as hell.
johann wolfgang von goethe - because he was a brilliant thinker who believed fully in the power of intention and the responsibility we have to make the world the way we believe it should be.
barbara kingsolver - a woman who tells both the most beautiful and the most politically compelling stories that i have ever read. and damn does she have some integrity.
paul wellstone - a fierce defender of the rights of all people, a true politician in all of the best ways, and a fellow lover of minnesota.
i'd love to hear who you want to sit on your board, feel free to post your list here!
dream big,
-kirsten
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