“I sketched out a diagram of an upsetting incident between a co-worker and me, in an effort to show how un-cool his behavior was. But in looking at my own sketch, I was surprised to see what I was doing to help create the situation…. Looks like we both have an adjustment to make; I guess I could go first…”
“When I was really torn about a tough decision, that 'character' approach helped me to focus on one position at a time. It made my thinking less muddled. I felt confident in my choices afterward.”
“When I'm beat, I now sit down with a pile of pictures that's kept in a box near my work area, and 'read' them one by one. Sometimes I just need some energy, other times I need a hint – It's strange that I seem to get something useful, even though I've seen most of these pictures before.”
“The character thing makes it easier for me to get into the customer's point of view… and to realize how many different 'customers' there really are.”
“I used Working-Arts™ to explore my growing anger with a co-worker whose style was really getting to me. The pictures I chose and the character check-in reminded me how important my work relationships are to me… The helpful surprise was that my ‘get it done' character was getting seriously in the way of my ‘teacher' character with this difficult [younger partner]. I also realized that I was more [irritable] in general because my long hours at work lately were keeping me from my normal down-time.”
“The ‘poem' (if you can call it that) I wrote from the pictures I selected really spoke to my ‘right brain'. I'm not entirely sure yet what it ‘means'… but my mind feels more relaxed and open, and new thoughts are already coming in. I don't feel as stuck.”
“When I looked at all the work roles I've ever had, I realized that some old roles really know something about my current job – things that I had forgotten about. I also noticed a few things which really charge me up, and have always given me juice for the job; some of them were not what I expected.”
“We were really in a headlock on the issue. When we were asked to represent our positions with pictures, it changed the whole conversation. No instant answers, but we could see each other's views enough to diffuse the anger; we began to talk in a different way, and listen a lot better.”
“Working-Arts™ reminds me that it helps to step back sometimes to see what is really going on.”
“I've learned to view the stress-conflict-creativity model as a roadmap. By seeing where I am, I can tell better where I need to go next, and what to do to get there.”
“I wanted to develop ideas on how to expand our client base. The pictures I picked out highlighted the importance of relationships [with potential clients]…. A character check-in suggested I was already doing everything right.… Now what? That's when it hit me… that I needed to look into new kinds of relationships altogether… new relationships which could expand our connection models, and give us greater access to potential clients, as well as to new partnerships.”
“I've found that de-linking a design option from the person recommending it is vital to an effective design discussion. It de-personalizes the process, and gives room for more angles to be considered. We made better progress after that.”
“My greatest surprise was discovering that the problem I thought I was facing was not the real problem at all. I'm grateful for the time I save by not chasing the wrong problem.”
“ Even when I'm not using it, it helps me to know that I have my Working-Arts™ practice to keep me on track, help me think clearly, and keep me energized.”
