In 1980, at the age of 40, John Lennon was shot and killed near his flat in New York City. Where were you? I remember that day, and I also remember it also as being just before my birthday. It wasn’t exactly a happy birthday. It also marked the end of the possibility of reuniting a small, ‘insignificant’ band called “The Beatles.”
The unique songwriting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was never going to happen again—at least not in this world. A primary thread that made The Beatles so unique was the diversity of these two songwriters.
The unique songwriting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was never going to happen again—at least not in this world. A primary thread that made The Beatles so unique was the diversity of these two songwriters.
Far from insignificant, The Beatles powered through opposing personalities, altercations and adversity to find creative brotherhood and something special, at least for a brief window in musical history.
The flowering creative partnership was as diverse as two horizons, spanning from sunrise to sunset:
John had political views, was a bit of a sarcastic, cynical type, and was sometimes in trouble with the law—being deported (back to England) at least once. Some might say he represented the “darker side” of the music.
On the other hand, Paul was “lighter,” happier, and not quite as ‘unapologetic’ as John could be. He represented, among other things, the more positive side of the message delivered by The Beatles.
Together with George and Ringo, the ‘yin-yang-like’ relationship in the songwriting between John and Paul led an all-time influential rock band to hit the pop charts—and stay there for years. Their music spans decades, is used, licensed and accepted in numerous contexts, and is even experiencing a revival today in revealing remixes and dynamic use in the "Love" Cirque du Soleil performances. Today’s culture is adding its updates and unique contributions too!
This type of dynamic relationship has happened numerous times, and with larger throngs of people. The Traveling Wilburys capitalized on the developed uniqueness of their various members. People like Tom Petty, George Harrison (also a member of The Beatles), Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan already had a tremendous volume of material in their respective catalogs. Their creativity had time to simmer already. Now, when they came together… all of this came together, and created something very unique. The ingredients created mixes that you would never expect from any singular participant.
Human creativity pops up everywhere because we love to talk about, speculate, and imagine the possibilities. We explore “the zone-like state” of being in that timeless space of creative possibility. It’s called “The Element” by Ken Robinson, or the “Flow State” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The ‘first level of creativity’ stands within your individual abilities (Tom Petty developing his craft with his band “The Heartbreakers”), and the ‘second-level of creativity’ capitalizes on how your abilities may contribute to groups, ala the diversity of The Wilburys.
Let me be very clear here…
Experiencing the camaraderie within a group of artists or designers is still a very positive (and needed) experience, but the reality of today’s diverse workforce is more often the norm. It can be a curse if you’re not used to it, or that blessing in disguise, it all depends on how you frame it. If you choose to be more patient, build in some time, let the periodic frustration subside, hold the (sometimes) ambiguous tension, and look for available leverage points for change, you might reap the rewards of some unique solutions.
On the art and design side of things, with the advent of smaller teams and smaller businesses, you are more than likely to be the only “visual person” on the team. It’s not always the case, but it does happen a lot more when you are chosen to work on specific projects.
In addition, whether it’s different (or similar) job titles, that is not the only way we’re different. Regardless of your role or title on a team, we all have different communication and learning styles. And guess what? Really ‘speaking’ and winning over your stakeholders relies on you identifying and knowing this!
Whether we realize it or not, there's truly a lot of care that is required to cultivate the uniqueness of an individual, team or organization.
And at the end of the day, perhaps it's true... all you need is love.
Whether we realize it or not, there's truly a lot of care that is required to cultivate the uniqueness of an individual, team or organization.
And at the end of the day, perhaps it's true... all you need is love.
Sorry, I just had to say it
So how have you seen diversity realized? Whether it’s something you have personally participated in or seen from a far, were the results what you would have predicted?
;)
See ya soon!
m
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