So, what is the EQ of AI?

Full Disclosure: I’m an Early Adopter of technology and am a part of probably of the next-to-last group of Digital Immigrants in the workforce. I’ve been an eager and hungry consumer of Science and Science Fiction since the ’50’s (That’s the 1950’s, whippersnapper!), taught Mac OS, iOS and Apps at Apple SoHo and SF periodically from 2009 – 2013. I love tech (for the most part); especially as it transitions to magic and new experience.

In the oft-quoted-by-me words of Arthur C. Clarke (…and if you don’t know who that is you’d best google and learn. He matters.):

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Between AI and the encroaching, burgeoning metaverse, we are coming very close to the place where technology is virtually magic. 

This excites and thrills me. 

There is a conversation, though, that I’m neither seeing nor hearing being had that I think affects or may be affecting the depth to which our audiences will, can or may ultimately even be emotionally equipped to experience if not emotionally capable of handling as we breathlessly chase new technologies and new worlds to conquer and market as though it’s the day after Thanksgiving at Macy’s.

Maybe slow down a minute?

In what feels a breakneck race to seem relevant in embracing AI, “gamification” and what is currently being called “interactivity” – I’m sensing a dismissive overlooking of actual emotional investment in the outcome(s) of the experience offered. I’m seeing a change in the quality and character of the payoff as agency grows..

Increase in Agency offers, IMHO, an equal and opposite dilution of emotional investment in outcome. With increased individual agency; the analytical part of the brain comes more intensely into play, pushing aside empathetic engagement and replacing it with the visceral, the competitive, the self.

What I believe I see, in the stories being written and experiences created that give agency to the audience, viewers and participants…players, now… are stories with an arc of sorts – but the agency of the players creates a subtle change with critical affect. 

When the audience member has some level of control, when one can “win” or accomplish some task or overcome some obstacle; the rush at the end is visceral, personal, exhilarating and wonderful…though neither empathetic nor sympathetic nor, from what I can see, emotionally engaging.

This is not a bad thing; it is a very good thing. It increases potential audience and vastly broadens the expanse of experiences and storytelling methodological tools available to us. 

BUT, let us not lose sight of what this does not do for our audience. It does not engage them emotionally in a story that unfolds before them. It does not allow one to wonder and wander through questioning, hoping, imagining outcomes to be revealed; as agency supersedes all that. 

With that, I’d like to see us, as we have our conversations, keep in mind the pliability of the human mind and collective memories brought to the storytelling experience and how those can be used and manipulated to create investment in what happens in a story.

Along these lines, I’m noticing a burgeoning conversation among people who pitch AI as creator of story: scripts written by Artificial Intelligence. 

From where I stand at the moment, I can’t imagine a story written by a digital entity that can move an individual, emotionally. 

My question at the outset is on what experience would this digital entity draw to create new stories with investible characters and experiences of the depth and substance that can bring emotion to the surface for the reader or performer? Can AI write stories in which we invest our hearts? I want this to be part of the conversation and am trusting we’ll see to it that it is.

In the coming weeks of conference season, as we gather in various halls and theatres around the world to share news and developments, rejoice and explore technologies and techniques, dig through the promised pot of gold at the end of this rainbow; let us not lose sight of how deeply we can reach with a well-told story. 

Let us keep the goal of emotional connection in mind, if that is the goal; separate and apart from the visceral charge of winning and conquering…or can they live together? Well worth exploring and hopefully augmenting…though let’s not be too quick to eschew engagement at deeper levels. 

(I’m just sayin’ <redacted>!)

I believe the new should be welcomed and embraced, tested and tried, carefully. As I said, above; I am excited at what technology and the New Tools represent for stories and their telling…the sense of disbelief hasn’t before seen anything this potentially powerful. 

I would want us to honor and respect the organic muse within us as we do so. 

IMHO.

________________________________________________________________________________

The third printing of “IMEx – In My Experience…” is pending (thank you, all!), and can hard copies are obtainable through me at Kile@kileozier.com.

And downloadable via Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/imex-in-my-experience/id1518649025

(Sorry y’all…kindle will only print in portrait, and the book is laid out in landscape. Please contact me for the solution if that’s an issue. Pas de probleme…

Random review:

“Empathize, Ideate, & Build” is the common doctrine of Design Thinking, and while they are inspirational points, they are hardly instructional.  Kile has articulately laid out very actionable steps for any team involved in the creation and execution of Experience Design projects to follow on the path from concept to installation and operation.

In an industry that can be secretive, the How and Why of Experience Design can be lost as we celebrate the What.   The simple roadmap that is presented in “In My Experience” outlines best practices for informed success along the life cycle of a project’s development.   It’s not just a useful production tool, but also provides insight into the field for students interested in contributing to Experience Design or Themed Entertainment but who don’t fully realize all the working parts to the process.

A combination of process details, case studies, and first-hand stories as great examples makes this a delightful and credible read.  Examples that take into consideration cultural and personality differences provide options for moving forward across a number of possible scenarios as both a contributor and a leader  in the industry.

Marketed as a manual for the design of various experiences, it’s secretly an exhaustive manual for life.

Our industry mantra has become “story, story, story” But what does that actually mean?  “In My Experience” graciously leads you down the path of story “revelation”  best practices to carefully craft a very intentional emotional experience for your guests. 

In an industry that only thrives on collaboration and mentorship, “In My Experience” continues the trend graciously sharing resources and inspiration across disciplines and generations.

Last Summer, I taught a Master Class with the Themed Entertainment Creative Academy; 

“Getting the Best from Our Teams – 

Giving the Best to Our Audiences.” 

For me, it was a great experience; and I sense that the students enjoyed it as much as I did. There was exceptional room for discovery and the sharing & comparing of perspective through the six weeks; enhanced by the fact that this was my first class, post publication of my book. 

Prior to this, when I taught; I used to teach what is now in the book. What became instantly clear to me during our first session was that, now, everyone in the class had already read the book. This was great; as rather than presenting New Information in the class, the opportunity for feedback, questions, applications to real-life & right-now situations and the multilateral posing of hypotheticals from these aspirational thinkers was present through all our discussions.

A number of things came to light with respect to entering, moving through and working in the real world that had never been actually discussed with most of these individuals. These are Life Navigation Skills, some of which I think I’d learned through osmosis or some professional stumbling along the way, from a mentor or a series of my own mistakes but never actually taught.

I don’t know that they are actually taught, anywhere but workshops and onsite…

Either way, I came across the fact that there are some things, critical to socialization and success in the professional sphere that might support these kids (well, they are far younger than me!) in their Quest for Their Future. Thus, I collected a list of these things as they came to mind; planning to share them with the class during our final session.

But we never actually got to that. 

Thus, this post:, 

“Things One Should Know About Looking for Work and Doing Business,

but May Not Have Known Whom to Ask.” 

Herewith, in random order, are some questions and my answers:

Getting Paid: Invoicing. What should it look like, what information should be on it?

An invoice should be one page, one side, with everything on that page that will help people and companies pay you without having to seek backup or ancillary documents or information. Therefore:

• A logo or brandmark, if you have one.
• Contact information: name, mailing address, telephone number, email, website (if you have one).
• An Invoice Number. Make up your own trackable system. I use a system of year/month/day/client so that in lists, they self-arrange, chronologically and alphabetically:
  • The invoice I send to Smith Company on October 7, 2021 for the Secret Project is numbered: 211907SmithSecret.
• Name of the Project.
• Space for a P.O. (that’s Purchase Order) number – some companies need to issue you a P.O. number that needs to be on your invoice in order for it to be paid. That number indicates that the fee agreed-upon was actually approved. 
• Your applicable rates (hour/day/week/month) and the total amount owed you.
• Due Date / terms of your agreement.
• Bank / Wire Transfer information; including Swift Code, Routing Number, Account Number, Name on the Account, Name of the Bank, Address and Phone number of the bank. 
• Be sure to ask the client what they want/need to see included in the invoice, one never knows…be thorough.

Seriously, leave nothing to chance or misunderstanding. Never worry that you are giving them too much information; rather, worry that you might leave out some small detail that can delay the processing of your invoice.

Getting Paid: How Much Am I Worth? Okay, you’re worth millions. I agree. However, do your research online (glassdoor.com or any one of a number of other sites), ask trusted friends and colleagues in the same line of work what they would pay someone with your level of education or experience. Even ask business owners or executives the salary ranges for positions you might seek. Asking from an informational point of view, outside of a climate of negotiation, will elicit more candid response and can give a more clear and objective picture. 

Decide on your rate and be comfortable quoting it. Do be wary of over-valuing a degree. While education is generally a requirement and a constant; experience is what raises value. 

Getting Paid: Negotiating. When asked, quote your rate; period. Don’t offer to negotiate. If asked if you’ll negotiate or “will you accept less than that?” Ask what they are offering. Do not offer any other figures until the Other Person/Company has offered a figure. Personally, I would go so far as to respond, when asked about salary, by asking if this is a negotiation. In other words, “So, are you interested in offering me the position and is this the opening of salary talks to see if we can agree?”

If they want you, then they’ll be candid. Otherwise, time is just being wasted, IMHO. If your value to a company is primarily in how low you can be gotten; is this a culture in which you’ll be happy? You be the judge of that. 

You know how low you can go for a job you love, and how much you need to maintain your life. None of that is anyone’s business; as one should be paid for what one brings to the table, not what one “needs.” Never operate or negotiate from what you “need.” 

What you need is, frankly, irrelevant in salary negotiations. Same goes for when you are seeking a raise in pay; it’s because the raise is deserved and you represent value at that level of pay; not because the kids need new shoes.

—————————————————

And that’s it for today. The list is long, so I’ll be breaking it down over a few weeks and posts if there’s interest in more “practical” knowledge…remembering that this is IMHO, always: In My Humble Opinion.

Possible Future Topics:

Getting Paid: When and Why to Decline Work. Many of us have taken jobs that paid too little but we needed the work. I would offer that, most often in such situations, pretty much all parties end up unhappy in the long run. Resentment and unmet expectation can truly undermine the dynamic. 

• Getting Paid: The Integrity of Quitting versus the Future Work Factor.
• Information Flow, Responsibility Assignment & Acceptance.
• Networking and Social Media: 
  • Nobody owes you a LinkedIn acceptance. 
  • Default Messages and Obtuseness.
  • Clicking the “Invite” button is not Networking. One must actually Ask.
• Communication, Acknowledgement thereof. 
  • (Subtopic: No one on the planet, including you, is “too busy” to type “Got it; I WILL get back to you.”)
  • …and if one can’t accomplish the “getting back to,” it is their responsibility to see that the “getting back” actually happens. 
• Reputations: Building, Maintaining, Repairing.
• CYA: The importance of meeting follow-up and The Paper Trail. (And is that really “CYA” or just good management?)
• Gullibility and Confidence: Who are the Critics and Complainers, Really? 
• Hearing, Heeding and Reading Criticism for What It Is and What It May be Worth. Considering Source.
• Discomfort and Angst / Confidence and Judgement: Making Decisions when Everyone Else Seems Okay With something that makes One Uncomfortable.
• And “Credibility” My Degree versus My Experience. How to Handle the Balance.
• Whatever else comes to mind as these subjects percolate with y’all, this week.
• Meetings of three or more…backup, all things heard…same with prod’n meetings
• brand your zoom background
• 3 in a meeting, fearless feedback, sensitive counsel and mentoring in a complex environment.

————————————————-

Popular throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, “IMEX: In My Experience | secrets of making ‘em cheer, weep…and sometimes write checks” is now available in the beautiful and durable Field Edition as well as download from Apple Books. Contact me at kile@kileozier.com for purchase and shipping information.

Apple Books Link: https://books.apple.com/us/book/imex-in-my-experience/id1518649025 

The “IMEx Field Edition“

The Inimitable Mk Haley said it:

“Empathize, Ideate, & Build” is the common doctrine of Design Thinking, and while they are inspirational points, they are hardly instructional. Kile has articulately laid out very actionable steps for any team involved in the creation and execution of Experience Design projects to follow on the path from concept to installation and operation.

In an industry that can be secretive, the How and Why of Experience Design can be lost as we celebrate the What. The simple roadmap that is presented in “In My Experience” outlines best practices for informed success along the life cycle of a project’s development. It’s not just a useful production tool, but also provides insight into the field for students interested in contributing to Experience Design or Themed Entertainment but who don’t fully realize all the working parts to the process.

A combination of process details, case studies, and first-hand stories as great examples makes this a delightful and credible read. Examples that take into consideration cultural and personality differences provide options for moving forward across a number of possible scenarios as both a contributor and a leader in the industry.

Marketed as a manual for the design of various experiences, it’s secretly an exhaustive manual for life.

Our industry mantra has become “story, story, story” But what does that actually mean? “In My Experience” graciously leads you down the path of story “revelation” best practices to carefully craft a very intentional emotional experience for your guests.

In an industry that only thrives on collaboration and mentorship, “In My Experience” continues the trend graciously sharing resources and inspiration across disciplines and generations.

-Mk Haley
Program Manager / Academic Outreach
Walt Disney Imagineering

Order your copy now.

Get it directly from The Guy

US$45.00 + shipping.

Still available as download from Apple Books:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/imex-in-my-experience/id1518649025

A “Client”! Did you see that?

Clients!

They’re Back, they’re Happy and they’re Hungry and I’m glad to see ’em again!

Last week, out of the Blue; while he was on a flight, an exceptionally thoughtful new client of mine pinged me with, “How would you define experience?” 

This, after I had shared with him this quote:

“Any economy without a prosperous experience sector cannot be a good economy. The present global downturn proves the point we’ve been emphasizing for over two decades: Goods and Services are no longer enough to maintain economic prosperity.

Businesses must shift to the creation of experiential value in the marketplace as the continuing engine of economic growth and job creation.”

– Pine and Gilmore, May 24, 2020.

Herewith, is my response to him.

“Hey, <name withheld – he’s MY client!)…  A long answer to a short question…buckle up; it’s going to get granular…

From where I stand, “experience” is literally everything; and everything is experience. Touching an ice cube is an experience, breathing is an experience. Every person has their experience of any and every thing they encounter. 

Then, there’s nuance. 

My experience of something will differ from your experience of that same thing as it is experienced through our individual filters…physiological (taste buds, vision), psychological, spiritual and so on. For instance, one person may see a beautiful sunset and think of it as a gift from their God, while another may see it as a visually beautiful confluence of physics and chemistry, while yet another may see it as an indication of tomorrow’s weather (“Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight”). 

So, the exact, same phenomenon is experienced differently by different people at the same time…  I could go on…(and have, on occasion!).

Now, “Experience,” – as conceived, created and crafted – is another Thing. 

Boiled down; I see crafted “Experience” as, ultimately, the absence of distraction. Full immersion. You’ll hear me talk about Circumventing Preconception and Comfortable Disorientation…things that are both methodology and intended result. Essentially, the further I can “get into the heads” of my audiences the more profound the Experience can be…

The more personal and intimate I can make an Experience, the more powerful and effective it can be. Simply put, many shows/spectacles/experiences can be seen or watched and give massive, yet transient pleasure; while those few that are felt leave their footprints in the hearts, souls and memories of the audience…as they’ve been given something they can’t identify without recognizing it…a subtle seed that remains and perhaps grows as time passes. 

People will shout and cheer at a fantastic spectacle. They will remember and talk about it as great or “awesome.” But touch them with it and their eyes turn inward in reflection as their subconscious connects; attempting to describe it…without words…

I wrote a poem, once, about this experience – which I shall bore you with in closing.

The final stanza being:

But that’s just me. 😉
IMHO

---

Meanwhile: BIG NEWS!

“No one of us can be free until we all are free.”

June 1 marks the beginning of Pride Month, worldwide. 

• Fifty-two years since the Stonewall Riots that launched the movement; a movement that had been simmering for decades…decades of hiding and harassment, of brutality and shame, of fear and of hate.
• Fifty-one years since the first Pride March…
• a March that has not stopped since the first step was taken on June 28, 1970…the movement that began with the first thrown shoe, the year before.

What has happened in the intervening years as Stonewall itself has become catchphrase and icon is, I think, a gradual lessening of awareness of the extreme, catalytic struggle that brought into the sunlight the inhumanity with which an entire class of people were being seen and treated. 

Nowadays, we enjoy strong political and cultural support from increasingly vocal communities, cultures, political parties and multinational corporations (we are, after all not the worst market to garner). But even as this support has grown, the darkness and horror that lie at the roots and foundation of Pride seem for many to have faded from the forefront of general consciousness…from even some of our strongest allies. 

As more and more have become advocates and proselytes, supporting Equality, Job Security and Basic Human Rights; their fervent belief in and support of the LGBTQ++ Communities is experienced and shared as they show up at and in annual celebrations and parades. With all that festivity, though, the decades (and centuries) of being viewed and treated as vile and disposable seems sometimes to be getting lost in the feathers, glitter and unicorns.

As we near the Season of Pride, it is important that we remember what we are actually witnessing as we Celebrate. This is not frivolity; this is exhilaration. That glitter was hard fought.

“Pride” is the consciousness of one’s own dignity. Pride, itself, is the manifestation of the regeneration and nurturing of individual self-respect; something that, for a very long time, was beaten, hated, harassed, tortured, oppressed and legislated out of LGBTQ++ beings all over the world…from before there even was an “LGBTQ.”

The Celebrations we see are for Rights and Freedoms fought and won in the face of societal enmity and oppression. The visibility of the Celebrations serve to affirm self-worth and inspire others to continue the fight alongside; as the Fight is not over. There is virtually nowhere on the planet where these hard-won rights are secure, and in many places there are still none.

Often, each battle’s victory is seen and matched by cruelty and death in other parts of the world. There may be some who have joined the annual marches for years and have never seen a gay-bashing. Yet people are brutalized and killed every day, all over the world, for not being heterosexual. 

Last month, Alireza Monfared, a 20-year old Iranian boy, was beheaded by his brothers in an “Honor Killing” because he was gay. 

Beheaded. By…His… Brothers.

Not to harsh your Buzz, but…

• Just last week in Ohio, a 14-year old boy was attacked and beaten for carrying a Pride Flag at school. 
• Gangs are attacking suspected gay men on the beaches of Northeastern Spain.
• Fathers have beaten and killed their sons for being gay.
• Even teachers in high schools across America have been known to hurl gay slurs at non-straight students.
• Pulse Nightclub shooting: June 12, 2016.

Pride Celebrations are a Beacon of Hope and Inspiration to people in our own country and throughout the world.

May we remember what they are for, may we remember why they exist, may we remember who is watching.

————————————————-

The first March was on the anniversary of the riots, as 10,000 people walked from Christopher Street to Central Park; there to cheer and celebrate what they saw as a new era of empowerment, the beginning of a fight to win. This poem, written by Lesbian Poet Fran Winant, captures and evokes the exhilaration of that day.

First shared with me by Sir Ian McKellen in the Green Room at Yankee Stadium before he read this piece to the 50,000 at Closing Ceremonies of the Gay Games on June 25 of 1994. (This performance can be viewed on my YouTube Channel at 3:44 on this Video “GGIV Closing Ceremonies Part 2” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJc1lbN-bSY&t=2s )

“…our line winds

into Central Park

and doubles itself

in a snakedance

to the top of a hill

we cover the Sheep Meadow

shouting

lifting our arms

we are marching into ourselves

like a body

gathering its cells

creating itself

in sunlight

we turn to look back

on the thousands behind us

it seems we will converge

until we explode

sisters and sisters

brothers and brothers

together!”

Excerpt from “Christopher Street Liberation Day, June 28, 1970” by Fran Winant

——————————————————————————————————————-

“IMEx – In My Experience. Secrets of making ’em cheer, weep and sometimes write checks” now available to download at Apple Books:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/imex-in-my-experience/id1518649025

I’ve been invited by the Themed Entertainment Creative Workshop Series (TECWS) to present a MasterClass on my Five Tenets of Experience Creation. The class is this Friday at 4pm/Pacific…and is sponsored, therefore there is no charge to register and attend.

The Link: https://www.tecworkshopseries.com/masterclasses

Official Description of the Class
“Outlined and explored in the first chapters of his book, Kile’s Five Tenets of Experience Creation are the fundamental tools and components that fuel the success of every project he embraces. This Master Class covers breadth, nuance and myriad methods of applying these techniques to virtually any project; professional and personal.”

I think it’d be great for as many of the readers of my blog as possible to be there. The more perspectives and personalities in the ZoomRoom, the more lively the conversation is likely to be. I hope you can make it.

So, please; be our guest and join us on Friday for a good conversation. This is going to be fun!

[Note: The class will be recorded and available for post-event viewing.]

With this, I want y’all to know about TECWS. Founded in June by the brilliant Morgane Keesling in the spirit of making knowledge and experience available to young professionals; it has rapidly grown to iconic status, representing a relevance across our entire industries as entry, re-entry, keeping current and keeping in touch has become more and more important during this…sabbatical we’re experiencing. See below for more about this exceptional organization.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Link to TECWS Home Page: https://www.tecworkshopseries.com/

MISSION STATEMENT
As the themed entertainment industry continues to age and evolve, more and more trade information is lost every day. Industry masters and leaders retire with legacies of incredible work in their wake, but techniques and lessons disappear in their absence. Our goal is to become a conservatory of information: to preserve the past techniques and to look forward with new ideas, principles, and ideologies.​

OUTREACH STATEMENT
The TEC Workshop Series team feels it is crucial to our mission to also provide outreach to professionals at the very beginning of their careers. With the help of sponsors and mentors, we are creating additional workshops catered to beginning-career individuals of all backgrounds; it’s important to respect the new generations of creators and artists– they are the future of the themed entertainment industry!

I think it’d be great for as many of the readers of my blog as possible to be there. The more perspectives and personalities in the ZoomRoom, the more lively the conversation is likely to be. I hope you can make it.

A tell-all… about making ‘em weep and cheer all over the world…an anecdotal compendium of discoveries and mistakes, experiences with sheiks and what it often takes to create resonant experiences…across borders and cultures, with generationally and internationally disparate teams of Creative and Production Professionals, for all sorts of Clients, Briefs and Circumstances.

“IMEx …” is a comprehensive gathering of select writings on and around the umbrella subject of creating theatrical, ceremonial, installed or one-off shows and great spectacle that can connect with audiences on a personal – even intimate – level…irrespective of the size of the show; 30 to 300,000…

This book can be read, enjoyed and studied as an entertaining Masterclass Textbook, informative memoir or a collection of adoptable ideas for team building and enhancing productivity in the realms of creating Experience..

The Reviews so far…

You want one? Okay then…!

Here’s the book, and here’s how to obtain your very own copy.

Between now and the Official Reading and Book Launch event on October 29 in San Francisco, “IMEx…” can be yours for US$75; which covers printing and shipping, domestically. That’s $1.40 per ounce of brilliance!

(International shipping is more expensive, and we can work that out with international orders.)

To order: Venmo (@Kile-Ozier) or Zelle (347-268-2953) payment to me along with a mailing address. I can be reached by email at Kile@kileozier.com with questions or if you seek Bank Wire Transfer information. Unless otherwise directed, I will inscribe something personal (but not embarrassing) inside the front cover for you.

Thank you!

And now, back to writing IMHO’s…

________________________________________________________________________________

I see vast opportunity in this forced evolution toward a New Reality. 

The opportunity I see before me, now, is to contribute to the evolution of themed and theatrical experience in ways that circumvent the Pre-Vaccine effects on societal interaction of COVID-19. 

Until there is a vaccine – and, then, even beyond – the structure of ticketed and destination experience must evolve without diluting the power inherent in the well-crafted story.

I see for me a pathway from creating massive spectacle imbued with a profound sense of intimacy and shared personal experience to that of creating intimate, small-group experience with a powerful sense and experience of magnitude and scale. The path lies directly before us and it starts right here.

In the absence of mass gatherings in theatres, stadia, deserts, harbors, theme parks and open spaces – with the virtual disappearance of spontaneous hugs and handshakes and most sorts of physical contact; we of the human sort will resultantly, inherently yearn all the more for the pheromonal interaction, the sense of true, physical nearness, of touch…even without touching. 

Experiences are all the more compelling when they are shared in the moment. That immediacy, that reality is what must be preserved through all of this. It must be neither sacrificed nor lost, something of which we must not lose sight.

This can be done. With our commitment; it shall be done.

I see the possibility of creating multilateral storytelling experiences with unique approaches to narrative arcs that can yield breathtaking, shared denouement. Multidirectional storytelling can yield a Confluent Closing Moment: a profound moment that can possibly be even more deeply-felt, given an experience of the story from disparate perspectives all the way to the end…

I believe this can be accomplished; profitably and sans dilution of experience. In fact, I further believe that something better than has existed before, something far more intimate and compelling, while still manifested in physically-shared space, can, will and must be created.

I look forward to exploring these possibilities through this transition to our Imminent New Reality.

Now, about this Imminent New Reality.

In order for us to be prepared to successfully (and profitably) address, realize and embrace the potential inherent in the myriad-faceted, evolutionary movement taking place on our planet and in our worlds, especially in the spheres of creative and storytelling experience; we must bring representatives of all the the vast and disparately-backgrounded, skilled and talented to the same table. 

This means that every age group, every skill set, every talent, every demographic that can be included in the ideation, creative and production processes must be respected. Brought together at the outset to be involved and contributing as each step unfolds.

We can and must create an atmosphere of Dynamic, Ongoing Charrette, where the veteran engineer of 30 years in the industry is seen and heard with the same level of respect as the aspirational young artist just through the door. Programmers, engineers, designers of costume, set, lighting and game sit alongside writers, creative directors, producers and directors; all seeing one another as equals. 

Creating this dynamic, creating and populating this table is key and crucial to our success in rethinking and creating the future of Experience. 

We must all hear one another fully and be prepared to learn from each other, we must be eager to share without hesitation or holding back; to listen without preconception. 

Allow me to say that, again; we must learn to listen without preconception.

We must find ourselves able to concurrently teach and learn in order to both know and learn from history as we create a New Now and What Will Lie Ahead. 

We must see that nothing is lost and that all possibilities are considered as we encircle the magic fire of creativity and build new experience. It sounds utopian, as it is utopian. Building creative Hives, where passion can count as much as experience and all is balanced as processes unfold, is a surefire way forward. IMHO.

“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for…?” 

– Robert Browning

…Through The Portal of Mentorship.

There is, has been and will continue to be much talk from multiple business quarters on “Mentorship.” As mentioned previously this space, I believe the concept of Mentorship is due for an update. (See, “A Culture of Mentorship”.) 

Heretofore, as was the case when many of us entered the world of business, back in the ‘XX’s; mentorship was seen and defined as linear and pretty much one-way…Elder to Apprentice.

The rEvolutionary fact is that the world has changed, the cycles of the world have increased in rapidity and complexity and the demographic definition of “generation” has balkanized such that the modern historical concepts of Mentor and Mentorship are virtually out of date, antiquated, relevant only as an evolutionary jumping off point.

“Find a Mentor.” “Be a Mentor.” “I want to be a Mentor.” These sorts of mindsets are functions of an outdated concept of how Mentorship can best work. This is especially salient in the vast and ever-changing landscape of our global, gig economy; of consultants and freelancers and contractors-by-project and the universal geographical and physical movement inherent in many areas of business and commerce; especially those through which I wander.

Mentorship is Hive, 360-degrees; we are all Mentors and Mentees, best-served by appreciating and embracing this fact. Each and all of us have experience, knowledge and perspective to share, unilaterally; just as there is plenty we can learn from each new kid that joins the team. 

This means that every person on a team or in a company learns and accepts the responsibility to keep an eye out for everyone else in the room, on the team or with the project. 

• See a question on someone’s face…reach out. “…got somethin’ I can help you with?”
• Be open and welcoming, create the foundation for openness as each new person joins the team and remain open and spontaneously available as much as possible to answer the random question (or ask the random question) as it arises.
• Listen first. Always listen first. This empowers the other person and informs both the follow-up questions one might ask as well as the specific information one might share in response…and the style in which that information will be shared. It’s the most constructive way to set the stage and maintain a healthy give-and-take relationship.
• Remember; we are not teaching, we are sharing experience. The “way we’ve always done it” is exceptional/anecdotal history; virtually nothing is the “only way” something might be done. 
• If we’ve listened first, perhaps asked what might seem a logical solution from the POV of the asker; chances are we’re being handed in that question the foundation for the best, most relevant response.

I see an opportunity, too, to work with clients in helping to create and nurture a culture of mentorship within their organization or company as part of the work in my industries…and certainly within each and every project team I gather and lead or of which I am a part.

Seriously, big money can be saved, here. There is no need to pay tens or hundreds of thousands to an expensive, outside consultant when there are open, experienced and adventurous minds available inside our industries who embrace the concept of collaborative mentorship cultures simply as part of the work. 

The creative and production arts and crafts are historically apprentice-oriented, collaborative and welcoming. Let’s evolve that to suit our Now and Future world.

IMHO.

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A note on AR & VR. 

I embrace Augmented Reality and Virtual Worlds – and am just discovering the wonders of Fortnite™, myself. These technologies and applications are vastly expanding possibility for awe-inspiring, shared and individual experience. At the same time, imho, these are not substitute for the physically-shared, multi-pheromonal experience. Human contact – or at least humans in shared space – is an irreplaceable factor that I believe we must strive to avoid losing. That is where I come from on this piece.

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Popular throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies,

“IMHO : Creating Compelling Experience” 

remains a free download from the Apple bookstore and iTunes.

Seriously: Free.