{"id":298,"date":"2013-03-03T11:35:28","date_gmt":"2013-03-03T19:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imho.kileozier.com\/?p=298"},"modified":"2013-03-03T11:35:28","modified_gmt":"2013-03-03T19:35:28","slug":"this-patience-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imho.kileozier.com\/?p=298","title":{"rendered":"This Patience Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pearl\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It may be a virtue, but that doesn\u2019t make it all bad\u2026<\/p>\n

Patience<\/strong>.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This has become one of my most valuable tools: that, combined with the realization and knowledge that there is always<\/i> time for Patience. Always.<\/p>\n

I just said goodbye to a brilliant young man. He\u2019s worked at my side for just over a year, and is so well-suited to this work – these industries of entertainment – that he is now on his way to Abu Dhabi to take on a mid-level management position at a fantastic, huge, new, destination Waterpark. I\u2019m proud of this guy; he is learning lessons, rapidly, by necessity and rising to new challenges every day. Through these tests, as his self-awareness is being expanded, he is growing into a man and Producer who will meet, exceed and set standards in expected levels of competence by example, for those around him.<\/p>\n

My last words of advice to him were, \u201c…don\u2019t be the first person to speak at a meeting\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

What do I mean by that?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Literally, I do mean the exercise of patience in any context; especially meetings. First: listen. Listen to everyone. Learn the lay of the land, discern how the subject on the table is perceived by and affects each of everyone in the room.<\/p>\n

As conversation and debate continue and said subject is discussed, the Listener may find his own opinion or point of view changing and growing into more comprehensive a scope; incorporating points of view and appreciating ramifications as they reveal themselves through the discussion. This gives the Listener the opportunity to, when s\/he finally does speak, incorporate all that has been expressed in an encapsulation of the situation and possibly articulate the best course of action toward a most fully supportable and valuable result.<\/p>\n

Eyebrows rise, words of acclamation are uttered, phrases such as, \u201c…wow, you really nailed it…such clarity from one so young\u2026\u201d result and the seeds of peer and superior respect are planted and nurtured. This, because listening was happening and, along with that, learning.<\/p>\n

This does not mean enter the room, knowing what one wants to say and and simply waiting to say it, last. We\u2019ve all been in conversations \/ arguments with others where we can see, as we are making a point, that our \u201cadversary\u201d is simply waiting for the sound to cease coming from our mouths so that s\/he can rebut what s\/he assumes we are saying…<\/i><\/p>\n

No: It means entering the room knowing one\u2019s point of view and also knowing that there may be some unseen assumptions in one\u2019s own POV that can come to light in the ensuing conversation that can affect anything from nuance to critical component. Thus, exercising this Patience allows the conversation to inform and evolve one\u2019s own position before that position is stated.<\/p>\n

More than in Meetings<\/strong>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

This Patience Thing applies far beyond the walls of the Meeting Room, however. It applies to virtually every step in the creative and production process and, as I posit above, applies no matter how much or how little time is at one\u2019s disposal to create and deliver.<\/p>\n

As I was being driven to the airport by my Producer (Adam Proto – profiled a few weeks ago in this space), after the WaterWorld opening show, he mentioned how much he had \u201clearned\u201d from me.<\/p>\n

Usually, when I hear that; I offer a heartfelt thanks for someone even listening to me. I do appreciate that! But this gent is one of the best producers with whom I\u2019ve worked; a brilliant man. So, I asked him what, in fact, he could possibly have learned from me. His response was to cite my Process over the extremely tightly-scheduled rehearsal time in the run-up to the Show.<\/p>\n

What he was referencing was this\u2026<\/p>\n