conversation is an engine

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In Praise of Doing Things Badly

with 3 comments

Rough draft as collaboration tool

I keep talking about rough drafts and dumb sketches. That’s because providing something when expectations are low is such a great way to share ideas. It’s a way to tell ourselves what we are thinking. It also a way to tell others what we might think together.  But with the pressure off.

It’s also a great way to learn.

Some may say, “What?  That guy needs a rough draft? What a chump!”

Orbit-3-02052015

While it is true I am a chump, it is also true that presenting a rough draft—sometimes just the stub of an idea—can have an electrical, clarifying, vivifying power to move you forward. This idea, laid bare in all its clumsy, awkward glory, may just be the beginning of something important. Something even that holds your imagination for a year or five.

The rough draft laying there—all vulnerable and wrong—brings out the best in those who look on. Often evoking pity rather than harsh, fluorescent critique. And that makes for a great conversation.

What will you do badly today and share as a rough draft with a colleague?

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Image credit: Kirk Livingston

3 Responses

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  1. Reblogged this on Dumb Sketch Daily and commented:

    Writing and drawing just keep intersecting.

    kirkistan

    February 5, 2015 at 11:18 am

  2. […] difficult. But the answer to seeing better and especially to seeing past the old symbols is to do things badly. And maybe do them badly for a long time. To do things so bad they are cringe-worthy. But that is […]

  3. […] How does someone get to the point of crafting from rough cuts to fine finished detail? It is possible that in this age of ordering clothes, pizza and romance from a button on our mobile devices, that some things still take time. Some things require beginning at the beginning. The question for each of us: do I have the courage to begin at the beginning? To know nothing for a time and do things badly? […]


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