Session time: 2:00 – 2:45 pm 

Location: 3rd floor, Lobby

Session leader: Jeff Arsenault from Human Nature by Design Inc and Andrew Lavigne from With Glowing Hearts

SESSION NOTES:

FIRST THINGS FIRST - I'd like to thank my co-presenters, or "line-mates" Andrew Lavigne and Jon Ornoy, filmmakers, storytellers and producers of the film "With Glowing Hearts". It's funny, but in no way surprising, how serendipitously our spontaneous presentations glued together. It's also encouraging to witness and experience how many "threads" Andrew, Jon, and I shared in common throughout the Social Media community in Vancouver. I'd also like to thank Kemp Edmond...I mean Kemp Edmonds...for letting me know about 604Freelancecamp. Merci to you all. @HNBD bows.

A FEW BITS ABOUT ME (@HNBD) - According to my Twitter profile, I'm an "Entrepreneur :: Scientist :: Speaker :: Design Thinker :: Musician :: Futurist" - yup that pretty much sums it up. I view myself as being the sum total of the experiences I've had along the way, combined with the folks that helped to make those experiences meaningful. I've pasted a few links below so you can find out a bit more of what I'm up to:

www.HumanNatureByDesign.com (our company)

www.LinkedIn.com/in/JeffArsenault

www.twitter.com/HNBD

There are a "few" more bits to my "digital identity", including my blog & YouTube channel through JeffaCubed - but those are not quite ready for general human consumption!

"THE SESSION"

I've decided to describe each of the three bits, or "triads", of my own session @604Freelancecamp, as a story. My 1/2 of the session was loosely based on the topic of "how a lifelong relationship with music has enabled me to become a Guerrilla Problem Solver". I can't say for sure if the contents and circumstances of my "own story" relate or are relevant to everyone - but I'm quite sure that a few of you will find this story helpful. Here goes & here's hoping you enjoy:

      - Triad #1:  Music as a Problem Solving Medium - As one builds up and develops musical rhythms, theories, melodies, and patterns  - it has been my experience that, my ability and the fluidity through which I solve problems and identify patterns in seemingly unrelated data sets/events/processes - has dramatically increased over time. My example for this 604Freelancecamp session was my lifelong relationship with music - yet I'm quite confident that truly embracing any creative medium (typically exercising the "right brain") can, and will, "notch-up" ones analytical/logical abilities (typical "left-brain" territory). Point to remember: "Art & Science flourish best when they co-exist".

     - Triad #2:  Your Sawmill is a Guitar (as a metaphor) - Thinking back to the first time I used that analogy to describe "Sawmill Optimization", or optimization theory in general, my colleagues (& the client) must have "braced for the worst"! In the end, my comparison between a "well tuned" factory/manufacturing environment to a properly tuned musical instrument, not only rang true, but perhaps more importantly - was truly memorable! I continue to use that story and metaphor today in presentations to potential clients and in coaching sessions to my mentee students. One of my most influential "musical mentors" taught me that through understanding how to tune a musical instrument, by ear with a tuning fork, I would in time become a better musician. He was right, and the same basic principles apply to Sawmill Optimization and other industrial and manufacturing activities. Point to remember: "Using stories/analogies/metaphors effectively increases the probability to instill memorial points and ideas".

     - Triad #3:  Musical Creativity Builds Community - Add a customized "theme" song as you begin a new project or assessment with a client, whether you're a solopreneur, freelancer, or a cog in larger consulting group. As a Senior Consultant for a couple of years with a group based in Portland, OR - a core group of us co-adopted a unique approach to beginning an initial project assessment with a new potential client. The approach evolved over the first few days of the assessment, but the result was always the same - take a song, any song in popular culture and re-work it (lyrically) to reflect the nature of the assessment phase of the project. Essentially we replaced some of the core lyrics to a song with "wood" and "sawmilling"  relevant terms. Memorable "assessment" songs include "Where the Boards Have No Wane", "Smooth Optimizer", and "Log Control to Major Tom". In retrospect, the positive impact(s) of this seemingly simple process were huge - as it helped us to quickly build community on-site, not only within the assessment team (typically 3-5 folks), but we "unknowingly" extended the authenticity of the community to the client. We quickly went from being "just another bunch of know-it-all consultants" to being sewn into the culture and community of the clients team. These "custom" lyrics would generally be taken and developed around unique points of that clients operation.  Note: For some excellent reference material and contract information on different contracts for assessments vs. actual projects, please refer to Martin Ertl's session.

So, this third triad is an example of how music, even music for non-musicians (if there is such a thing...), can quickly create community - not merely in social or "fun" settings, but in professional freelance and consulting situations. Point to remember: "Authenticity can quickly help to build community - be that, more-often".

So, hoping you enjoyed reading this. Looking forward to hearing anything that Andrew or Jon will have to add.

Besta,

Jeff Arsenault (Jeffa) @HNBD

TESTIMONIALS: