The War Room!

Every place has one!  “The War Room”.  Do you make the best us of yours? 

As seen here, it’s a strategic brand meeting.  There are some thinking about logo placement, there are some thinking about color patterns, yet others thinking about style and packaging.  Some are thinking fonts, some are thinking website design and content, and quite honestly, there are some thinking “Why am I sitting here?”

The age gap stretches from the mid 20’s to the mid 50’s and previous life experience is being blended with new ideas and thoughts.  It’s an area where some ways of “doing things the old fashioned way” meet with “no one does that anymore”.   Yes, there are occasional side bars, drifting topics and of course awkward moments of silence.  There are those who think in millimeters and those who think in the distant future of “long term”.

The best part of all of it?  The amount of different viewpoints.  The ability to share, learn and grow.  The power of an actual “brainstorming session” looking at a product or service from every angle and helping to decide what’s the best way to produce, market, print or talk about those products and services.  How does a 20 something see things?  How about a 55 year old?  How about the millennial?  How will these people see and use the product being discussed?  Who will leave excited about it and who will just feel like they were there.  Who at the last minute will have an idea pop that no one could come up with till just then?  Who’s going to be the one that sat silent….but then got hit with the winning idea in the shower that night? (That’s the one who was thinking “Why am I sitting here” earlier)

It’s called collaboration.  It’s called communication and it’s also called contact.  In an ever increasing world of emails, instant messages, texts, Instagrams, Snap Chats and Tweets, it’s important to come together in a room once in a while and catch up on things.   See people’s faces and learn their body language.  What makes them move, what makes them shrug their shoulders and what makes them lose attention and begin to doodle.

Collaboration leads to imagination, which leads to inspiration, which hopefully leads to a little perspiration and finally, the perfect presentation of your product or service.  If you are thinking for yourself, or working together to help a client, think of the value of what’s happening in this picture.  Foster it.