Scheming, Sovereignty, and Orson Welles

If you’ve been watching the links and quotes in my posts lately, you’d have noticed that I’ve been mentioning David Seah a few times.

His business is “information design & interactive development,” and although I don’t know exactly what that means, it’s not the strictly-professional information that I’m looking for from his site.

I love design; always have. I came thiiiis close to pursuing a degree in architecture; I’ve done 99.9% of my own design work, and both of my parents are artists (in fact, my mom drew the monks you see around the site). David’s design work is clean, inspiring, and just cooler than toast (check out his Printable CEO series).

But what I read David’s blog for is his regular musings on what it all means. His candor and front-row-seating approach to discussing what he does, what he thinks about, and how it all impacts him is refreshingly honest, non-pretentious, and a great example of working from one’s values, which is a big part of what Monk at Work is all about.

In his latest post, “Motivation, Villainy, and Double Takes,” David lays out some great thoughts on what he calls “scheming,” what happens when you get collaborative ideas rolling around between mutually-interested minds.

He writes about the experience, saying:

I noticed that there was an odd after-school clubhouse feel to the entire experience, which was both unexpected and delightful. This further reminded me of an old friend, sadly passed on, who I used to scheme with on a daily basis. We spent hours outlining grand dreams in great detail, combining our love for media with the desire to make cool experiences for people; it was that daily conversation that kept my energy at a high level.

It reminded me of the times in my life when I’ve had similar experiences; they energized and uplifted both my spirits and my business. They were the reason why I engaged in a mastermind group for years, and were the real high-points of our groups’ experiences.

Through conference calls, a forum, and working with each other on the side as well, our group was very successful, and the “sounding board”/co-scheming quality of the group was awesome.

Our group dissolved (completely amiably, lest the rumor mill get cranked up) early this year, and I’ve been solo ever since. I’m just about to team up with two other fellows (starting next week, most likely), and it’s going to be great to be collaborating again.

So I agree on the “scheming” piece, with one or two wrinkles.

The Need for Sovereignty

I found each of us in our previous group had times when we were too reliant on the opinions of the other members, seeking validation, rather than support. And that undermined our sovereignty as individuals with our own businesses, which had negative effects on our business’ growth.

We were able to iron it out (for the most part), but “sovereignty” became a watched commodity for sure. If one of us showed signs of not standing fully in who we were, one of the others would point it out, and remind us to embrace our knowing, our strength, our conviction, or whatever else was needed.

We Will Sell No Wine Before Its Time

The other wrinkle I’ve found with scheming is letting the cat out of the bag too early.

When I was a kid, I remembered seeing the Paul Masson ads on TV with Orson Welles. He’d go on about the exquisiteness of something or other, and then he’d say, “We will sell no wine before its time.”

There are times when you have an idea, an epiphany, or even just the beginnings of a new understanding, and it’s coming together inside you. It’s not ripe yet, but it’s exciting.

But what happens if you spill that idea out before it has a chance to fully ripen? What I’ve found is that the energy around it dissipates, like losing a head of steam that’s building pressure. But the thing is, you need that internal pressure to bring the steamy idea to a head; without it, you fall flat.

How do you know when an idea is ripe, and when it’s not?

Good question. I’ve learned to feel the difference in myself, and what it amounts to for me is this:

• Do I have a solid grasp on it? If I can’t explain the idea yet, then I haven’t fully grokked it for myself, and it hasn’t fully ripened.
• What do I feel is going to happen if I share? If you can’t imagine sharing it without the idea falling to pieces, then wait on it. You can always share it later.
• Is the energy around it starting to wane? As much as you can “pick the fruit” too early, you can also hold on to it so long that it becomes mealy. If the idea is starting to feel ‘flat’, then get it out there into the open, and see if your scheming revitalizes it. If it does, great. If not, then let it go; it probably wasn’t going to grow much anyhow.

I’m incredibly curious about scheming, team collaboration, and how members of a group can support each other to each find their own peak performance. I’d love to hear what you’ve found works, your ideas, your input, your experiences, etc.

What do you think?