Careers Are Wonderful, BUT...
[I don't even know if you can see that sweet little pooch's snout under the fence. He's our buddy -- we've never met him except as he cries a little, sticking his cute nose at us, hoping we can all fit under the fence to play with him.]
Weekly Notes #3
- I liked True Detective, Season One, and wasn't so sure about Season Two. Wired thinks that the movie Sicario is what True Detective, Season Two, should have been.
- I really like the new iOS9 font, San Francisco. This is what makes it an improvement over the Helvetica we all got so used to.
- Kellogg's spent $32 million last year just advertising Pop Tarts. The Atlantic says food companies shill sugar like it's nobody's business. (Except theirs, obvz.)
- I've mused for years about the art of conversation in the age of digital (non face-to-face) communication. Here's a reasonable, non-hysterical perspective, a few years in, from The NYT.
Weekly Notes #2
Blah blah blah:
- Crisis Text Line puts technology to undeniably good use, helping teens in crisis.
- Thought you could empathize with a refugee if you haven't been one? Think again (adjust volume).
- I've made solid friendships over the years with people I met through my first sewing blog, and eventually met in real life. That IRL time counts for a lot.
- I never thought twice about sending email in the evenings and on weekends, but a good friend told me once that it can really stress people out. So I started using SendLater for Mac, and now I never worry about ruining anyone's personal time (although they shouldn't be checking work email on their personal time anyway, but I'll save that for another post).
- Seven types of vegan.
Expectations
Yesterday, I finished reading the novel, Sand Omnibus, by Hugh Howey. One of his previous novels, Wool Omnibus, was my favorite book last year. But then I read the other two books in that trilogy, which didn't measure up at all IMO, and felt I'd appropriately lowered my expectations around Sand.
I was still disappointed.
Which got me thinking about expectations. I don't usually read reviews before watching a movie. If the trailer or even the premise look promising, I'll gladly watch without finding out more. I definitely don't read reviews of books before I read the books themselves, although if my reading queue is full, I might scan star ratings at Goodreads and Amazon to prioritize.
It's probably common practice to read a book you love, and then get your hands on everything else the author has written. But I'm finding that, for me, this can create expectations and invite comparisons to the author's other work that are difficult for me to leave at the front door.
Do you ever experience this? Any advice for me on how to let go of my (perhaps) unreasonable expectations?
[In case you're interested, here is my review of Wool Omnibus, and my review of Sand Omnibus.]
Simplicity 1870 + 1871
It's been a while since I posted a sewing project, and with a backlog of projects to share, I'll combine these outfits into one post. Each of them uses the top from Simplicity 1870 and the skirt from Simplicity 1871.
The first outfit is made from the fabric left over from a dress I made for my sweet friend, Ashley. (I'm just realizing I never blogged Ashley's dress, which I made in July! Lots to catch up on.) It's a pink variegated stripe, a poly-lycra blend that is soooo soft and drapey. I didn't do a petite adjustment on the top or bottom, but I will probably crop it more on top so it looks less like I can't measure, and more like you're supposed to see a slice of skin.
The second outfit was my birthday dress! This time, I used a more structured, B&W striped, poly-lycra knit from Michael Levine Loft, and I attached the top and bottom. But I cut away a triangle of fabric on the skirt, from the side seams to the waist, before attaching them. I've been loving the cutouts on clothes all over the dang place, and the curviest part of my torso is the lower waist, so that's how I decided to make the cutouts there. When I wear the dress, it feels like I'm showing lots of skin. But when I see the photos, it looks very demure. Maybe I will end up wearing it again, after all.
The whole process of taking photos for the blog / pattern review cracks me up. My husband is my primary photographer, and we really have been trying to create more of a "vibe" so that we get better shots. Usually, he is frustrated and I am frowning. This particular day, we photographed three outfits, when we were both searing under a hot sun. He had me in the oddest-feeling poses, arms one way, hands another, body facing yet another direction, instructing me to look directly into the sun and smile. We had some fun this time around, laughing at the whole process, but I know there must be an easier way. Don't be surprised if you see props, and masks, and hats, and other hijinks and swag and silliness in future sewing project photos.
For you sewing peeps, here is my review of the S1070 top. And here's my review of the S1071 skirt.
Craft vs. Art
““He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.””
In 2010, I participated in an Austin Fashion week runway show, showcasing recycled clothing. About 25 designers shared one to four pieces each, every garment made from recycled materials. I’d been sewing not quite four years, but had spent much of that time exploring the limits and themes of discarded clothing -- turning something unwanted into something desirable.
By runway day, I'd completed two garments: one followed a familiar dress silhouette and construction, made of black denim, and incorporated about seven zippers; the other, sewn from khaki trousers, was completely improvised, from beginning to end, covered in cargo pockets.
The black denim dress was simple to put together, as I'd made similar dresses from patterns for years. This gave me a chance to spend time figuring out where and how I would attach the zippers for most visual appeal.
The khaki dress was a discovery all along the way. When I cut the legs off the first pair of khakis, I realized that if I turned it upside down, what was originally the waistband would make a perfect hem to the skirt for a dress. And those pleats on the front, hideous as they might look as khakis, created a perfect fullness as a skirt. Cut, pin, sew. Eyeball. Cut, pin, sew. After a very different process, my second dress dress was done.
After fittings and styling, it was runway day. (BTW I finally understood a tiny bit of how contestants on Project Runway must feel — a simple and potent combination of pride, exhaustion, and terror!)
The moment the black denim dress came down the runway, I felt a surge of pride I could sum in one sentiment: "I made that!” The model walked with her left hand on her hip, as we’d agreed, to highlight those perfect, parallel rows of recycled zippers. I remember thinking how lucky I'd been to be so familiar with that dress shape, so that I could focus on this set of details. The polite applause validated my sense of handcraft and attention to finishing.
Next, the khaki dress came down the runway. All I heard was silence. In a moment of panic, I looked to make sure my model didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction. Nope. Blood rushed to my face. Why wasn’t anyone making noise? I noticed several people pointing to my dress, and appearing to hold their breath. They had just figured out that the bottom of the skirt was the waistband, and the rounded tulip shape was made from the pleated front of the original khakis. Finally, murmurs of recognition, followed by vigorous applause.
It wasn’t until I saw this quote that I thought of my runway experience, and the lesson I learned about craft vs. art. Craft is good and respectable. It requires a sense of patience and discipline, and the proverbial devil really is in the details. People relate to the care and love that goes into craft.
But art. Art is visceral, in my experience, both as a creator and as a receiver. It is more forgiving of technique, more tolerant of experimentation. It celebrates intuition and passion. It can bring insight, challenge what you think you see, and take your breath away.
Can one piece encompass both art and craft? Yes. But it was good for me to experience that there is a difference.
Here's a link to a few casual shots we took before the show, but I relied on the pro photog to take shots on the runway... and he did... and now I have no idea where that album is.
"Leap" by Brian Doyle
Today marks the 14th anniversary of 9/11. I read a beautiful essay this week, written by Brian Doyle, who was not at the twin towers, who also watched from afar, feeling powerless, struggling to make sense. Here he is, reading his short essay, "Leap."
Process vs. Product Goals
It's about that time of year. Not quite Q4, but late enough in the year to think about my progress against my annual goals. The good news is that I'm doing great. I'm on track. But, for the first time in years, my big goal this year was not a product goal, but a process goal.
I didn't do it on purpose. But I'm reading a lot this year that challenges the current business mindset that an annual goal is the sum total of your year's efforts. If I did that, I might have set a goal to write a book this year.
But I've published before, and there was never big romance in that for me anyway. I just wanted to get better at writing. In fact, I want to be great at it. I'd like to be as confident in my writing as I am in my speaking. I'm not tied down to any specific form that my writing will take. So instead of setting a goal to write or publish a book, for instance, my goal was to write every day this year.
Every day.
After a couple of months creating the daily writing habit (about 66 days, and I wasn't even trying), I took a writing class. Having specific feedback from my teacher as well as other students helped me increase the quality of my writing dramatically. I read several books and followed their great writing prompts, found a dedicated writing partner / peer reviewer, and am ironically exploring an opportunity to write for book publication again. Not because I've been focused on getting published again. But because, instead of obsessing over the outcome ("product"), I've focused on the everyday work of writing ("process").
I've written every single day this year, and because much of my writing has been by hand, in a notebook, the best I can do is estimate my word count. In the first eight months of the year, I've written somewhere almost 160,000 words. The rough equivalent of three novels, if you're looking for a benchmark.
Would my year be going differently if I'd set an annual goal of "52 blog posts of 1,000 words each," or "write a book?" Hard to say. And there are probably goals that are clearest as end result goals. But I am completely happy with and excited about my results from focusing this year on process instead of product.
Weekly Notes #1
An unexpected brunch guest, who liked my crepe more than even I did.
Lots of good, diverse reading, re-reading, watching, and cooking this week:
- If you've ever looked at art and thought, "Really? I could do that," PBS will school you.
- On that note, two New York Times writers share views on what it takes to qualify as an art critic.
- Entrepreneur says all current self-help boils down to these four topics.
- Which wine pairs with which back-to-school crisis?
- FiveThirtyEight Science says maybe the key to massive creativity is to stop trying to be creative.
- I'm shocked again, reading in Jezebel how an author got very different responses to her manuscript when she submitted it under a man's name.
- Made a killer recipe for Buffalo Tempeh from The Post-Punk Kitchen.
The Artist's Way: Tips For Completing The Program
After a long-ago false start with the 12-week "creative recovery program" in Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way ("TAW" for short), I have finished. Victory!!!!!! Lots of exclamation points feel appropriate. Having abandoned it once, and now having completed it once, I have three tips in case you're interested in tackling this for the first time and want to complete the 12-week program:
- Read through Week One before you begin, and first decide how "by the book" you want your experience to be.
Cameron suggests you commit to daily writing via the "morning pages," a weekly artist date, and completion of each week's tasks. (Explanations of all these things are in the book.)
It would have taken me a year just to do all the tasks, and my life has a satisfying number of events that qualify as artist dates. So I decided my main commitment to completing the program was to write those morning pages, 3 per day, every day, for 12 weeks.
- Find support from a peer group.
I was really lucky: As I considered jumping into the book again this spring, I received an email from a local craft studio (in fact, called CRAFT) that they were putting together a group to follow TAW for 12 weeks. About 10 people participated, and the idea was to meet each Monday, discuss progress from the previous week, and maybe complete a little craft together. Summer happened, and only 2 of us ended up finishing the entire program in the 12-week period, although some combination of at least 4 people seemed to meet each week anyway.
Even though everyone had different goals and a different approach to the program, it was really helpful to have cheerleaders and co-commiserators (writing three pages a day is a challenge for most everyone!) offer their support, ideas, and enthusiasm. I enjoyed getting to know these artists, who had different perspectives about creative challenges and solutions. One artist joined the group to get momentum finishing a small but highly emotional piece, and through group discussion, revealed an unrelated huge project that had been sitting, untouched, for six years. She finished her small piece, and after our meetings, she resurrected the huge project and is updating it for publication.
If you scour Craigslist and Meetup.com and don't see a group in your local area that you can join, consider starting your own, in person or virtually. The benefits of a peer group are enormous.
- Plan your weekly progress on your calendar, so you stay on track.
One of the best things I did to help me stay on track was to put an appointment in my calendar (iCal) each Monday with that week's chapter. So if you look at my calendar, on June 15, there is an appointment at 6am called "TAW: Week One." It was my prompt to read the chapter corresponding to Week One and start writing about some of the topics and tasks for the new week. On June 22, my 6am appointment was called "TAW: Week Two" to remind me to stay on track. And so on, for 12 consecutive weeks.
Maybe you'll prefer to start your week on a different day, which is fine. My point is that I never questioned where I was in the program because it was on my calendar.
I wrote a Goodreads review of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, in case you'd like more detail both on what I thought of the book, as well as the overall experience of completing the program. I'll restate the final sentiment of my review here: This is a great book for everyone, not just "creative" folks, because when you think about it, we are all creating a life. Might as well make it one we love.
Think Bigger
“Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.”
Or don’t. ;)
Bigger can be amazing! But bigger is not always better, and I say that as a Texan. By mindlessly pursuing “bigger,” you could ignore values that influence your current success and satisfaction.
At least once a week, I see a major news story about middle-class Americans — often middle class American women, specifically — who “want it all”:
- a happy and successful family
- a strong marriage / personal partnership
- a thriving career
- perfect mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, and
- an ideal balance between all these things and everything else their hearts desire.
After all, don’t we all deserve the biggest life we can imagine? In reality, bigger is not necessarily better. There are trade-offs, because the fixed constant is time: 24 hours each day, every day. As we make more investments (of time, money, energy) in our increasingly bigger lives, we will eventually reap diminishing returns on our investments.
I also see businesspeople who are consistently challenged to think bigger and grow bigger. They create a massive to-do list that stresses them out, and over time this stress spills over, onto the rest of their team. Because any growing business cycles through the law of diminishing returns, they get frustrated when their higher level of investment in the business is not producing significantly higher levels of results. After some reflection, some say that they wished they had done a better job of balancing their desire for lots of personal time with the to-do list for massive business growth. Others share that they chased the goal of bigger without any regard for what was truly important to them.
So I never assume bigger is better.
And yet, here are some ways I can flow with this quote:
- Think bigger just to see how big your idea can go. Does that excite you? Does it make you want to shake trees and make it happen? Is your team and your family on board with this vision? Yes? Then go get it.
- Think bigger as a contrast to the way things are now, and explore the gap in between. Even if that huge thing is not exactly where you want to go, maybe there's a spot in between that looks like a good growth goal.
- Invite your work team / family / friends to think bigger, together. A dream board is a great way to think really big, while deciding later what kind of timeline you might put on it. No commitments, just freedom to dream and envision.
Think big, yes. Then think bigger. And then make good decisions that honor who you are and the values that guide your business and your life.
NYC Weekend 2015
This pic was taken from the 86th Floor Observatory of the Empire State Building on our last night in NYC, so I'm getting ahead of myself chronologically. But why not start with this pic? Kyle and I chose to make Midtown / Garment District our home base on this trip, instead of Chelsea. From the ESB you can see it all: Madison Square Garden with its blue-lit roof toward the left, and our hotel, The New Yorker, toward the right.
We stayed a couple blocks away from Metro Textiles, one of our fave places to go when we're there. On my previous visit, I'd purchased this bold graphic cotton sateen and had no idea what I'd do with it. Simplicity 1873 had been calling my name for a while, so I paired the two. I am pretty sure I only purchased 1.5 yards, but Kashi doesn't measure in a traditional way -- he sort of guesstimates the fabric length -- but I've always found him to err generously in my favor. It turns out that his generosity saved the dress. I had just enough, though well over 1.5 yards. And although the dress fits Clementine perfectly, it is a tiny bit big for me in ways I find hard to diagnose and fix. But that is maybe for another post.
Kashi remembered the fabric and commended the dress. Then, like a true fabric-aholic, I went to work finding more fabric. He offered me the stepstool for the first time, and I'm sure it's no coincidence that I found and purchased about twice as much fabric as usual.
At this point, it appears I stopped taking pics for the day. We had lunch at MAOZ, sauntered to Kinokuniya for postcards and fun stuff, and wandered back through the Garment District, at places like Pacific Trimming, Paron Fabrics, and the new Lauren Trimming (247 West 37th Street). I purchased a faux Liberty print cotton and a reversible polka dot cotton (Tom and Linda Platt) from Paron's. More polka dots! Couldn't help myself.
We headed to Chelsea that evening for The City Quilter, where I purchased a sashiko kit, and the unexpected sad news that Pongsri, the Thai restaurant that Kyle so loved when we were in NYC last, had closed. So we grabbed a bite instead at Epice Cafe and called it an early night in. Kyle taught me how the sashiko worked, and I stitched late into the night and finished Oprah Winfrey's book, "What I Know For Sure."
The next morning we hit Beacon's Closet, but neither of us found anything that fit perfectly, nothing we couldn't live without. I think they rearranged their merchandise a bit, and the new setup is less conducive to falling in love. We lunched at Claudette and walked into Soho through Washington Square Park. Flowers were beautiful, and people were everywhere. There was a section of the park where men and women were sunbathing topless, and Kyle and I got a kick out of watching the young men who were ogling the topless ladies. LOL
We saw a serene little garden spot just outside the park, so we stopped to visit. It's called LaGuardia Corner Gardens, full of color and nature.
At Purl Soho, I found neon pink cotton and a shop gal who was very friendly, unlike the last time I was there. She'd only worked there a month or two, so I hope she stays helpful and interested. We hit tons of spots in Soho on the way to Opening Ceremony, such as Muji, Pearl River, and some specialty sock shop that I imagine won't be there for long. I don't know what kind of business model allows you to stock approx. 20 styles of socks and allows you to pay Soho bills.
But Opening Ceremony was it for me. Not the dude sitting in front of the store when I took this pic, but the store itself. I don't know who that dude is. I have stalked the online shop for years, but nothing compares to the retail store. It is beautifully staged and curated. The clothing is a wonder to behold. The materials, construction, and design took my breath away. Unlike every other Soho store I've shopped at, every salesperson in OC is friendly and helpful. They seem to love the clothes and want you to love the clothes, too. Very enthusiastic energy.
I wanted to go home and start draping something on my form. So inspiring, the quality, craftsmanship, and detail.
I'll always remember.
We were pretty pooped by that point, so we went back uptown (funk you up, uptown funk you up). After a couple hours' rest, we headed to The Highline, walked south into Chelsea, and ate dinner at a cute restaurant called The Red Cat. The cold sweet corn soup was TO DIE FOR. Eat it. You'll thank me later. Kyle wanted to celebrate my birthday early, and she came prepared.
On the left there is the card. Kyle always maxes out the stickers! Too fun, and so colorful. The card itself -- I mean, come on! -- functioning zippers on that miniature biker jacket. It was perfect! The present was wrapped flawlessly in Kyle's signature turquoise, and the gift... Check it... Woven ROCK ON TINY REBEL labels! I couldn't wait to get home and sew a label into something!!!!!!
Kyle. You're the best.
After dinner, we walked to the Empire State Building to see the great views of the city. And it was crowded, even at 10:30pm! But totally worth it. We even got super-touristy. And loved it.
Walking through the Saturday night crowd the few long blocks back to the hotel was just invigorating. The city is so ALIVE. I am still smitten.
QuiltCon2015
QuiltCon is a modern quilting conference that originated in 2013, and it came back again last month, both times in Austin. (Yes, modern quilting is a thing!) I didn't attend in 2013, as QuiltCon came on the heels of another annual conference I attend, and I just literally couldn't... attend another conference so soon. I was conferenced out. As soon as QuiltCon2013 was over, I regretted not going! So last year I paid dues to my local Modern Quilt Guild, which would give me and other members a week of pre-registration before the general public could register.
And it didn't matter. Because all the workshops I wanted to attend were full within minutes of pre-registration going live.
Disappointed but undaunted, I purchased an exhibit hall pass and admission to 3 lectures. They couldn't have been more diverse (one on copyright, one on teaching quilting, and the third featuring a specific artist), and I learned so much from each that I will probably write a different blog post for each.
That quilt cracks me up! As featured in Quilt Talk, by Sam Hunter. Does it seem counterintuitive that a stereotypically quiet quilter would be anything close to unpleasant, nay, subversive? Sometimes a creative medium helps us to find our voice, and provides a more comfortable forum for shouting loud the things we don't feel safe saying to someone's face.
Years after admiring some of her unicorn illustrations, I got to meet Melissa Averinos, thanks to an intro from our mutual friend, Sarah Moon. Melissa and I are standing next to her crazy-inventive, Judge's Choice award-winning face quilt.
Let's challenge some stereotypes: in the exhibit hall, this tattoo station was among the busiest. The lady in the gray and white striped shirt showed me her ink from QuiltCon2013, and was excited to stand in line for her next life marker.
QuiltCon will become an annual conference now, with QuiltCon 2016 taking place in Pasadena, CA. I'm not sure I'll incur the expense of travel and lodging for a few lectures and the exhibit hall, assuming I get shut out of the workshops again, but it was great fun this year, and I'm glad I attended. I'm converting my notes into blog posts now, so stay tuned for more photos and updates.
On Receiving Feedback
I think I'm a creative being, and you probably see yourself the same way. I create some things for myself, in which case, how I feel about that work is all that matters. But I create a lot of things for other people, and rely on their feedback for my own growth, so I know if what I'm making helps or even matters, and how to get better.
Heading to one extreme is dangerous. Making decisions by committee 100% of the time makes it impossible to create consistent work that is reflective of your signature.
Some feedback is less relevant, or not very helpful. This kind of feedback, even just a little, sends some people off the rails, deciding that no feedback is better than ill-intentioned or misinformed feedback. Pinterest is full of memes that encourage us to shrug off the critics and JUST BE YOUR MOST AUTHENTIC SELF cause haters gonna hate. This self-protective advice tells us to ignore all outside criticism, cushion our fragile egos with the adoration of our supporters, and never leave the cozy cocoons of support groups / social media networks / creative retreats with like-minded individuals, for fear of shutting down our courage to create.
But surrounding ourselves with only positive feedback can send us and our work down a quick path to irrelevance. Assuming that we create better when we are open and responsive to all feedback, how do we distinguish between feedback that stings because it's mean-spirited, and feedback that stings and can help us grow?
So how can we work productively with feedback?
Here’s what I do:
1. Prepare, if I can.
In some cases, such as during formal review processes, I know feedback is coming. It’s built into the agenda. So I assume the person offering feedback is doing so with good intent (to help me grow), and I prepare to receive the feedback with an open heart. I smile, to put myself and the person giving me feedback at ease. I ask if I can take notes, so that I don’t forget anything.
2. As I hear the feedback, I stay neutral and grateful.
It can be tempting to go into explanation mode or otherwise defend myself, or (in rare occasions) even go on the counteroffensive. Smiling helps a lot when I feel myself going defensive. In order for this to remain a feedback session and not an argument, my role is to receive the message, ask questions to clarify when needed, and act on the feedback later.
Another question that is OK to ask is, “What alternative do you suggest?” or, “What would you like to see instead?” It’s reasonable that the person giving feedback can also suggest a solution.
Someone stopped me in the hall to offer unsolicited feedback about a group activity in a workshop I recently facilitated. Everything she said pointed to something I could do to ensure that this situation, which had never come up before, wouldn’t happen again. But when I asked her, “What alternative do you suggest for me?” she said, “Nothing. I don’t think you should change anything. This was about how I reacted and what I learned.” The discussion went in a whole different direction from where I thought she was headed, and I would have made incorrect assumptions had I not asked that question.
At the end of the feedback session, I remind myself how giving feedback can take immense courage, and I thank the feedback giver for sharing with me. My appreciation is genuine, because no matter what, I know I will always learn something!
3. After the feedback session, I do most of the processing.
There are only two things to do: (1) act on the feedback or (2) nothing.
Here’s the kind of feedback I get that I’ll almost always act on:
- Feedback I already knew or heard, and has now been validated. Easy. Make the change.
- Feedback that may sting a bit, but carries a thread of truth even after the pain is gone.
- Feedback from someone I trust completely. This feedback deserves weight because of who said it.
Here’s the kind of feedback I’ll spend more time processing, and may or may not act on:
- Feedback that is more biased personal opinion, rather than opinion formed relatively free of that person’s personal context. (“Well, I’m afraid this step of your plan would be a waste of time, because when I tried it on my project, which is nothing like your project, it failed…”) More critical analysis can help decide whether I use this feedback or not.
- Feedback that is in the clear minority. One dissenting opinion out of fifty won’t get me to change direction. A successful public speaker I admire greatly says that his ratio is 1:20.
- Feedback that is more of a personal judgement than analysis. This requires additional reflection, because even though it is not the feedback I expected, it might still be valuable feedback.
4. If I’m still chewing on some feedback, I get an outside opinion.
I said chewing, not stewing. Chewing is a mental process. Stewing is an emotional process.
- Seek a second opinion. I’m not trying to build a case against the original feedback, or against the person who gave it to me. I’m ready to face the music if the second opinion confirms the first.
- Ask the second "opinionator" (Evernote does not believe this is a legit word, but I'm not open to that feedback right now) to help me come up with ideas to tackle my challenge. Sometimes the best alternatives come from those who have distance and objectivity.
- If I’m still not ready to take action, I get clear on the opportunity if I take action, and the cost if I don’t.
- What is the best that can happen if I change this?
- What is the worst that can happen if I don’t?
I let these answers guide urgency behind change based on original feedback.
What about you? What tips and suggestions do you have for handling feedback productively?
EXTRA CREDIT:
- The effect of Yes Men and Women on creativity
- The effect of Yes Men and Women a business' bottom line
- It pays to leave the echo chamber from time to time -- Margaret Effernan's TED Talk: Dare to Disagree