Target Group: Architect
Complexity: High
Topic: Soft-Skills
A few days ago I ended up chatting to Hugh Kapernaros, who travels as a clown in a circus for refugees through Europe. We came to work and what makes a good clown.
I believe some of what makes a good clown makes me a better architect.
1) Surrender the ego
2) Find the core essence
3) Nothing is below you
4) Practice, practice, practice
5) Take it as it comes
1) Surrender the ego
Hugh let me know, you can’t be truly funny if your ego is in the way. Only if a clown completely surrenders their ego, they can be funny. I think, as an architect, the same is true. The less ego I put into the way of my project, customer or colleagues, the better I can be. This is quite tough, overcoming my ego.
2) Find the core essence
Hugh is funny as a clown if he removes everything but the core essence of him. This core essence is where the fun is hidden. In my projects, I have to do the same. I have to peel away as much as possible to get to the core. The core is where the value lies.
3) Nothing is below you
Traveling with a circus, nothing should and can be below you. Every task is equally important and nobody is exempt from any task. I plan to follow the same as an architect, whatever is important for the project, for the client, for the User, I’ll do it. Nothing should be below me.
4) Practice, practice, practice
Clowning is lots of practice followed by a little actual clowning. He needs to practice on a daily basis to be the best when the show starts. Practice is something I don’t do enough yet. I want to make room for more practice. I’ll start by practicing drawing business-process flows in Lucidchart.
5) Take it as it comes
Nothing ever works out the way you’d like it to during a show. A good clown can go with the flow and surrender to the moment. That is where the real magic starts. To go with the flow, someone has to know what they are doing, surrender their ego and use all their skill gained through practice. I’ve to admit, especially in situations I’m not feeling confident, going with the flow is tough. I hope, applying some of the other tips will help me to be better able to take it as it comes.
I found it quite fascinating, maybe you too.