#160 unstructured

On the Christmas lists for many children are LEGOs -- not just a box of the plastic pieces as used to be the case, but now very specific LEGO kits.  Instead of being a tool to fuel creativity, LEGOs now come with instructions, structure and specific pieces for specific functions.  How sad.

What happened to dumping a box of LEGOs on the living room floor and seeing what you could make?  I wonder where children today learn the art of creating their own fun.  After school and weekend activities are structured.  Playing wii games and X-Box and computer games all have rules and patterns to follow.  Doll clothes are sold in outfits, accompanied by pre-written stories about the girl's background instead of letting the imagination create a scenario.

Already I see the impact of this with the college students and young staff I supervise.  There are more requests for "rules" and a greater need to outline the steps and parameters vs. having people take the initiative to create from scratch.  People want the "instruction sheet" for projects instead of trying to figure things out on their own.  More and more, people seek the "right" way to do things.

Take a step back and let those you interact with metaphorically dump the box of LEGOs on the office floor.  You may not get the exact Super Star Destroyer model or the Buildable Galaxy to scale, but what you do get may be out of this world.  Nothing truly great ever came with an instruction sheet.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com