buz.co

First, we believe in certain principles of an “experience economy” (see the book “The Experience Economy” Joseph Pine, Harvard Press).  Simply stated,  people are willing to trade their money for various types of experiences. As the author  states, “Experiences have always been a part of the entertainment business, but today are “at the very heart of our economy”.  All through out the world everyone is looking for experiences to releive themselves of their everyday life. Analyzing a specific location and its environs for what future it may realize we must certainly take into account  the experience factor, whether it is called  “culture” or “education”.  

Our process accounts for the experience factor, and begins with an understanding of the “story”.  More accurately it is a story, within a story, within a story. Some people call it vision, some call it theme, or background or reason d’être. In our business, it is simply called story.  It is not until you know and understand the story, including the underpinning history and underlying motivations that you can understand what to do physically, politically, financially, and so on. All of which gives you vision. There is an Asian saying which might be appropriate for the future of any project: 

“Vision without action is a daydream.

Action without vision is a nightmare!”

We see developments continually that have grown in haphazard ways, without much vision for the future, sometimes only with great faith. We also see people with vision but without means for action. We are always asked, “What is the potential?”  Our answer depends on both the means of action, and the vision so that the daydream can become reality without being a nightmare! Our action may seem peculiar to some, because we build the vision first, nearly simultaneously with the means of action. It’s like two people walking in the dark with only one flashlight between them. One is responsible for the vision, the other for the means of action.  One shines the light so the other can take a step forward, then passes the light to the other, who in turn does the same, and thus they progress. What is the means of action? It is the economics, the “numbers”, resources and returns, the money. What is the vision? It is in the experience, the “spirit”, or the “story”.  We build one and then the other going back and forth in what many think is an undisciplined process. Each relies upon the other. We test the vision with numbers, and we test the numbers with vision. 

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under How We Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.