Newsletter May 2015
   
PAINTING WITH SCISSORS
 
The years after World War II were not kind to the artist Henri Matisse. The war had cost him his home, his marriage and in a particularly cruel twist of fate - a serious illness had robbed him of his ability to stand or paint. Immobile and unable to work, he became depressed and bedbound. To get out of this downward spiral, he knew he had to find a way to work again. And so, using only scissors and some colored paper, he began by cutting out some crude shapes and pinning them loosely together to make collage compositions. This desire to create, coupled with a doggedness of will would result in some of his best-loved and most enduring work. The whimsical "Cut-Out" series, almost childlike in their simplicity, were the subject of a recent retrospective at the MOMA in New York that celebrates Matisse's life and work.

Turning weakness into strength

 

For Matisse, it was his growing infirmity and failing eyesight that opened up the door to a new world of creative possibility. For Brian Grazer, it was a lifelong learning difficulty  that he believes helped to equip him with the necessary skills to become a successful movie producer in Hollywood. Like a lot of dyslexics, Grazer had serious trouble in school. It was a difficult and anxious time for him. This led to him developing a whole host of compensatory skills: rote memory of large chunks of text, immaculate preparation before all tests and meetings, acute listening skills, the ability to negotiate with teachers for a passing grade. Skills that would later serve him well as one of the most prolific and successful movie producers of all time.

 

While dyslexia is certainly a disability, it obviously does not determine anyone's future. According to some recent studies, as many as 30% of all successful entrepreneurs have some form of dyslexia. Notables include Virgin founder Richard Branson, financial guru Charles Schwab and David Neeleman, founder of Jetblue Airways. Why is this? Well, it could be that dyslexics are less risk averse than the general population, allowing them to see opportunities where others do not. According to Grazer, his dyslexia had allowed him to become "comfortable with failure" early on, and this had a freeing effect on him. It could also be that in identifying their greatest weakness, they are more apt to leverage other strengths. They succeed not in spite of their disability, but because of it.  


What is your greatest weakness? 

Nearly every job interviewer asks some version of this question, and it might be worth asking yourself now and again. Because contained in every "weakness" is often a clue to a corresponding strength, waiting to be developed. Inherent in any ending, is often a new beginning waiting to be found. So a business venture fails - maybe it was the wrong business to begin with? And maybe now is the time to move swiftly and early to the next big idea. So a relationship ends - maybe now you are free to reclaim your sense of self, and finally discover who you really are? This is not magical "positive thinking" (though there's nothing wrong with that), but learning to recognize the seed of possibility in even our weakest spot.  

 

Consider Albert Maysles (1926-2015), widely regarded as one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of his generation. Together with his brother David, he took on a range of subjects from Muhammad Ali to the Rolling Stones, creating in the process a new "verité" style of cinema that is still widely in use today. But for the first 20 years of his life, young Albert rarely spoke. He was laughed at, ridiculed, widely assumed to be stupid. Naturally, his parents were worried and sent him to see therapist after therapist. But he wasn't dumb or even shy; he had an undiagnosed learning disability. He rarely spoke because he was so intent upon listening, afraid that he was missing things. But once he took up a film camera, the world finally made sense to him. His job now was to watch and listen, and he excelled at it.

 

Leverage your strengths

 

Most of us work hard to improve or eliminate our perceived areas of weakness. Some are even sent to see me by their bosses, with the unspoken hope that I can somehow "fix" them. But my own experience, as a coach and as a consultant, tells me that it's very hard to change anyone who does not want to be changed. Far better, to find out what that person does well, and try to find ways to properly leverage it. Similarly, when it comes to our own relationships, it can be very easy to point out all the flaws in others, highlighting their weaknesses. But we all do better - as people, as parents, as companies - when we are encouraged to play to our strengths.

  

We all work with certain limitations. There is rarely enough time, money or resources to accomplish all that we would like. But maybe there is something you can do within those limitations? Constraints can often be good, forcing us to choose what is essential and come up with creative solutions where others have failed. In the words of Teddy Roosevelt: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Matisse found a way to make art by painting with scissors. What can you do?