Zooming Out of the Bird Cage
It’s hard to believe that ICTV has been in its studio at 819 NE 4th Street Grand Rapids for just about 12 years now. The building, built to sell TVs returned to a video-centered space after a stint in office sales and accounting.
One of the things we did on remodeling the space was decide we needed one piece of exterior art or feature. Being a non-profit we kept expectations low and got a metal yard wind spinny (not the technical term). It was blue, called attention to where the front door was, and it went well with the flowers. But, that’s not what everyone saw. A tiny member of our ICTV family looked up at the spinny and asked “why do you have a bird cage?” Hmmmm. We’ve called it the bird cage ever since.
His perspective tells us a lot. ICTV prides itself on gavel-to-gavel coverage of meetings. Straight forward video on the screen. But not everyone sees the same thing. They internalize the information, the pen clicks, the throats clearing and make their own judgements. It, on its face, was a motion to approve a new road? Joe says it was to increase taxes. Jane says it was to let her kids bike on the road more safely. The clerk records the motion and Joe and Jane walk off with their perspectives.
I like what Whitney Wolfe Herd says about how to center all the ideas. She said “Life is about perspective and how you look at something. . . ultimately you have to zoom out.”
So, when you think about it. Our leaders, are charged with zooming out.
BTW the same boy does not call it a bird cage anymore. He changed his perspective.