several pieces of origami on a table with a few few other marketing materials

At a Bowie Baysox game, got a chance to have a table and engage with some folks around this initiative. It’s not necessarily the best place for talking about re-engineering complexity through coaching and consulting, but was an opportunity and a lot of lessons were learned. One of the more obscure lessons and opportunities came with the thought of using origami as a tool on the table to draw people in and ignite some interest. What’s most interesting? Is that of all the things that were on the table that were not the logo, this seemed to be the most effective. And not just children.

So why origami? And why was it such a draw?

Some of the initial thoughts about this centered around the pure absurdity of having origami at a baseball game. It was a family night. And there were other things being celebrated, so it was sure to be something that could draw the eyes of those people who were playful as well as their children. But, what’s the association to Avanceé?

The tagline for this effort is “re-engineering complexity.“ Such a tagline makes some sense as one thinks about what that might mean for themselves. Puzzles, complicated, folding artifacts, and connected devices point to levels of complexity we allow or are overcome by. On the side of marketing engagements, it makes sense to do things which draw people into an experience related to what you’re trying to get them to understand and/or take hold of. A couple decades ago that was using handheld computers as a teaching element for time management. And today, that’s using interactive puzzles as a means of getting people to understand what their goals, issues, or sensemaking frameworks might enable.

These tactile expressions take longer to root than giveaways, branded stationary, and even a paper business card. However, if done decently enough, they might endear the participant to wanting to explore their part in re-engineering complexity. Others seem to have similar ideas around shared boards of expression. However, we manifest, it just has to end up as something that was worthwhile, pleasing, and playful.

That might’ve been the case at the baseball game. It may have totally flopped as well. However, it does get you into thinking about what matters when you do come across something that you don’t understand. Are you drawn to be curious about it and then put yourself into figuring it out. Or, do you let the complexity lay as it is, and let somebody else deal with those ripples?