Some people aim to do warm and wonderful work that lifts people’s spirits. They may aim to do this when working as artists, educators, therapists, chefs or in other roles. They also aim to do work that works.
Different people do this in different ways. Let’s explore the themes that such people follow.
They Do Work That Is Warm
Some people transmit warmth and set a positive tone. Some create an encouraging environment in which people can grow. Some then pass on knowledge that gives people practical hope.
Good educators start by creating an inspiring environment in which people want to learn. They then provide implementation tools that work and help the student to integrate the learning in their own way.
Some people generate warmth through their personalities and the work they do. Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland, David Attenborough and Desmond Tutu demonstrated these qualities.
They Do Work That Is Wonderful
Some people translate their warmth into doing work that is wonderful. There are several definitions for the word wonderful. These include the following.
Doing extremely good work that
inspires pleasure, delight or admiration.
Different people do this in different ways. Maria Montessori did it with her pioneering work in education. Alexander Calder did it with his art and sculptures. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry did it with his books such as Wind, Sand and Stars.
Different people follow this approach in different ways. As mentioned, some aim to do work that encourages people. Let’s look at one such approach.
Maggie’s Centres aim to empower people to live with, through and beyond cancer. The following section includes excerpts from the organisation’s website and images from some of their many centres.
Maggie Keswick Jencks was the co-founder, alongside Charles Jencks, of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. Maggie was a writer, a landscape designer, a painter and a mother of two.
In May 1993, Maggie was told that her breast cancer had recurred and spread to her bones, liver and brain. When asked, her Dumfries oncologist gave her two to three months to live.
By joining a trial involving advanced chemotherapy Maggie extended her life by a further 18 months and it was in this time that her idea for a cancer caring centre was born.
She worked closely with Laura Lee, her oncology nurse, and was asked to write an article for a medical journal on a patient’s perspective on being treated for cancer.
Maggie was convinced that everybody would feel better if they felt able to take some active role in what was happening to them.
She talked to her medical team at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh about a place to help their patients with the very real, if not medical, problems of living with cancer.
She drew up a blueprint for a pioneering venture, in a stable block in the grounds of the hospital. Maggie died in July 1995. The first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh in November 1996.
Charles Jencks was a renowned cultural theorist, landscape designer, and architectural historian. “The Architecture of Hope” was co-authored by Charles with journalist and author, Edwin Heathcote. It explores the history of Maggie’s and the architectural tradition to which our centres and their gardens belong.
After Maggie’s diagnosis in 1993 Charles not only supported her through her treatment but also in her idea of better spaces for people with cancer.
After Maggie’s diagnosis in 1993 Charles not only supported her through her treatment but also in her idea of better spaces for people with cancer.
He encouraged Maggie to set up the very first centre that bears her name and after her death continued to champion the huge importance of environment in helping people with cancer and their families.
Charles helped to create beautiful buildings that contribute to the significant work done at Maggie’s.
They Do Work That Works
Some people also aim to do work that works. They sometimes do this by following the elements of great design. They do work that is simple – in a profound way – satisfying and successful. Let’s explore these themes.
Simple
Human beings love to design things. They love to make things work, find solutions or create their version of paradise.
Christopher Alexander, the pioneering architect, said that we can sometimes recognise great design by the fact that it helps us to feel alive. He wrote in The Timeless Way of Building.
Architects nurse this desire at the centre of their lives, says Christopher. One day, somewhere, somehow, they want to create a building that is wonderful, a place where people can walk and dream for centuries.
Every person has some version of this dream, maintains Christopher. Some wish to create a house, a garden or a fountain. Others wish to create a relationship, a painting or a book. He described how this is embodied in his own field of architecture.
If you have a feeling-vision of the things – a painting, a building, a garden, a piece of a neighbourhood – as long as you’re very firmly anchored in your knowledge of that thing, and you can see it with your eyes closed, you can keep correcting your actions.
It’s not a question of holding onto every little detail, but of holding onto the feeling.
Simplicity is genius, we are told. Great teachers make complicated things simple. Art Fry’s invention of Post-it Notes demonstrated simplicity in action. So did the Sony Walkman and Apple Macintosh. Many educators pass on knowledge that embodies profound simplicity.
Satisfying
Superb design is satisfying on a number of levels. Physically it looks and feels good. Practically it works and is user friendly. There is an old Shaker dictum that says:
Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful;
but if it is both necessary and useful,
don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.
Deborah Berke, an architect, goes even further. She described this in the following way.
One of the main criteria for the design of the everyday, though, is sensuality. Something that is sensual evokes a response that’s not just visual or intellectual: It’s suggestive.
Good educators embody some of these elements when designing satisfying educational experiences. They try to make the learning:
Personal – It must relate to the person and their goals;
Practical – It must be practical and provide tools that help the person to reach their goals;
Profitable – It must be, in the widest sense, profitable and help the person to achieve their goals.
Successful
Great design works. It does the job. Terence Conran, a pioneer in design, described this in the following way.
Good design is probably 98% common sense. Above all, an object must function well and efficiently – and getting that part right requires a good deal of time and attention.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous house Fallingwater shows how something can be simple, satisfying and successful.
There are many ways to do fine work. Some people aim to do work that is warm and wonderful. They also aim to make it work and, when appropriate, offer people positive memories for life.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Can you think of a specific situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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