Edition 2: fire
May 2, 2011
Questions to consider:
What’s your fire? At home? In your work? Does your business have a fire and is it burning brightly enough to draw people in?
Are your clients, customers or consumers mesmerized by anything in your business?
Do you have a fire-like fascination with something? What brings out your near-pyromaniacal tendencies?
Is it time for you to “stand around a fire” with someone? Who? If not a fire, then what is the next best option?
__________________________________________________
Have an idea for future Everyday Ethnographer topics?
Add it to the comments section!
__________________________________________________
9 Comments
Comments are closed.
Love it! It fits in very nicely with the broader notion of semiotics and how we decipher it in the cultural and geo political context. The war videos and all the terrorism related violence has made the decoding of “fire” visuals so unpredictable. Do you agree?
Archana, interesting point. In my brief encounters on the street, the sign of fire was much more associated with life than death. Yes, some comments about burning houses didn’t make the final cut but mostly fire signifies a life-giving communal experience. I was struck by how often they spoke of outdoor fires (bonfire, roasting marshmallows) vs. indoor (cooking, fireplaces, candles). These are associations with the word “fire” that I posed to them. Perhaps the visual symbols used in the video raise associations with death – war and terrorism – because of what we see in the media. Thanks for your comment!
Brad,
I was a little worried when I opened it that I was going to see your house burn down or something. Glad it was what it is: a great thought provoker. Thanks for sending it along.
As for fire: I have fire-like fascination with how so many people in the corporate world run around with their “hair on fire” and expect everyone else to put it out. Don’t they know how satisfying it is for us to just watch? Maybe if they knew more about their customer they could prevent forehead fires.
Sounds like they need to move that fire about 12” to the south – from the head to the heart…from panic to passion. Then they could create a communal experience (see my comment to Archana) that everyone can rally around vs. douse with water. Thanks Fran.
Brad,
Enjoyed watching the clip…
It was quite satisfying to hear many interpretations of ‘fire’ – literal that manifests into a utility to deep emotional content/connections dovetailing into past and present which is what a brand to most people is – a contrast between utility and emotions.
I think, Fire is a sign for change which compels organizations, individual and countries for action to meet deadlines, decisions or revolution.
Cheers
Thanks Neeraj. Must mean you hire employees with “fire in the belly.” http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2010/11/hire_employees_with_fire_in_the_belly.html
Brad, I thought this was terrific and very thought-provoking. It’s interesting how the colloquial business uses of “fire” (hair on fire, fire in the belly) have to do with urgency, intensity, burning passion, etc. But, I was struck by how many people focused on the quieting and “mesmerizing” quality of fire and how that quality takes you outside of yourself to a sense of peace. I loved the comments at the end about the garbage can fires and the idea that everyone–even people at the bottom of the economic ladder (and perhaps especially people at the bottom of the economic ladder) have wisdom, love, stories, and companionship to share. Fire draws things out of people that benefit other people.
At work, I think we’re all so very task oriented that we don’t realize how many stories of experience our colleagues have (even about work) and how seldom we draw those stories out. What if, in addition to corporate “coffee talks” or “town halls” there were “fireside chats”? I wonder an employee would choose if you asked him/her–who would you want to sit down with and hear the stories of their work and career and what it has taught them about life? I know that when I was a young person in the advertising business, I would have wanted to hear from the older creative directors about their early days in the business and how our agency got started. I think people have those stories, other want to hear those stories, but do we make time for them to be shared and told? Could we? What would it do for corporate culture? I’ll bet a lot!!
Beyond that, it makes me realize how important it is to take the time to be mesmerized! Right now, there is a robin sitting on a nest in the wisteria above my pottery studio. She is the daily fascination of my life!!
Lisa, thanks for your comments. It is interesting that fire can take you out of yourself. Like almost everything, it can be used for good or destruction depending of the motive with which it is used. In either case it’s likely an out-of-yourself experience. What I find especially appealing about fire is its power to unify those who gather around it.
I have to admit that to me, fire just deepens and exaggerates my mood of the moment. If I am sad, it reminds me of everything that is burning down inside and outside me but if I am happy, it warms me and makes me euphoric and crackle with laughter- I feel like getting up and dancing around it and throw all evil things and thoughts into it! Fire to me is a companion but not a doctor.