Lions, Jell-O Molds & Butterick Patterns

“If I have seen further, it’s by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
– Sir Isaac Newton
English Mathematician & Physicist
(1642 – 1727)

As a child, going to the Art Museum, I was frightened to walk past the ten foot tall green lion sitting regally on the front lawn. Mom said, “Don’t be frightened dear, it’s just a shrub.” We went closer and I tentatively reached out and touched the green shoots sprouting from Leo’s mane – amazed. “Mommy, how does a shrub turn into a Lion?” “Well,” she said, “It’s not difficult, but it takes time. Feel that – just there. There’s a topiary frame inside. They put the frame on the lawn, plant the shrubs, water and wait, and as they grow, anything that sticks out beyond the frame is removed with a trimmer. Lions grow slowly, but they can grow very large! Just like little girls!”

Visiting the Lion became a weekend favorite.

That same year, at a wedding, I noticed a bright red, quivering parrot in the center of the refreshment table. Questioning Mother, I said, “Mom, that’s a weird bird!” She responded with her customary calm, “Not to worry dear, that’s just Jell-O.” “How does a parrot turn into Jell-O?” “Well,” she said (How did she maintain that steady, reserved teaching demeanor anyway?) “That parrot was never actually a live bird. But to find out about it, let’s go by the kitchen store on the way home.” A few hours later, we made our choices of several Jell-O molds in the inventory and went directly home to our own kitchen, where we boiled water, added the Jell-O, stirred and finally poured the hot mixture into the molds. Hours later, the miracle happened! Out of the refrigerator came a lime green parrot AND a red raspberry lobster!

“Mom, how does a bolt of fabric turn into a dress?” “Well, dear…” (Reader, I’ll bet you can supply the answer to this question and save a paragraph of exposition…) (Hint: The Answer is in the Headline.)

Now here’s the real subject of this post: How do a lot of random words and ideas turn into a presentation, a business plan or a pitch?

We took to heart the wisdom of machinists and their jigs, chefs and their Jell-O molds, topiary artists and their frames, and seamstresses and their patterns. If you look, life is full of “Templates: Pre-existing Forms for Doing Standard Things.” There are “jigs” for machine work, “arcs” for story writing, “recipes” for cooking, “formats” for presentation slides, “armatures” for sculpture, pre-set “PMS” color kits for design work and painting, “size” designations for clothing design, “lasts” for shoes and “kata” forms for the martial arts. Let’s not forget the car dealer and “How much are you looking to spend?” (Sometimes I want to hit the guy with a Jell-O mold…)

The reason for all these templates is that in many applications it’s easier to start from a standard structure, rather than attempt to “free hand” an entire project. Making something entirely new from scratch is a laudable goal, but most “new” things in life are actually incremental improvements from something that came before, so the foundation forms upon which we build new ideas, give us some intellectual breathing room to put a brand new polish on something that has a tried and true internal framework.

Can you imagine trying to write a play without paper, pen & ink? (We date ourselves… Without a computer?) How do you know it’s supposed to have “acts,” or a beginning, middle and end? What about a good guy? Villain? Surprise ending? All of these pre-existing conventions – “intellectual templates” and tools if you will – are part and parcel of the tried and true internal framework that makes it possible to write a new drama based on an old foundation. Many of us think fondly of creating something genuinely “new” without realizing that our ability to “create” will be erected on the foundation tools and templates created by our forebearers in world culture. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

How about a “Jell-O Mold for Ideas?” We call it “Ready Set, Go!®”

It’s a simple (not simplistic) approach to building a presentation, a meeting, a document or a team pitch using a pre-existing internal structure, and a step by step standard discipline of starting with the desired outcome, then analyzing the concerns of the audience to finally arrive at the content which will express your concerns and satisfy the listener’s desires. A Win/Win “scenario.” (Ah – another template…)

We built it as a “Box Diagram” because it’s hard to imagine lofty arguments while simultaneously working out the correct grammar for a document. Because a presentation is not mainly a document. Rather, it’s a living thing (although my Senior English teacher might not have been aware of this…). The box diagram is a format for ideas – not sentences. You work through the process, put the ideas in their appropriate place, then go back and force yourself to improvise until the words begin flowing naturally. Then, in the actual meeting, you’ll be able to flow with the circumstances because the template is so familiar that you no longer have to think about it. The presentation is new, but with a framework that you’ve used a thousand times.