Week 3a - Big Hairy Audacious Goals

So this week we learn about the concept of a domain, field and person Csikszentmihalyi (1996)

Domain - "A set of symbolic rules and procedures" that have to be learned

Field - "Individuals who act as gatekeepers to the domain"

Person - "Creativity occurs when a person uses the domain and creates a new idea that is accepted by the field"

An epiphany happens - This is what Tom has been going on about all these years about assessing work! Work that uses the domain (musical concepts) to create a new idea that is then accepted by the field (lecturers and famous practioners) are the one's that do the best academically.

Okay ... Yes I know that I shouldn't be focusing on the marks... but this is a Masters qualification I'm paying for - so I'd like to get every possible mark avaliable right? 

It's in my character to aim as high as possible for every project I dedicate myself to - even if the final result doesn't quite reach it. So my vision for this project is simple. 

I want to change the domain of musical collaboration.

Ambitious I know - and some may think rediculous. However, in business settings, it's quite common for businesses to set goals even if they might not get hit. Lentz (2021) states that BHAGs (Big-Hairy Audacious Goals) gives opportunity for people to align and focus. It forces them to get creative because following the status quo won't achieve such goals. 

Now this of course can lead to a demoralized team when the goal isn't met - however the process of getting to the stage of not meeting it, is usually greater than someone who has a more realisitic goal and meets it. Lentz says... 

If there's not a decent chance you'll fall short, you're not setting high enough goals.  

And I fully agree with this. This is the kind of motto that I personally apply to not only academic situations but also in sport and other ways of life. Yes, it can be mentally draining at times not quite achieving the end goal you wanted, but it's then usually rewarded with a different train of thought that I can then use for other projects in the future. Progress doesn't have to be directly goal based - the journey to the BHAG could be as equally exciting and important for development as a practitioner.

Whether my fellow peers will have the same vision at our first meeting... that is something we will have to wait for until next Monday!

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Collins.