Two Is the Magic Number, was an interesting read not because it was completely new and earth shattering but because it is a good reminder that people need people. My mom and dad just celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary, and they honestly still enjoy each other's company. The things my dad is good at are very different from my mom's strength and through the years they have learned to depend on these differences to accomplish more together than either could separately. They are a team.
Something the article led me to think about is the effort and time it takes to create good collaborations. If you are familiar with the Seinfeld clip I have shared you will know that ultimately the partnership of Jerry and George teaming up to create one complete man had some pit falls and they decided to end the partnership, but if they had kept going maybe they would have found a flow. "But Lennon and McCartney were more like an oyster and a grain of sand. Their power together didn't derive simply from individual ingredients but from a dynamic of constant mutual influence. Indeed, even "influence" understates the case, as it suggests two distinct actors operating on each other. Lennon and McCartney did affect each other, change each other, goad, inspire, madden, and wound each other. But they also each contributed to something that went beyond either individual, a charged, mutual space of creation (Two of Us)." There are many unsung partnerships that managed to be successful, but those collaborations took time to form. I would also venture that some of those collaborations did not start off easy; learning how another person thinks, speaks and works can be complicated, and I find it tough to blend all of that with my own idiosyncrasies.
A few years ago I was fortunate to work with an amazing writer named Erika. At first I was hesitant to question her writing, she was the expert I was just the designer, but over time she and I learned that if we worked together on the copy and design then communication of our projects were much more cohesive. After a few months, several projects, and a few lunchtime shopping sprees and we developed a system that involved knowing each other's weaknesses and strengths. As we worked together a system or a dance formed and it was better than either of us alone not just because it was a combination of to people, but because it gave us space and distance from our work. I need healthy distance to view my work because it stops me from self indulgent design. Over time the system became kind of magical. We loved to work together because even with an unorganized boss, grueling deadlines and claustrophobic cubicles we learned to collaborate. Erika and I haven't officially worked together for a couple of years but we still find ways collaborate. When I am stuck on something I will shoot her an IM just to talk it out and at times she still edits my writing. I design a few finishing touches for her personal projects and contribute to her interior design blog. We are a team.
