Dress
Rehearsal
After he showed his
customary introduction slides and as he broke the ice with this smallish
gathering of 50-60 folks seated in rounds of 10 at the Missouri Athletic Club
West in this meeting room tucked behind the dining area and bar where a few club
members still lingered, he showed an outline slide by which he was able to
frame his talk.
What is Negative Space?
Three examples in art
- The Last Supper - by Leonardo daVinci
- Henry Moore – Reclining figure bronze sculpture
- M.C. Escher – Sky and Water
Three examples in environment
- Nature vs. Nurture
- B.F. Skinner and radical behaviorism
- Stanley Milgrim’s obedience Experiment
Implications
- Your positive space
- Your negative space
- Reconciling the positive and negative
Alan had encouraged
some colleagues on the book and speaker circuit to show up on short notice
however he was as not successful as he had hoped. Kimberly Schnieder was in
Ireland, Bill Ellis was in Dubai, David Hults was at an human resource
professionals meeting, Bill Donius was talking to a group of bankers in
California, Dixie Gallaspie was in town but recording an interview for a radio
program, Jeremy Nulik was writing copy for an advertising campaign and Chris
Riley was in Kansas City meeting with a business prospect. He had not been able
to attract much of a crowd on his own. All had politely excused themselves.
This was okay by Alan. He knew that some others were not present because it was
not possible to be everywhere you wanted to be. He had personally experienced
this dilemma, especially when it comes to supporting a fellow in the process of
working through new material. In the language of stand-up comedy, no one is
anxious to see you die. On this occasion, Alan did not die. In fact, he was
assured that his Negative Space
concept would resonate with failure fans and that book three would reinforce
the Alan Edgewater franchise another year at least.
The presentation was an
easy sixty minutes reinforced by powerful ideas that motivated Alan and animated
him as a speaker. He knew his team would help him secure images, copyright,
permissions, etc. for such things as compelling visuals of art, abstracts from
research on heredity, behavioral science and overall fact-checking. The subject
matter, Alan is certain, will appeal to business executives. He answers a
variety of questions about art, behavioral science, business, books, publishing
and the story of his career journey.
“Mr. Edgewater, can you elaborate a bit on
your Failure First Scholarship Fund and why it is structured with as an
unconditional award full ride scholarship to the college or university of the
winner’s chosing? Couldn’t that money be better used to offer need-based or
merit-based scholarships?” It was the last question of the evening. It was one
Alan had not anticipated and it was coming from a writer of whom he was not
familiar. The structure of the question, the determined note-taking and follow
up suggested a reporter on assignment.
Alan knew he would have
to talk to this guy further to get a sense of what he is after. His answer on
this day would be acceptable for most. “Our scholarship winners through the
Alan Edgewater Failure First Scholarship Fund are granted unconditional awards
that allow them to pursue any educational path they choose and the college or
university of their choice. Through the generosity of Coach Robert Siena and supporters
like you, we have made two awards so far. The program is unique to be sure.”
As expected the
reporter was polite but wanted more. Alan took his business card and agreed to
schedule a time when they might talk more fully about the AEFFSF. Alan could
not wait to dish this card to Jan Abbeshire.
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