Lesson for January 3rd, 2024
Understanding the Bonzo Standards
Read the following story and answer the questions at the end.
Lisa was a sophomore at Islands High School. She was not popular. She hid behind her cell phone as if she thought it was big enough to hide her whole self. She enjoyed her classes but she dare not raise her hand out of sheer fear of not being correct with an answer. In order to break out of her shell of insecurity she dyed her hair purple, it was a big risk. She did this out of rebellion to her parents who were very controlling of her every move. However, her parents allowed her to do so because she got a job in the evenings, and that was the only requirement they requested to dying her hair. She also needed the money to provide her with means to buy clothes and accessories at the mall most weekends. In dying her hair, she also hoped it would be a sign to those students that were much like her, mostly alone, seeking a form of community.
Lisa was not good at many things, she could not play an instrument so that kept her out of the band. She was too shy to speak in public so she stayed away from the theatre dept. and she couldn’t sing so she dare not join a chorus. Lisa ended up having to take art because there was no other place for her to go in receiving an elective credit, so art it was. Lisa found art to be boring at times because she could not draw and she thought that having a teacher older than her parents was also a bore, still she had no choice, so she made it to art class each day.
One day in art class Lisa was discovered, by the art teacher, to have a skill of organizing and problem solving. Her skill at solving problems both visually and as a whole was revealed to her by the instructor. The main standard that is taught in art class is that life equals choices and art equals creative choices. As she processed this dynamic in her head she thought that perhaps this concept could help her at her job at McDonalds.
After six months on the job making hamburgers, working the cash register and working as the drive through server she observed important elements of the job that no one else did. She worked with a team of others. There was Bob who kept the burgers and fries going. The issue with Bob thought was that he was always late to work because he had a sleeping condition that meant he had to sleep late each morning. Then there was Jane who worked the night shift doing the same thing as Bob, however, her Mother had to drive her to McDonalds each day after her work and it meant she would have to wait until after 12:00 each night to close up and wait on her mother to pick her up. Then there is Sally who was great a planning her weekends but bad at working the cash register and Eric who loved to talk and meet people was bad at organizing ordering from the corporate office. Lastly, there is the manager, Bill. He is a nice guy but he lacks the organizing skills for such a position as manager.
This McDonalds was hurting bad. Too many customers complained that they had to wait too long to get their order filled. Sales dropped fast and customers went to other near by fast food restaurants instead of McDonalds. Eventually the corporate office sent a representative to evaluate the problem but nothing changed. Lisa realized that she might lose her job that she needed very badly. Lisa sat down one night after her shift at McDonalds and created small information squares on post-it notes. She put the notes before her like a puzzle. Each note had the name of one of her co-workers on it and their job description. She realized that the team she worked with was a good one, it was just that each individual had a different skill set and schedule at home. She took the two post- it notes of Bob and Jane switched their schedules so that Bob came in to work in the evenings and closed up, allowing him to get the sleep he needed the next day, and Jane worked the day shift allowing her mother to drop her off each morning, which relieved them both of not getting to sleep until almost 1:00am each morning.
Lisa then took the two post-it notes of Sally and Bill. She switched their jobs as well. Sally was great at organizing so Lisa put her in the slot of ordering supplies from the corporate office and Bill, who loved to talk and meet people was placed at the cash register. Lisa then went to Bill her manager to show him how making a couple of simple changes could create better sales. Bill saw the logic in the rescheduling and made the changes. Two weeks later sales picked up and even exceeded corporate expectations.
Lisa was promoted to assistant manager after a year and she was only a senior at Islands High School. Upon reflecting on the concept that life is choices and art is creative choices, she had realized that all she had done was to make a creative choice in solving her work issues as she would any puzzle. She thought to herself, “Perhaps the concept of understanding art begins with understanding that I am the most important work of art that I could ever create, that being an artist is not about drawing or having visual skill sets but in thinking creatively, even just using post-it notes as a puzzle. Lisa found that she had discovered a new way of thinking about herself that was unexpected. It was all about making creative choices. She then felt that perhaps she should evaluate the other art standards that her art instructor posted. Since she observed that the choices one makes can be creative perhaps the other standards would serve her well also. The other standard that interested her the most was the standard of Creativity through risk, that rewards largely come from risk. Whether you are first learning how to walk, or learning how to play the stock market, you can only move forward in life by taking risks.
Lisa then thought about her job once more. What changes could be made at McDonalds that would require risk with large payoffs in sales? She then approached the corporate office and submitted monthly specials at all McDonalds that highlighted a combination of different deserts that came free with any purchase of $5.00 or more. She also took a risk at changing up the children’s meals by producing a child’s version of a cobb salad that offered chicken nuggets with the salad. The proposals were a big risk for the company. In the end Lisa was approached by the corporate office of McDonalds offering to pay her college tuition if she would continue to work for McDonalds in the corporate office in New York City.
Life is about choices, at is about making creative choices, and all of life is a risk so just take one step at a time.