Our Pink Toyota Starlet As A MacGuffin.

 

We drive a 1994 pink Toyota Starlet. It's Frau Shrinks car. But once in a while I drive in this INTENSELY pink Japanese car.

When you drive that car  everybody is turning their head, pulling windows down in the traffic jam to say something about it, point at it, taking pictures of it. Because it's pink. I mean. Really.

It used to be red. Boring red. Nobody bothered to say something about it.

The car truly creates engagement with others.

Although I do feel weird stepping out of the car wearing a suit and tie.

For a while I  had  a bowling bag to carry my papers and other work related stuff. I bought it, because everybody else was carrying the same black Samsonite briefcase. The bag was blue with white letters and oddly shaped. Colleagues and clients would say something about it. Complementing me on my fine exquisite taste. Making fun of my stupid bag.

The bowling bag created engagement. A conversation starter. Something to trigger a spontaneous moment of interaction. And never in a negative mood. The plastic bag from the supermarket I carried around for months after that triggered some different comments though.

I have a small pendulum kit used to "provide cosmic answers". It's a chain with a pointy stone that you hold above a chart with words (like yes/no, a calendar, etc). You ask a question and where the pendulum will point to, that's your answer. We use it sometimes for planning purposes. At least that is what I tell people if they see it on the desk. The conversation always ends up talking about uncertainty and risks.

Objects are conversation starters. Like the palm tree.

"So you bring a huge palm tree to put on your desk. Nothing brightens up a place like a little bit of tropical green.

People will gather under the palm tree. Give you compliments. Provide you with tips on how the harvest those coconuts. Someone will bring a hammock. It will become a hangout and topic of conversation."

An object can also become a flag for your group. A flag for me represents a visible element of a culture that identifies that culture and the people part of the culture.

If you have to move to a different room with your team, and you take the palm tree with you, they get a sense that the new room is still "their room". Something like "making yourself at home".

It provides continuity in a changing environment. It's a MacGuffin. As explained on the excellent Sparknow blog:

"A maguffin (McGuffin, MacGuffin) is a term popularised by Alfred Hitchcock for an element in the story that both helps and distracts the viewer, orients them but serves no direct purpose. … For any nomadic product development community, it’s useful to have a maguffin that’s an object to provide place, memory and a thread of continuity. "

Objects are a powerful tool to facilitate interaction and group culture.

Even if it's a pink car. Especially if it's a pink car.

Bas de Baar is a writer who draws about people in transition. He loves to make visual maps and travel guides for the collaborators of our brave new world.