"Read the Room"

We're in the dog days of summer. 

Use analogies, challenge ourselves to think more clearly, more broadly, with more imagination.

Imagine sitting in your dining room after dinner. Look around. Generate ideas. Go.

1. The chandelier overhead goes on. "The light goes on." We have an idea or a series of them, the brain magically activated. 

2. A place setting decorates the table. "You have a lot on your plate," maybe a job, offseason volleyball, summer reading. 

3. A knife sits to the right of your plate. A knife might symbolize potential for violence, slicing a task into more digestible pieces, or friendship? Oscar Wilde said, "your friends stab you in the front." 

4. A glass of water is half consumed. "Is the glass half full or half empty?" Do we see the world through rose-colored glasses or jaded eyes? 

5. There's garlic bread on the table. Garlic wards off vampires. Battle metaphorical energy vampires and opponents to be vanquished. Where is your garlic? 

6. Most chairs around the table are empty. Influence expert Dan Pink says to remember the 'empty chair' at a meeting. If you don't have one, get one. 

The chair represents someone with a vested interest in the meeting, but not physically present. That could include a customer or consumer, the fans, or a parent. Just because someone isn't present doesn't mean they don't care. 

7. Cannolis for desert. Think about the backstory. 

Cannolis conjure the spirit of The Godfather. There's no mystery as to the identity of the Godfather of Melrose volleyball. 

8. Dark night cloaks the windows. What mysteries will evolve this season? "It's always darkest before the dawn." Visualize the role you want to fill and how to make that happen. 

Lagniappe. A legendary coach talks relaxes position, platform, and adjusting to the ball.

 

Lagniappe 2. "Cornhole" profits by scoring on your first attack off serve receive.