By Matthew E. May Published Jan. 19, 2011 12:00 p.m.
“Frank Zappa once said: 'The most important thing in art is the frame. For paint, literally. For other arts, figuratively—because, without this humble appliance, you can't know where the art stops and the real world begins.'
What he's saying is that how we frame something, like an idea or a problem, for example, has everything to do with how well it turns out. He's saying that there is an art to framing. That framing is an art.
Frank Zappa had it right. And the reason I believe that is because how I view the world changed completely a few years ago, during an eight year long engagement with a very large and very successful Japanese company, the focus of which was essentially to help unite two distinctly different cultures, Eastern and Western, together in a common approach. This meant I had to straddle two different ways of looking at the world. Two completely different ways of looking at the same thing.”
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About Matthew E. May | Matthew E. May is an internationally recognized innovation author, design strategist, and columnist for the American Express OPEN Forum Idea Hub. He is a popular speaker and master kaizen coach, working with organizations all over the world. His latest book is The Shibumi Strategy. His previous books include In Pursuit of Elegance, and The Elegant Solution. He lives in Southern California.
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