Organizing Lessons from Broadway

I am writing this week from New York where I have been on a whirlwind media tour for 2 days with a bunch of really nice magazine editors and filming a segment for www.better.tv. It’s been a blast! I went to a broadway show, Spamalot, which was wonderful. I had a great seat on the front row, so I was able to observe a lot from that perspective. I could see the conductor’s head sticking out of the orchestra pit two seats down from me, and his earlobes wiggled when he was waving his wand around with gusto.

It struck me that they do everything they can to make things faster, easier, and more efficient during the show. There was a shrubbery in the show (if you are a Monty Python fan, you will know why!), and I noticed that they bolted on handles to the shrubbery container to make it easier for the actors and stagehands to carry. They also make the costumes as easy as possible to change, and they add Velcro to lots of things, like drinking glasses on trays, so they won’t fall off. We often use Velcro in our work for things like remote controls, rubber stamps, and other little accessories that need to be handy and close by but out of the way. The industrial strength Velcro is the best!

The set design is also extraordinary in terms of efficiency. They design the sets to be easy to move and multipurpose them for many different scenes from different angles. It was inspiring design! What could you add on, repurpose, fix, or adjust today to make your home run as efficiently as this show?