Convergent. Divergent. Two seemingly dichotomous trains of thought. In January I classified myself as a convergent thinker. I’m type A. I organize my closet by colour and then sleeve length. I can’t be a convergent thinker.
In the words of Rafiki from Lion King:
“Wrong again!”
Through the Sauder D.Studio, I have learned that I don’t need to fit into one thinking strategy category or another – I can fit into both. Yes, organizing my closet by colour and then sleeve length reflects my type A-ness, but if I didn’t have some component of divergent thinking, I’d have chosen another factor than the aesthetically pleasing colour factor! It gave me the opportunity to leverage my visual inclination, using the tools available to us – white boards, white board pens, materials – breaking away from my reliance on computers and typing to be visual in a more communicable sense.
My favourite tool throughout the term has been the 6 Hats of Creative Thinking. No, not just because we get to actually wear hats. Nor because I was wearing my black Russian Babushka hat, thus automatically got to play the Black Hat that first day. The first time we used the 6 Hats in class, I actually hated them. The fact that I was put in the Black Hat role was a big part of the reason why. That Black Hat ruined our group’s brainstorming, leading to an intra-group storm of clashing personalities and approaches that took an entire class to work through. In hindsight, I’m glad the explosion happened when it did because we had the chance to proactively work through it and set future communication norms and goals.
D.Studio provided the opportunity to incorporate knowledge from different backgrounds. It is the first class I’ve taken in my Bachelor of Commerce degree that encouraged me to play with my theatre background beyond making presentations. The day we got to use improv as a tool was one of my favourite days; I forgot how great of a tool improv is for team building, trust, and zoning in. I can’t wait to leverage these tools and games in the future.
When I started this course, I was simultaneously beginning my job search. My priority was finding a good job with a great job description and an awesome job title. As a result of D.Studio, I have adjusted my approach. Rather than looking for a right job, I’m looking for the right company. My priority is now to find a company that reflects my personal values, that will facilitate ongoing growth and learning, fostering an environment of innovation.
D.Studio has fundamentally changed the way I think. No, I’m not just saying that to get a great mark on this blog (though Florin, I am hoping for one … and no, 88% is not a great mark). I chose this course because it was different. I chose this course because it was out of my comfort zone. I chose this course because I’m graduating and running out chances to challenge myself. D.Studio didn’t disappoint.
D.Studio is the only place in Sauder where we can show up, be encouraged to play with Lego and Playdough, and actually get something out of it. It’s a one-of-a-kind class with concepts, logic, and techniques that I truly hope every Sauder student is exposed to, earlier in their academic career.