Is Your Work Sparking Joy? Use Our GISH Framework
Who out there loves a framework?? Same! We created one to help us choose what to work on, and we think it could be valuable for you too. This is one of our North Stars that we use to make sure we’re on track.
When a new opportunity comes along, use our GISH framework as a guide and ask yourself, Does it fall into one of the 4 categories? If so, you’ve got the green light to investigate. If not, pause and reconsider, or do what you can to shape the project so it better aligns.
We also use the framework as a checklist to make sure we’re always working on something in every category. Doing so represents balance for us, and balance is important for wellbeing!
Here are the 4 categories that Tangram has deemed the most important.
Something GROUNDBREAKING
Groundbreaking sounds intimidating, but the key principle here is to be doing something that pushes us out of our comfort zone. Here are a few examples:
New to us: This is a challenging project that helps us learn and develop new skills. For example, soon we will be designing a podcast for a client. We’ve listened to millions and have lots of ideas, but this will be a stretch for us.
New to the industry: Maybe you’re an early adopter of a new tool or solution. These projects are exciting because you can test things out and share your learnings with the larger community.
New to our client: This needs to be something big like a new strategy, a new learning platform, a new way of marketing their offerings, etc. Everyone is learning in this situation. Our prior experience will provide a strong start, but we will also learn because every organization is unique.
Something INDULGENT
If you aren’t enjoying yourself at work, what are you doing with your life? This is different from a project that you enjoy because it’s interesting or rewarding. This is a project you find yourself working on at night and on the weekend just because it’s fun. It can seem frivolous and feel like it’s taking you away from something else you should be doing, but that’s exactly the point. You need projects like this to feed your creativity and give you a chance to play. Here are a few examples:
Building the Tangram Game
Going on a field trip to open your mind creatively
Searching the internet for design inspo
Designing a fun team activity for your next meeting
Creating a framework 🤓
Something SPARKLY
Bring on the bells and whistles! We typically favor a minimalist design approach, but minimalist can be sparkly too. The principle here to create something that’s a pleasure to experience — something that people are excited about. Learning is exciting, and it’s important for people to feel that. This can be small, like an Easter egg you design into a learning experience that you’re so excited for learners to discover — something funny/cute they won’t be expecting. Or, the whole project can be a sparkly showpiece. We do a lot with strategy, and designing a sparkly strategy presentation for a client is such a joy because they’re so proud to share it with their leadership. This type of project is something everyone involved puts a lot of energy into, and that intensity is palpable and results in something truly special.
Something HEALTHY
What are we doing that’s good for us? This is something we know will make us stronger as a team or organization. Often this is a continuous improvement project. There are so many existing processes and ways of working that we can take apart and put back together in a new-and-improved way. We love being able to support a client with a CI project. It’s typically something they’ve been putting off — like reorganizing their learning catalog to improve the learner experience. It can be daunting, but we will make it easier and bring our ideas to the table. These projects make such a difference and can be transformational for your team and your organization.
So there you go! We give you GISH. Use it as your guide. And now it’s your turn: What are you working on that’s GROUNDBREAKING – INDULGENT – SPARKLY – HEALTHY? Let us know!