Stories from the Factory Floor

The name of this blog is taken from the Japanese tradition of story telling known as’ Kamishibai’ which roughly translates to ’little paper theatre.’ Originating in Japanese Buddhist temples in the 12th century, where the monks used picture scrolls to convey stories to a mostly illiterate audience, Kamishibai endured as a storytelling method for centuries, but is perhaps is best known for its revival in the 1920s through to the 1950s.  A storyteller would travel from village to village on a bicycle equipped with a small stage. Several stories would be told using a set of illustrated boards, inserted into the stage and withdrawn one by one as the story unfolded. The stories were often serials and new episodes were told on each visit to the village.

There was no right or wrong way to tell a story, each storyteller would use their own creativity and each individual style was valued. It is these humble beginnings of Kamishibai that are often credited with the roots of the multi-million dollar manga (Japanese comic) tradition. Illustrating how deeply our social and relational patterns of communication and interaction are interwoven into how much we are connected to story as a way of individual and collective meaning making.

I stumbled across the idea of Kamishibai in the most unlikely of places, a Japanese manufacturing company. Where the principals of this ancient art of oral storytelling were being utilised to share information not only to inform but also to educate. Intriguingly and very practically, Kamishibai had been imaginatively re-purposed to support teams to perform daily maintenance tasks on machines. The work place objective to keep the machines in good working order to realise safety, quality and productivity targets whilst also enhancing team knowledge / confidence about general machine maintenance. Here in this very mechanised environment there was still a need and a place for human contact through story and meaning making. As ‘the little paper theatre’ was being used to connect people in a new and innovative way. How interesting is that? I was intrigued and my passion for the inter-connecting ideas of organisational development, workplace participation, change, involvement, notions of hierarchy and power, continuous improvement, and innovation was ignited. 

In experiencing for myself the importance of work place connection and communication to support, and enable I was able to grasp a much deeper realisation of the human need to participate, to contribute and make meaning of the purpose of work. Which in a nutshell contains the intention for this blog, which is to offer a rich and diverse series of living stories that are each a mini paper theatre. The universal themes of work and life will be presented through an open ended inquiry into the ever changing nature of work, our relationships to one another, what we really understand about the purpose of organisations and how we can enable more generative change. That like the Kamishibai board on the factory floor is symbolic of a shared intention to take care of our environment, through active participation and the will to continually experiment with finding a better way. 

In-Expert 2018 - Breaking the Rules

At the last minute I decided to attend ‘In-expert 2018’ hosted by Steve Chapman (Can Scorpions Smoke) and a team of co-collaborators who each wanted to explore and express their own experience of ‘not knowing.’

In his opening words Steve described the whole event as a social experiment and invited everyone present to just notice what happens when some of the formal structure and social rules around what we expect from individuals on a stage (at a conference) are removed. As instead of a gathering of experts we were treated to a group of people willing to share and be present to their own sense of in-expertise / inexpert and to be a participant in the whole experience. 

As the event started to unfolded I noticed how one thing effortlessly flowed to another. An enabling atmosphere as each individual made space for the other to do what they needed to do. I was also intrigued by the creative space that emerged between the audience and the speakers with multiple moments of unplanned gesture and spontaneous response. These could have been real moments of unease but the intention throughout was collaborative not competitive. I was also aware of the different feel of the place (an arts college) and the little but perfectly formed theatre that was also enabling the creative energy to work its alchemy.

Together, but without a lengthy discussion or formal contract we naturally created a safe place that enabled the new, novel and innovative or just plain different to reveal itself. An emergence from the shadows that literally invited each generous speaker to stand in their spot light. In this exploratory space I experienced a real and uncensored celebration of self-expression in all its messy and glorious forms. Each speaker who so openly shared their unique experience of ‘not-knowing’ helped me to remember and feel OK that life is not a series of straight lines but actually meanders and detours. It is here as I linger on my own sense of not knowing how this piece will be received that I touch upon the undercurrent of a human desire to be our authentic self. To be accepted as such. Expressing a need to be seen and accepted as an individual whilst also being part of a collective fabric took root and became my connecting thread throughout the whole ‘In-expert 2018’ experiment. 

Yet this thread was incredibly subtle in its form and this leads me to wonder what would happen if we could learn to embrace the subtlety of the form and let go of our built in need to know? Would we learn to see in-between and beyond the other and in doing so change the whole field of perception? What is actually possible for us? Untangling our self-imposed limitations and truly making contact with one another. Maybe it is the perspective of ‘not knowing’ that enables us to stay open and just notice our experience without judgement or concern. As ‘In-expert 2018’ demonstrated the act of breaking the rules can then be embraced with a genuine curiosity and good humour.

As I walked back to the station through the hustle and bustle of London, I noticed the mass of people busy getting on with their lives. I wondered if each one had their own hidden awareness of ‘not knowing.' In that moment I was struck by how I had just taken part in a beautiful experience of what is possible when we feel safe in the presence of another (in this case an audience of 100), to let down our guard and just be with what is. In so many ways the whole experience was a gift and I thank you all for that.