The power of the “MISHMASH” strategy
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The power of the “MISHMASH” strategy
I had a meeting in a café in a rather innovative and up coming district of Zurich a couple of weeks ago. We asked the waiter whether there were any special non- alcoholic drinks, maybe a speciality of the house, on the menu. He offered us the “MISHMASH”, a special mixture of Coca Cola with fruit juice. It certainly was an innovative drink. I was inspired by its name and even took a picture of the label which I have used as a visual for this blog.
A while ago I visited Pipilotti Rist’s amazing exhibition in the Kunsthaus in Zurich. She is a visual artist who works with video, film and moving images. I was overwhelmed by the power of her imagination and her use of an extreme “MISHMASH” of materials. The “MISHMASH” was of course designed to provide a moving, colourful and powerful impact. Her “MISHMASH” strategy was executed perfectly and made the exhibition a wonderful experience for visitors.
Having been inspired by the “MISHMASH” strategy for a second time I felt the urge to write about it.
If we take a close look at the restricted way in which we lead both our private and professional lives, we have to admit that there is rarely any room left for any kind of “MISHMASH” strategy.
If I relate this topic to the new orientation process and the way in which most job seekers approach the process, I can see that they do so in a very restricted manner. Many of them have only ever had one “proper” job that they have done for years and years and they usually have only one goal and objective in mind with regards to their future career.
They tend to neglect the reality of today’s rather flexible labour market and avoid the realisation that their future career path may not necessarily be restricted to just one job in particular. Their future career could be one or a number of jobs. It could be in the form of a few parallel projects, it could be a “MISHMASH” of many different jobs.
Let us also take a look at the future of our working life. Career progression in the future will not be straightforward, but constantly evolving. New industries, new business models, new ways of working, new technologies, new social networks are emerging all the time and these all urge us to adopt the “MISHMASH” strategy. In the future, for career progression, it will not be sufficient to provide a neat career profile with years and years of experience relating to just one job or profession. For our future working life we will have to develop a passion for disruption, unconventional thinking and manners of working, and of course a love of the "MISHMASH" strategy!
What about our private lives? Often we chose to live clearly defined life styles, to have strict opinions and assumptions and to live in defined social communities. Most of us look for a proper fit, a linear and perfect solution, don’t we? A “MISHMASH” strategy would only cause confusion wouldn’t it?
Let us take the courage to adopt the “MISHMASH” strategy from time to time. Let us be awakened by its power, be it in our private or professional life, and allow ourselves to be enriched and to achieve our goals. You could start by thinking creatively and unconventionally for say 30 minutes a day and let the “MISHMASH” strategy take affect…