Jazz and our 2018 calendar
Collaboration, conflict, and compromise. That is Jazz. Individual specialists working together towards a common goal…to use their talents to create something new, innovative, and pleasing to their audience.
This year the theme of our 2018 calendar is Gear Jazz. Our photographer/artist, Erich Schrempp deftly integrated gears, great Chicago jazz artists, and their instruments into a striking series of Gear Jazz art. Erich collaborated with twelve jazz artists and together made some beautiful images. You can download a pdf of our calendar here.
When making precision plastic gears, we find it incredibly valuable to bring everyone together from the projects inception…designers, engineers, mold builders, materials suppliers…anyone who has a stake in the project’s success. It can create a bit of chaos, and even some conflict. Lively discussion can bring about a complete change in the gear assembly. Yet having everyone “in the room” from the very beginning results in a better solution and a better gear.
Recently I heard from a friend who received our 2018 Gear Jazz calendar. “I love this year’s theme of jazz! Years ago, when I was just starting my research and teaching in creativity/innovation, I came across John Kao’s book, ‘Jamming.’ He used jazz (jam sessions) as a metaphor for creativity. You may like this quote from the book:
“Like jazz musicians playing off each other to create new sounds, at once unpredictable and harmonious, managers must learn to compose teams that work together to create music on the cutting edge.”
I think this is as true today as when he wrote it 20 years ago.”
