The Meaning of Life, Thin-Sliced

According to Malcom Gladwell in Blink, people are able to extrapolate mounds of data from a small slice of information based on one's entire life experience. The more expertise they have, the more accurate their slicing will be. Now, understand that I have some problems with the examples Gladwell cites in his book and many of the conclusions he draws in his book, but the concept of thin slicing is intriguing, nonetheless.

It reminds me of the story about the painter who did a quick sketch for a patron and charged a sum the customer thought to be exorbitant.

"But it only took you five minutes," exclaimed the customer.

"Five minutes...and twenty years," replied the artist.

So Stephen Denny at Note to CMO asked me to do a thin-slicing exercise on life priorities given my newfound skills at diaper management. Well, I've only been at it a little more than a week, and we've only been home a little less time than that. Thus, very little can be ascertained about my particular life priorities based on my diaper management skills. I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot of experience to draw a thin-slice extrapolation.

"It only took you a minute and a half to change that diaper!"

"A minute and a half...and eight days!"

Nope. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

I will say, though, that we had the baby's furniture set up in her room for the last two years. We held off on decorating until we found out we'd be blessed with a little girl, of course, and we picked up odds and ends every time we were near a Babies R Us or at a grocery store. That probably says more about our life priorities than our prolific diaper management. Still, in the spirit of Stephen's original request, let's take a look at my home diaper-changing station and try to determine what that means about my priorities.

1. Easy access to all supplies. Having just spent nine months cocooned inside their mothers, most newborns don't like being without covering. Therefore, to keep the baby comfortable (and keep the crying to a minimum), it's important to do everything as well as possible, but also as quickly as possible. Having everything within reach accomplishes this.
2. Soft diaper changing table with slanted sides. The raised sides ensures the newborn can't roll out of it accidentally. In addition, there is a belt that will allow us to strap her down when she gains the capability to roll. There is also a demonstrated effort to keep the baby comfortable during changing.
3. Splash pad. I read in a baby book that undiapered babies should be considered armed and dangerous. The splash pad shows a high priority given to conserving limited supplies and keeping the area clean, and thus the baby healthy.
4. Ample supply of diapers -- but not too many. I didn't think about this until recently, but different sized babies get different sized diapers. I figured baby size was baby size. Overstocking does the baby no good whatsoever, so having an adequate supply without going overboard reflects a decision to spend money wisely.
5. Alcohol, cream, powders readily available. After the umbilical cord is cut, the belly button has to heal. To dry it out, the doctors say to swab the area with alcohol at each diaper changing. Also, although modern disposable diapers cut down on diaper rash, we have the tools necessary to treat it should it occur. This shows a commitment to having a healthy baby.
6. Phone. This could show a number of things at a glance. First, it could show that we're so tied to the outside world that we don't want to or can't afford to miss a call, even if it disrupts the baby. However, a closer inspection would show that our ringer is off, and the phone is here to make outgoing calls in the event the doctor or emergency service need to be reached in a hurry. This is a product of fear as much as it is a product of love.
7. No smell. You can't tell this from the photo, but there is no diaper smell in the room. That is because we're using a diaper pail that helps contain it. Empty it twice a week, they say, to keep the room from carrying a foul odor.
8. Not my doing. Another thing that I know is that, while on my own I would have thought of some of this, my wife is the one who arranged it all. Armed with that knowledge, it can be concluded through thin slicing that I married well.

So let's pass this along.

Paul McEnany, I want to know how you thin slice an advertising campaign to tell what the advertiser thinks about the consumer.

Paul Herring, I would love to hear how you would thin slice an online consumer experience to determine whether the efforts have been worthwhile.

Brian Clark, please tell us how to thin slice our RSS readers to figure out which articles stand the greatest chance of being a worthwhile read.

Scott Baradell, tell us how to thin slice a press release so that we know whether the PR agency is blowing smoke.

- Cam Beck

Comments

[scott]

Grasshoppah, snatch the pebble from my hand ...

[Paul McEnany]

Uh oh, I forsee many baby posts in our future. :)

Thin-slicing to come, my friend.

Hope you guys are well, and getting a least some sleep!

[Stephen Denny]

Cam: this all looks very, very familiar!

I remember walking out of a staff meeting at Iomega with my newest new boss, Jim Taylor (I had about a dozen in the year I was there), saying that I was about to become a father.

As a guy who was pretty fixated on his career, this felt like an alien thing to do, to be honest. This was probably the first time I had put the career second in my priorities.

I've found a few 'tells' when thin slicing the life and work balance: people who are artificially "busy" too much and who take themselves and their work too seriously (really -- have you ever worked along side Jack Bauer, who's always trying to save the world, or just a press release, from utter destruction?); situations where everyone isn't in the same boat; where there are winners and losers on the same team given an outcome; where those around you pride themselves not on their lives, but on their lack of balance -- the self-proclaimed and self-congratulated workaholics; there are many more to choose from.

I'm a big believer in doing what you are driven to do, professionally; having had experience on both sides of the 'balance' imbalance, though, I'd choose to err on the side of my family.

[Roger von Oech]

After reading your description of diapering, I think you're going to have to change (how pertinent!) the name of your blog to:

ORDER SCENARIO.

Best wishes,

Roger von Oech
(who changed his last diaper over twenty years ago)

[Roger von Oech]

Oh yes, and while I'm at it. I think you'll get a kick out of one of my very first ever posts (last Oct.) called "breastfeeding Icons."

http://blog.creativethink.com/weblog/2006/10/breastfeeding_i.html

[Lewis Green]

I hope Roger isn't among the breastfeeding icons. Cam, keep the diapers fresh and dry, my friend. It's far more important than business success.