When you want to be better at something the fastest way is to learn from others.
Join a group and share your experiences -
I share my lean experiences with other CI experts at the Michigan Lean Consortium but am also a member of the Michigan Twisters Group.
I just got back from the Michigan Twisters Group meeting where I go to meet others that share my love of balloon twisting.
While I was there I met Scott Bevis who was new to the group...he's been twisting balloons in Clarkston, MI for a couple of years but didn't know anyone else in the business.
He practices, learns from the internet, reads about balloon animals and has some impressive skills but didn't have anyone to share with.
He had a question about busking at restaurants. Sitting at my table was Steve Ferguson (he did the small flowers in the pic) who has done a lot of restaurant work and gave Scott all the information he was looking for.
We also shared best practices on how we set up our bags of balloons, work a line of kids and what does and doesn't work at parties. We even chatted about pricing and contracts.
I also learned something new about twisting.
I was talking with fellow twister Carolynn Hayman at POP! Designs and Creations who showed me something called X-weave which she used to create the big flower above. This new weave technique is going to take my ballooning in a whole new direction.
We come from different backgrounds which is what makes our experiences more valuable to each other. Together we make a Smart Swarm with a fantastic Cognitive Surplus to share.
