The Creative Now: A Chat with Debbie Bates-Schrott, Founder & CEO of Beyond Definition
As a kid, I spent many a dinner at a table surrounded by friends of my parents, an eclectic cast of characters — sculptors, writers, painters, creatives. That thread of creative community has remained in our offices, our teams, and our collaborations. But that thread feels thinner in this moment.
So I asked, with the purpose of sharing, and of supporting and caring for this creative community in its current, uncertain reality. I asked what people are doing, how they are feeling, how they are sparking creativity. It feels important to share what we do, when we can’t do all our doing.
Reaching out first to some of the talented people I’ve had the good fortune to profile though the Capitol Communicator portrait series. It’s my version of a virtual dinner table of sorts. Grab a chair and listen in to my conversation with Debbie Bates-Schrott, Founder & CEO of Beyond Definition.
Debbie, what, if anything, are you doing differently?
Working from home has not been a new endeavor for Beyond Definition. For the last five years, our team has enjoyed one day per week working remote. Endless days of all remote work is new. Luckily, we have been using Zoom, the amazing new tech sweetheart, for our meetings for quit awhile, although using video was scarce. Now, we use video for all meetings. It’s energizing to see the team for each meeting, see how everyone is doing and share a few laughs. Depending on the day you may find a member wearing Mickey ears, sunglasses, or a hat to make you laugh. We are also having a lot of fun with the Zoom virtual backgrounds. During any given call, you may be transported to outer space, Aruba, the casino or a crowed restaurant, just to name a few from last week. We are sharing all of the places that we are dreaming of and now seem distant memories.
Are you staying creatively active?
We have really spent time kicking up our insights (blog.) For each article, a different designer is doing a custom illustration that somehow uses Yo, our space-person mascot. These will also probably become new office decor when we return in person to our space.
How are you sparking yourself creatively?
I am spending much of my spare time ready to stay entertained and focused on positivity. Painting has also been an almost forgotten pastime. Getting back to that is helping me stay creative!
You can see Debbie’s original Capitol Communicator profile here.
