At the intersection of ideas and action, this is Longitude Sound Bytes, where we bring innovative insights from around the world directly to you.

I am Theodore Vadot, Longitude fellow from Rice University, and today I will be presenting a sound byte by Marc Sabbagh, the Chief of Staff for Safety & Citizen Services at Accenture Federal Services, and he will be speaking to us about risk-taking and using art as a creative outlet.

I like doing creative things, writing, reading, you know, creating new ideas and stuff. So a few years ago, I was like, “Let me just try painting.” And then, I felt abstract art was like the lowest risk. So I started taking a class. And my first paintings were really terrible, I’m pretty sure. Looking back, part of me that I see at work too, is that I like too. I like challenges like that. So I kept at it.

My teacher is very open to guiding and giving advice, and so he’s helped me over the past three years sort of advance and develop a sense of personal style. And I would say, initially, it was an outlet, you know. Day to day, you’re on a project, you’re doing work, maybe looking at Excel, or dealing with people, project management type stuff. I wanted something that was a little different side of my brain to do. So it was a nice release for that. And, you know, I think about some other types of painting that are representational, and it’s still uses your mind a lot, whereas abstract painting can be more expressive and, and creative. So it was an outlet.

As I’ve grown, I’ve realized I do a lot of presentations, and slides, and deliverables. Now thinking back, there’s some creative aspect to that, where you put things on a slide and see how the eye moves, you know, around a presentation or a deliverable. There’s that aspect to some of the work I do. But I think one of the biggest and most interesting things that my teacher has talked about that impacted my work is around risk taking. The way he frames it in abstract art, it’s a series of risks, because you’re dealing with a blank canvas, you’re starting to maybe not know where you’re going and being uncomfortable a little bit, and initially just playing, and then you start thinking and contemplating your work, and then you resolve it. But in that time, there’s a lot of back and forth. And there’s risk involved with, like, what if I just do this and totally change it, and then you adapt. And so I’ve taken that back to work because it to me, it’s making decisions, like that’s the same thing, when you’re making a decision. Sometimes there’s risk involved. But being fearless and taking that risk, I’ve seen that, in art, you know, it’s just a canvas, you cover it up, you go back, you navigate, but it’s important to make a decision and take a risk. Because if you don’t, you’re going to be stuck. So I’ve been really applying that mindset at work, and just saying, you know, “If I do this, it’s not the end of the world,” because I pivot, and then, you know, I take that decision with the good and bad, and work with what I’ve got, and, adapt and say, “This has helped actually lead to a better outcome, and resolution.”

When we’re looking at art, we sometimes see that we mostly see the end result. And we don’t know all the work that that was in in progress to get to that final product. And that happens at work, too. So I’ve been really taking that sort of mindset back at work and encouraging people as well. To take risks and not see it as a “Be all, end all,” thing. Like, if they change a project, it’s fine. If you want to learn a new technology, do it. And maybe it won’t work, but maybe it will lead to your best role and career yet.

Theodore Vadot, Longitude fellow, Rice University: