Mapping Strategic Moves #1: Building Creative Life Theory

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CALL4

10 min readSep 9, 2024

Using the House of Project Engagement as a Strategic Map

This case study from the Strategic Moves project explores how I used the House of Project Engagement as a strategic map to reflect on the journey of building Creative Life Theory.

In October 2023, I revisited the development of Creative Life Theory (from 2020 to 2023) through a series of knowledge frameworks. The journey is detailed in the links below:

The Landscape of Creative Life Theory (v2, 2023)
Part 1: First-wave Development
Part 2: Second-wave Development
Part 3: Third-wave Development
Part 4: Three Themes of a Journey of Theory Building
Part 5: Creative Dialogue and Mental Moves
Part 6: Four Perspectives and Creative Identities
Part 7: The World of Works and Five Possible Books

Why reflect on this journey again?

I revisited the journey as part of a case study for the Strategic Moves project. Rather than applying the knowledge frameworks from Creative Life Theory, I used the House of Project Engagement to conduct a diagramming exercise — Mapping Strategic Moves. Additionally, new developments have emerged since October 2023, which prompted further reflection.

This post introduces the first case study of the Strategic Moves project and highlights some of the new ideas that have surfaced as part of this ongoing exploration.

The Strategic Moves Project

In Feb 2024, I decided to start the Strategic Moves project with the thematic card below.

The project is part of a trilogy aimed at developing Attachance Theory and applying it to explore creative, social, and strategic cognition from an ecological perspective.

In 2023, I worked on two related projects — Mental Moves and Social Moves.

These efforts resulted in the creation of two draft books and several knowledge frameworks:

Mental Moves (book, v1) — Introduction (July 31, 2023)
Mental Moves (book, v1) — Table of Contents (July 31, 2023)
Social Moves (book, v1, 2023) (Dec 19, 2023)

A key outcome of this work was the development of Attachance Theory, a sub-theory of the Ecological Practice Approach.

The Mental Moves project applied Attachance Theory to examine knowledge diagrams, knowledge projects, and mental models, culminating in a new approach to creative cognition.
The Social Moves project applied Attachance Theory to explore Activity, Knowledge, and Mental Representation, resulting in an integrated ecological approach to social cognition.

Building on these foundations, the Strategic Moves project will focus on developing an ecological approach to strategic cognition.

At the operational level, I have chosen two core methods for the Strategic Moves project.

The Mental Moves project was guided by the Case Study method, where I explored “the Attachances of Moving between Thematic Spaces” in a series of case studies.
The Social Moves project employed the Creative Diagramming method, using “Diagramming as Thinking” to develop an integrated ecological approach to Social Cognition.

The Strategic Moves project will combine both the Case Study method and the Creative Diagramming method to advance our understanding of strategic cognition.

For more information, please refer to the following link:

A Possible Theme called “Strategic Moves”

Structural Choice: Maps, Models, and Moves

I chose the subtitle “Mapping Knowledge Engagement and Structural Choice” for a possible book about this project. The theme of “Knowledge Engagement” refers to the Knowledge Engagement Framework, a sub-framework of Creative Life Theory.

At the operational level, I began conducting case studies on “Psychological Knowledge Engagement” in November 2023. One such case study focused on Robert Kegan’s Knowledge Enterprise. The book will include additional case studies featuring various psychological professionals, such as novice counselors, and will also use my own creative journey as a source of material for further analysis.

The theme of “Structural Choice” refers to the process of selecting significant insights and curating opportunities for achieving creative knowledge engagement. Over the past few months, I developed a simple method to transform this concept into an operational framework for the Strategic Moves project.

The Structural Choice framework is built around three key components:

Maps
Models
Moves

For each case, I select an existing map or design a new one to represent the social landscape relevant to the case.

I distinguish between Maps and Models: where Maps represent the social landscape, Models are representations of predictive models made by actors. In some cases, actors use specific knowledge frameworks as their predictive models to guide their projects.

Finally, I use Moves metaphorically to describe real actions taken by actors within these contexts.

Social Landscape: The House of Project Engagement

In May, I developed version 3.0 of the Project Engagement approach. While version 1.0 focused on the Developmental Project Model, version 3.0 expands on this by curating a range of knowledge frameworks to explore project-oriented social ecology.

This is a comprehensive theoretical toolkit, as illustrated in the diagram below.

The diagram consists of two key components:

The top section represents a Map.
The bottom section showcases several knowledge frameworks.

Between May and June, I collaborated with friends to test this theoretical toolkit in various fields, including higher education teaching, life narrative practices, and youth developmental discovery.

In June, to support a friend’s workshop, I simplified the Project Engagement approach (v3.0) by selecting only its Map component. This led to the creation of the House of Project Engagement.

Designed as a Map, the House of Project Engagement uses a “Museum” metaphor to represent space. The House is organized into 12 thematic rooms, with each room representing a distinct type of social landscape. Together, these rooms depict the following themes:

Before
Role Models
Ideas
Possible Project
Meet with Others
Actual Project
Settings
Supportive Platform
Public Square
Network of Project
Conflict
After

In June and July, I spent about four weeks in China, caring for a family member who underwent surgery. During this time, I reflected on the healthcare system using the House of Project Engagement.

While in China, I also dedicated time to designing, discussing, and testing the House of Project Engagement. Eventually, I created a physical version of the House as a prototype for a tabletop game focused on life narrative practices.

Upon returning to the U.S., I developed an English version of the House of Project Engagement and renamed it Social Landscape: The House of Project Engagement.

The Journey of Building Creative Life Theory

My fascination with creativity and discovery has spanned many years. As mentioned earlier, I used a series of models from Creative Life Theory to reflect on the journey of building the theory in October 2023.

I’d like to briefly introduce the Creative Life Curation framework here. This framework outlines five movements that define its core model. To explore the dynamics of creative life, I examine it across three developmental stages: First-wave, Second-wave, and Third-wave.

The First-wave Development of Creative Life Theory is represented in the diagram below.

The Second-wave Development of Creative Life Theory is represented in the diagram below.

The Third-wave Development of Creative Life Theory is represented in the diagram below.

The third-wave development only began in July 2023, so it may still be premature to fully frame these projects as part of the third-wave evolution of Creative Life Theory. However, this highlights the value of using the Creative Life Curation framework to reflect on the journey.

What are the major developments in the theory after October 2023?

In March 2024, I completed my 30th possible book and conducted a Creative Life Curation project, reflecting on the journey of drafting 30 books from 2019 to 2024.

The reflection inspired a shift in focus, moving from Theory-building back to Intervention and Curation.

This insight ultimately led to the creation of the House of Project Engagement.

Mapping Strategic Moves

Let’s explore the strategic moves I made while building Creative Life Theory from 2022 to 2024 using the House of Project Engagement.

By applying the House of Project Engagement, I identified 14 key movements throughout this journey, each representing a distinct part of the social landscape within the theory-building process.

1

I have been fascinated with creativity and discovery for many years.

2

Creative scholar Howard Gruber has been my role model since 2017, although I haven’t conducted any projects using his historical-cognitive approach.

3

Inspired by Gruber, I launched the Slow Cognition project in January 2022 to explore the long-term cognitive development processes of professionals.

4

I designed Knowledge Discovery Canvas to initiate this project as Phase I of Slow Cognition. While it produced a new tool for mapping knowledge discovery, it didn’t achieve the original goal of the project.

5

In April 2022, I contacted theoretical sociologist Ping-keung Lui and began studying his theoretical sociology.

6

In May 2022, I launched the Slow Cognition project (Phase II), using my creative process as a case study. The actual project was born.

7

I maintained regular communication with Mr. Lui, learning from his theoretical ideas and using his creative life as an example of Slow Cognition. Eventually, this exchange became a setting of my routine from April 2022 to April 2023.

8

In October 2022, I used some of Mr. Lui’s ideas as a meta-framework to curate my frameworks for studying creative work. This led to the development of Creative Life Theory (v1.0), with Mr. Lui’s work serving as a supportive platform for my creative journey.

9

Inspired by Mr. Lui’s creative life, I envisioned Creative Life Theory as my future vocation.

10

As an active LinkedIn user, I frequently engaged in discussions and built meaningful connections. One day, I realized that each LinkedIn post serves as a public square where strangers meet and exchange ideas.

11

This insight inspired me to start the Professional Knowledge Engagement project, guided by Creative Life Theory. In May 2023, I developed the “Professional Square” framework, leading to the creation of a network project. One outcome was the development of the Project Engagement (v3.0) theoretical toolkit.

12

By the end of 2023, I encountered a conflict between psychological and sociological theories in my creative journey, which prompted deeper reflections on integrating these fields.

13

In April 2024, I reflected on my five-year creative journey, during which I generated 30 books (drafts). This reflection led to a Creative Life Discovery project, generating new creative themes.

14

In May 2024, I set a vision to develop a Strategic Development Psychology over the next five years.

This isn’t a traditional, linear narrative — but that’s the value of using a spatial method in life narrative practice!

How You Can Support the Strategic Moves Project?

As an independent researcher and creator, my work is driven by curiosity, creativity, and a desire to explore new ideas. Projects like Strategic Moves, as well as others focused on creativity, social cognition, and knowledge engagement, require time, dedication, and resources.

If my work resonates with you and you find value in the ideas I’m exploring, there are several ways you can support it:

Visit my Ko-fi page: Your contributions help sustain ongoing research and creative development. Even small donations make a significant impact and enable me to focus on producing high-quality work.

https://ko-fi.com/oliverding

Engage with the content: Share my projects with your network or provide feedback. Engagement from a community of like-minded individuals helps spread the word and adds new perspectives to the work.
Collaborate: If you’re interested in collaboration, whether through joint projects, research, or workshops, feel free to reach out. Creative synergy can expand the scope and reach of these projects in exciting ways.

Your support, whether financial or in the form of engagement, is invaluable in helping me continue to explore and map creative landscapes, develop new frameworks, and share meaningful insights with the world.

Thank you for being part of this journey!