Quality people and people’s qualities
Happyplaces Stories
Last week I was one of the speakers at the first Access to Quality (A2Q) Conference in Amsterdam. An intimate gathering of people connected to the A2Q network came together to celebrate, and be inspired by some other members from the network. During this first Access to Quality Conference in Amsterdam, eight speakers threw a light on quality from their personal perspectives, to get a better understanding of what quality is and means today. I decided not to talk about my profession as a creative strategist/strategic creative, but to share three stories about people’s qualities and their acts of quality and what I’ve learned from the people I’ve had in front of my camera for Happyplaces so far.
Act #01: Anton Corbijn
Things never just happen. When I had a new web site several years ago, I created a section named Heroes. Here, I listed people that inspired me, or still did, for who they are or what they did. Some of them didn’t live anymore, most of them did ☺ Some of them were ‘famous’ people, some people should be ‘famous’ and others weren’t. But that didn’t affect their status in any way, since the listing was completely random. With this page I wanted to say thank you.
Like, for example, Anton Corbijn. You might probably know him, since he is an international renown photographer and director. I did a couple of projects with him once. But think you know him better because of his work for U2, R.E.M., Coldplay, and many, many others. Or his recent films like Control, The American with George Clooney or A Most Wanted Man with Philip Seymour Hoffman. That all is nice, or course, but that was not the reason to list him in that ‘heroes’ section.
So why is he a Hero? That’s a longer story. We met to work together on an annual report for a client, when I was working at an agency in Amsterdam. Anton was the commissioned photographer for that project. We had some intensive sessions to make his work look great in print, making sure we managed to capture all the desired richness of his work in print. His analogue prints had to be digitised for reproduction. The test prints we sent him did not really match what he saw on his screen in London, so he came over to solve that together. And while a bunch of people at the lithographer’s place was working on fixing that, he was sleeping on the floor.
I remember we had a really fun taxi ride, from the lithographer to Amsterdam. He told about his plans for a movie, his first movie Control. He said that it would be awkward to make a film, because it would involve a lot of people and he is used to work alone, or with only his assistant. He told some great jokes and stories too. It was nice to find out that someone I truly admired for his work, was also a genuinely great and authentic person. And that all the projected assumptions I had about ‘famous people’, turned out to be untrue. Instantly. He is just a genuinely nice person. He is just Anton, also figuring things out along the way, not having all the answers. Of course. Like anybody else.
Fast forward.
When I was working at Fabrique several years later, we won the competition for that same annual report. Other agency, same assignment. Great! With Anton as the photographer, of course. That annual report turned even better, and we won even more prizes with it. But this is not about why Anton in that ‘heroes’ section either.
Several years ago, my brother, then aged 35, had a stroke. My brother is a big fan of Anton’s work, as he is a true music fanatic and fan of a lot of bands and artist Anton took photo’s of.
Things didn’t look to good for my brother and it was quite uncertain how he would turn out. Having a stroke when you are 35 is in itself not a good thing. He was at a basketball game, not even playing when he just collapsed. Good thing he was amongst friends, who acted very decisively, calling the emergency services and me. I remember just being there in seconds. Obviously, that took some time, but I just remember being at home and then seconds later being there, in that sports hall. The paramedics were already there too, putting him on a stretcher, into an ambulance. I chased the ambulance to the hospital. My brother was already in the emergency room when I arrived. I remember I had to call my mother from the hospital, which was quite a thing since I was also expecting our first child. So when I called her, saying I was in the hospital, she first thought it was because of that. Not knowing it was her own son. I hoped not to have to make more of those calls in the future.
Days later, when I was visiting him in the hospital, he had a good day for a change but in the meantime he was quite gloomy and dejected. Questioning what happened to him, also because of his age.
So I had this silly idea: why not call Anton Corbijn and ask him to say something. Silly idea. I thought. Why would he do that? And when I was about to call, my brother dozed off again. Hm. So I sent Anton a text message, explaining the situation, and if he could call me back, and then leave a message on my voice mail so I could play that, when my brother woke up again.
A few minutes later, my phone rang.
Anton.
And even though I was tempted to pick up, I didn’t.
Then, silence.
It felt like it took forever.
A few minutes later, my phone beeped.
A message from Anton.
For my brother.
What a hero. I was truly stunned by the fact that he actually did this. So great. When my brother woke up, I played the message to his ear.
The message from Anton was beautiful.
He first introduced himself.
That he had heard that my brother wasn’t doing to good.
And that he hoped that it wasn’t to dark for him.
He said that he was in San Francisco.
He described the day he was experiencing.
What he was seeing.
That it was a beautiful sunny blue sky autumn day.
He painted a picture with words, with an attention to detail of a photographer. While listening to his voice, that picture built up in your mind. You could picture yourself being there.
He wished that he could give some of that to my brother.
That it was the kind of day that he wished everybody should experience, every day.
And that he hoped that everything would turn out fine.
That my brother could also sit in the sun again, both mentally and physically.
That was so great. And intense. A true boost of energy, tears and a happy brother with even a vague asymmetrical smile on his face.
That’s why Anton was listed as a Hero.
Because who is, not about what he is.
None of his photo’s or movies can ever match this act of kindness.
Act #02: Howard Komproe
Fast forward in time. A couple of weeks later, my brother was doing a lot better and made good progress in recovery. We also learned what the caused the stroke. Turned out he had a small tear in the carotid artery, probably caused by braking hard while driving, where his safety gave a sharp rap on the neck. Something that could have happened to anybody.
Shortly after, I had Howard Komproe on the phone. He is a Dutch comedian. I told him about what happened to my brother. And believe me, when we were talking, things weren’t looking too good. Potential paralysis, or things alike. People aged 35 shouldn’t get strokes to begin with. When we were talking, I was in the hospital.
I knew Howard mainly as the man in a lion costume in a commercial for a bank, like probably most Dutch people at that time. I met Howard for a project where he was the host. After the project, we started talking and I instantly learned that he was much more that just being a lion in commercials and a comedian. He told me about the projects he was involved in, using comedy to help people in difficult positions. Also a lot of projects that involve children that need special attention. I was pleasantly surprised. Why didn’t I know? Well it is in itself quite easy not to know that, because most of the time we tend to have a quite one-dimensial and biased view of people that you know from TV. But what totally struck me was that he used his talent to help people. For example, by helping kids in juvenile prisons to better deal with their situation through comedy.
Since we met, we had frequent contact, like that day in the hospital. So, when I told him where I was, he said: ‘Can I talk to your brother?’ He was awake. Howard: ‘Put him on the phone.’
They spent over half an hour talking nonsense. I saw, looking at my brother, that he was really enjoying that which was really, really nice.
Howard promised, that when he was on tour in the neighbourhood, he would notify me or my brother. So he did. Weeks later. He sent me a text message: ‘Veenendaal, Leeuwarden or Enschede? Which city is doable for your brother? I will put him on the guest list, +1.’ Wow. However, each of those cities is over an hour drive from Meppel. Topography is clearly not Howard’s strongest point. I replied that those cities were no option really. He replied that there was also a show planned in a city closer by, but with a different assembly of the entourage he is a part of. But, that he could try to trade places with someone else. And so he did. Someone else would switch places with him in Amsterdam, so he could play in Zwolle, which is close to Meppel. Amazing. Isn’t that truly sweet? I think so.
Act #03: Mr. Driver
Last year, I was invited to talk in São Paulo. The organisation arranged a driver to pick me up from the airport. A really nice and friendly person. We had great conversations driving from the airport to the city and my hotel. I had never been in São Paulo before, so I was keen to find out to learn more about the city. So I asked him what I should remember from São Paulo.
Quiet.
After a while he said: ‘We have really nice parks.’ I was quite disappointed with that reply. I was hoping for a list of things and places to visit, but no, just ‘nice parks’. Why travel almost 10,000 km to see a park?
But then he said: ‘No, São Paulo is people. It’s people. Because São Paulo is a the economic heart of Brazil. So you have no business being there if you have no business there. It’s the people that make the place.’ Thankfully I already had the ambition to meet some people and interview them for Happyplaces. And I did. I met the most amazing people while I was there. That huge chaotic city is the home of amazing and warm people who are doing the most amazing things. I only had a week there. I wished I had a month. But I can also imagine that when I would have had a month, that wouldn’t be sufficient either. I’m in love with the South American mentality. The Brazilian people have an alike spirit as the Mexican people I met during my visit to Mexico — the sincere urge to make a difference. A mentality that here in Europe is lacking. You see how lazy Europe is at 10,000 km distance, while feeling the energy of the South Americans. Amazing. Inspiring.
Yes, it’s the people.
What I’ve learned from Happyplaces Project so far, is that it is all about people. That no one truly knows how things should be. But everyone dreams about how things could be. That everyone, everywhere is struggling, all in their own way, for their own reasons and goals. That everyone has a story, is a story and has a story to tell that could matter to someone else. That it eventually is all about the individual qualities that people have that makes things interesting, diverse, special. And that all that is relative. That those qualities will always be perceived different by different people. Which is frustrating and great. Because that’s what keeps it interesting. And that there is no such thing as a universal truth about ‘quality people’. Most of the time, having a good conversation with someone will instantly change your view about someone.
There’s a quote saying: ‘If you want to know all there is to know about lions, go to the jungle, not to the zoo.’ The same applies to people. If you want to know more about people, talk to people. Go have a coffee. Bring a camera. Learn from other people’s qualities.
Teun Gautier, who I interviewed recently, said: ‘I’m in love with people.’ I think I am too.
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