Beware the Ideas of March, or, Be Creative

by Amy Matsumoto, KPFF Consulting Engineers, SMPS Seattle President

Did you all have a fabulous February?  Since the month was longer than usual I hope you had time to be communicative with your SMPS friends!  Now we’ve transitioned into March, what comes to mind is the phrase: “Beware the Ides of March.” What exactly are the Ides of March?  I had to look it up.  There is a lot more to it than a movie with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling.  In a nutshell, it could be most popularly known as the time leading up to March 15, the assassination of Julius Caesar.  He ignored a warning he was given about being killed.  Shakespeare used the phrase “Beware the Ides of March” in his play, Julius Caesar.  I guess you could call it a modern day social media post.  If anyone has more information on the Ides of March, feel free to share…I’m sure we can put a marketing spin on it somehow.

On that note, let’s move on to happy thoughts of daylight savings, spring, shamrocks, bunnies, and chocolate.  But I’ll digress – have you ever woken up thinking it is one day when really it is another?  Then all week, your timeframe is messed up.  You get dressed for soccer, show up at the field, and no one is there because it’s the wrong night…  That’s what March is making me feel this year. Darn leap day. Regardless of what month we all think we are in, this month Seattle SMPS will Be Creative!

“Creativity, after all, is like a muscle that should be trained, or else it would get out of shape.” Kevin Mark Rabida

There are several opportunities this month to exercise that creative muscle, starting with the Fellows Forum, March 10: Knowledge Management & Knowledge Sharing.  Come be a part of the forum, ask questions, learn ideas and share ideas.

March 15 use your creativity and guessing skills to fill out your NCAA brackets at our March Madness Tip-Off Happy Hour.  Have fun meeting and mingling with fellow SMPSers too!

On March 22, our monthly breakfast will talk about The Future of Visual Communication.  Amy Balliett, CEO and co-founder of Killer Infographics will explain the science behind the growing consumer need for visual storytelling, how to put visual communication into action, and what the future holds for this new industry.

April 7, is Trivia Night! Form a team of four and come up with a creative team name.  Who knows? A question on the Ides of March may be asked and you’ll know the answer! 

See you all soon –

Amy Matsumoto