Circling Back
The project was simple: a group picture where each artist painted one square of a picture. I gave John the middle since he was our virtuoso.
The outside came together quickly. I started emailing. Tactfully.
Hi John, just wanted follow up about the bridge picture . . .
John, just circling back about the picture . . .
Hey there, a gentle reminder concerning . . .
John, just touching base about the upcoming show . . .
I called, suggested someone else. No, no, he insisted. It would be done.
Finally, the exhibition day arrived, the colorful squares surrounding a patch of unfulfilled white.
I changed the title to Circling Back.
As someone who spends a lot of their working day emailing people, I have used some of these to gently get someone to do something. However, since I also have more work than any one person can realistically do, I also get a lot of people sending these to me as well.
The Green-Walled Treehouse 
I enjoyed the composite picture you posted, David, and the story of its creation. This is the problem with teamwork. There’s always one.
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Thanks, Jen. I’ve gotten into creating extra images to go with the story and this one seemed to call for it more.
Of course, you could probably just leave the middle blank on a picture and people would just think it was art anyway and get some meaning out of it. 🙂
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Absolutely- people love to interpret art, and white space is no different
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It’s one reason why I really dislike collaborating with others. I always have one person who drags the rest of the team down.
Well done, good sir.
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Yep, there’s always one. That’s why group projects in school can be a trial with the wrong people.
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An adaptable response
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Loved this, great image too.
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I think the disrespect from John has ruined a great piece of team work. Should have dropped him when he failed to respond. This says a lot about collaborating and team work.
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Ingenious title and theme. It was a phrase I wasn’t familiar with until a certain White House spokesperson started peppering their work with it.
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I can relate to this story….having to find a way to manage around someone else’s incomplete work. Email is a taskmaster that can hold you captive and addicted, I just switched roles and my daily email dropped to single digits. It’s frightening but I’m allowing myself to heal from e-mail/work overload.
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Yep, been there done that, and sometimes you just have to call the unfinished work “Art”.
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I’ve dealt with John before, myself!
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Ugh. Much as I can be a team player, I so do not like having to deal with that one (there always is one!) who doesn’t do their share…
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John reminds me of the guy in college who didn’t do his part when it comes to group assignments. Hilarious but meaningful story.
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Procrastination is a hard trait to conquer, but we have hope for John. Always love your Friday. F.. that first-class imagination of yours at its flash fictional best. 🙂
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Email has its limits. Excellent story, David.
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Love this artful creation 🙂
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Dear David,
I can always count on you to not be part of the herd of predictable stories. John is not a team player. Well done. BTW Did you get my email?
Shalom,
Rochelle
PS Just kidding about the email. 😉
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I like what Trent said and that seems to be what you’ve done with your story. I remember one “team member” at school that was always coming up with lame excuses why it wasn’t done. When I called her out on it, the other team members looked at me like I was the one in the wrong. Now she’s an elected official. Go figure!
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