As a new member of the Radish Lab team (apprentice web developer), I’ve noticed a few catch phrases around the office. Some are new to me, some I’ve heard before but each one highlights an aspect of how Radish Lab works. Here are the ones I’ve collected so far:
1. Jour Fixe - Every Monday morning we have a team meeting to review all current projects. This includes status updates, goals for the week ahead, issues to address and a chance for everyone to swap ideas and present on new discoveries. The jour fixe is crucial for cross-pollination and a great way to share weekend highlights.
2. Blind Spot Lab - This one was new to me but I’ve found it to be a valuable approach. It’s a sort of scrum where we head off potential obstacles on a project, identify challenges and create a tailored plan of attack. Because being able to foresee any snags is critical to managing their solutions.
3. Discovery Lab - This is our research phase where we take a deep dive and come up with a creative game plan. The first step in finding the right solution is defining the problem and that’s what the Discovery Lab is for. It’s the true value of a creative agency and sets the stage for a project’s success.
4. Whiteboard - With all the digital tools we use, the whiteboard is still essential for thinking through complex problems. Often used as a verb by developers to mean quickly sketching something out—in code or otherwise—whiteboarding really is breaking down a process into it’s component parts to understand how to work through it.
5. Leverage - Leverage is a great word for highlighting what’s working for you. It’s about how best to utilize your assets and tap into any and all available resources. And it’s a good stand-in for committing to a direction or emphasizing an effective idea.
6. Trioritize - A Radish Lab original, Trioritize is a blend of triage and prioritize. An indispensable workflow tactic, trioritizing is how Radish Lab keeps things running smoothly. Completing tasks in the right order and staying agile when issues arise improve immeasurably how a job gets done.
7. Deploy - This is said a lot by our development team and it’s a wonderful word. It means we’ve hit a milestone and have something to show for our efforts. We have something to work with, to play with, to tweak, to modify, to improve and when it’s finally deployed live, to show the world.
8. Data - Data are quantified information and when properly organized and presented, they’re incredibly powerful. When data are made interactive, information can adapt to how the user wants to consume it. At Radish Lab, clearly visualizing data lets us communicate layered and dynamic knowledge in compelling ways.
9. Story - With those data, we then build stories. After all, stories are still how people communicate and understand best. They help us relate to each other and our world by appealing to our grasp of narrative. Storytelling is an art form and one Radish Lab excels at.
10. Impact - This just means making a real difference. Yes, I’m biased but I’ve found Radish Lab to operate under the premise that you’ll do better work when you believe in what you’re doing and who you’re working with. And when the work is done right, it will have real impact.