TED Salon Brightline Initiative
Matt Goldman: The search for "aha!" moments
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In 1988, Matt Goldman co-founded Blue Man Group, an off-Broadway production that became a sensation known for its humor, blue body paint and wild stunts. The show works on the premise that certain conditions can create "aha moments" -- moments of surprise, learning and exuberance -- frequent and intentional rather than random and occasional. Now Goldman is working to apply the lessons learned from Blue Man Group to education, creating Blue School, a school that balances academic mastery, creative thinking and self and social intelligence. "We need to cultivate safe and conducive conditions for new and innovative ideas to evolve and thrive," Goldman says.
Matt Goldman - Entrepreneur
Matt Goldman is a co-founder of the international theatrical sensation Blue Man Group and the NYC-based Blue School. Full bio
Matt Goldman is a co-founder of the international theatrical sensation Blue Man Group and the NYC-based Blue School. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
So it's 1969, New York City,
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third grade music class,
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and our teacher brings us into a room
with nothing but a piano and chairs.
with nothing but a piano and chairs.
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And one by one, he calls us up,
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and he plays middle C,
and he asks us to sing it.
and he asks us to sing it.
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(Singing)
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And you're either instructed
to go to the right of the room
to go to the right of the room
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or the left side of the room.
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(Laughter)
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And when all 35 kids are done,
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the left side of the room,
which I was a part of,
which I was a part of,
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was told to stand up
and go back to home room.
and go back to home room.
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(Laughter)
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And none of us ever received
another music class again
another music class again
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in elementary school.
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An in club and an out club
was established,
was established,
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and I didn't even know
what the gating test was in the moment.
what the gating test was in the moment.
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A few years later, English class ...
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(Laughter)
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first paper of a new semester,
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and I get the paper back,
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and it's C+,
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with the comment,
"Good as can be expected."
"Good as can be expected."
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(Laughter)
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Now, honestly, I didn't mind a C+.
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I was just happy it wasn't a C- or a D.
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But the "good as can be
expected" comment ...
expected" comment ...
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even at that young age,
it didn't seem right.
it didn't seem right.
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It seemed somehow limiting.
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Now, how many people here
have had an experience similar to that,
have had an experience similar to that,
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either at school or the workplace?
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We're not alone.
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So I guess it might be ironic
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that my life path
would lead me to a career
would lead me to a career
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of making music and writing
for Blue Man Group
for Blue Man Group
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(Laughter)
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and starting a school.
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(Laughter)
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But school was torture for me.
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As someone who didn't have
a natural proclivity for academics,
a natural proclivity for academics,
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and my teachers never seemed
to understand me,
to understand me,
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I didn't know how to navigate schools
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and schools didn't know
what to do with me.
what to do with me.
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So I started to ask the question,
even back then,
even back then,
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if these environments
didn't know what to do
didn't know what to do
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with people who didn't fit
a standard mold,
a standard mold,
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why weren't we reshaping the environments
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to take advantage of people's strengths?
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What I've come to believe
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is that we need to cultivate
safe and conducive conditions
safe and conducive conditions
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for new and innovative ideas
to evolve and thrive.
to evolve and thrive.
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We know that humans
are innately innovative,
are innately innovative,
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because if we weren't,
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we'd all be using the same arrowheads
that we were using 10,000 years ago.
that we were using 10,000 years ago.
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So one of the things
that I started to question is,
that I started to question is,
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are there ways to make innovation easier
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and happen more frequently?
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Is there a way to take those aha moments,
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those breakthroughs that seem
to happen randomly and occasionally,
to happen randomly and occasionally,
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and have them happen
intentionally and frequently?
intentionally and frequently?
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When we started Blue Man Group in 1988,
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we had never done
an off-Broadway show before.
an off-Broadway show before.
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We'd actually done almost no theater.
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But we knew what we were passionate about,
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and it was a whole series of things
that we had never seen onstage before,
that we had never seen onstage before,
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things like art and pop culture
and technology and sociology
and technology and sociology
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and anthropology and percussion
and comedy and following your bliss.
and comedy and following your bliss.
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We established a rule
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that nothing made it onstage
if we had seen it before,
if we had seen it before,
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and we wanted to inspire
creativity and connectedness
creativity and connectedness
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in ourselves and our audiences;
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we wanted to do
a little bit of social good,
a little bit of social good,
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and we wanted to have fun doing it.
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And in the office,
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we wanted to create an environment
where people treated each other
where people treated each other
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just a little bit better,
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just a little bit more
respect and consideration
respect and consideration
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than in the outside world.
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And we continued to iterate
and collaborate and find solutions
and collaborate and find solutions
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to create things that hadn't been seen.
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Over time, I've come to identify
the optimal conditions
the optimal conditions
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for these types of creative
and innovative environments
and innovative environments
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are clear intent, purpose and passion:
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this is working on something
bigger than ourselves.
bigger than ourselves.
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Personal integrity:
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it's doing what we say we're going to do.
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It's being our authentic self
in all interactions.
in all interactions.
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Direct communication
and clear expectations,
and clear expectations,
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even when the subject matter is difficult.
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Grit and perseverance:
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iteration, iteration, iteration.
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Establish collaborative teams.
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Instill deep trust and mutual respect.
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Everyone on your team is in.
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There is no out club.
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We rise as a team, we fall as a team,
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and decisions are decisions
until they're not.
until they're not.
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Embrace multiple perspectives.
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This means all voices matter,
all emotions matter.
all emotions matter.
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Address disagreements head-on.
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People should feel seen and heard.
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Take risks and celebrate mistakes.
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A commitment to being
a learning organization,
a learning organization,
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always trying to spiral upwards
the innovation and learning curves.
the innovation and learning curves.
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And speak in one voice.
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This is perhaps the glue
that holds all these conditions together.
that holds all these conditions together.
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The concept is that we speak
in the exact same manner
in the exact same manner
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about someone who's not in the room
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as if they are in the room.
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Now this seems basic,
but it's an aspirational practice
but it's an aspirational practice
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that helps deal with difficult situations
in a more respectful way.
in a more respectful way.
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Sewing this practice in can have
a profound effect on raising the bar,
a profound effect on raising the bar,
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on mutual respect, trust,
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reducing gossip and politics
in the office and the classroom,
in the office and the classroom,
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and thus reducing the noise that gets
in the way of the innovative process.
in the way of the innovative process.
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At Blue Man Group, iteration
was essential for our creative process.
was essential for our creative process.
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We were writing a piece
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where we were trying to illustrate
the consumption / waste loop
the consumption / waste loop
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in a funny and creative
and surprising way for our audiences.
and surprising way for our audiences.
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Now, if you have yourselves thought about
trying to do the same endeavor,
trying to do the same endeavor,
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I can save you a lot of time
right here and now.
right here and now.
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I can definitively tell you
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that oatmeal, Jell-O, Cream of Wheat,
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Gak, pudding, clay, tapioca,
Silly Putty and tomato paste
Silly Putty and tomato paste
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do not slide through a tube
that's coiled up under your costumes
that's coiled up under your costumes
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that's meant to come out
an orifice in your chest
an orifice in your chest
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and spray towards the audience.
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It won't happen.
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(Laughter)
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After months of iteration,
we finally happened upon bananas.
we finally happened upon bananas.
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(Laughter)
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Who knew that bananas
would have the exact right properties
would have the exact right properties
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to stay solid even when pushed
through a tube with forced air,
through a tube with forced air,
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yet slippery enough to have
the dramatic oozing effect
the dramatic oozing effect
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that we were looking for.
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(Laughter)
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This piece became a signature
of the Blue Man show.
of the Blue Man show.
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But we didn't throw out
all the rules of theater altogether.
all the rules of theater altogether.
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We had set designs.
We had lighting designs.
We had lighting designs.
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We had a stage manager calling the shows.
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But I'm fairly sure
we were one of the very first shows
we were one of the very first shows
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that was connecting with our audience
in a respectful way,
in a respectful way,
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by hanging them upside down,
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(Laughter)
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dipping them in paint,
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slamming them against a canvas,
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(Laughter)
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putting their heads
in 70 pounds of Jell-O,
in 70 pounds of Jell-O,
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and then making them
one of the heroes of the show.
one of the heroes of the show.
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(Laughter)
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Besides that, we didn't reinvent
what didn't need to be reinvented.
what didn't need to be reinvented.
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(Laughter)
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Years later, we took all this learning
and we created a school --
and we created a school --
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a school for our children
that we wish we had gone to,
that we wish we had gone to,
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a school where it was just as important
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what happened in the hallways
between classes
between classes
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as what happened in the classes;
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a place where you got music class
even when you couldn't sing middle C.
even when you couldn't sing middle C.
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At Blue School, teachers
and parents and students
and parents and students
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are equal collaborators at the table,
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intentionally creating a safe space
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where they can develop
a lifelong, joyful passion for learning.
a lifelong, joyful passion for learning.
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Again, we didn't try to reinvent the wheel
when it didn't need to be reinvented.
when it didn't need to be reinvented.
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We don't shy away from
the more traditional methods
the more traditional methods
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like direct instruction,
when it's the best way into a lesson.
when it's the best way into a lesson.
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But we balance it with an integrated
learning across all subjects approach,
learning across all subjects approach,
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and balance is the key.
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In fact, Blue School was founded
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on a balance between academic mastery,
creative thinking,
creative thinking,
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and self and social intelligence.
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I realize that this might sound
like common sense,
like common sense,
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but in some circles, this is radical.
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(Laughter)
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And these qualities have brought
a lot of attention to Blue School
a lot of attention to Blue School
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as a truly innovative school.
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Nearly 10 years in,
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we announced the expansion
of the middle school.
of the middle school.
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Our faculty asked our sixth graders
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to participate in the development
of middle school values.
of middle school values.
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Their process began with a question:
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What do you need from our community
to be happy and productive at school?
to be happy and productive at school?
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Students moved through a six-week process
of individual work, collaborative work,
of individual work, collaborative work,
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refinement, and consensus,
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and the list they came up with
is really extraordinary.
is really extraordinary.
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Be engaged and present with each other.
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Respect and support
what others need in order to learn.
what others need in order to learn.
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Be inclusive of our diversity --
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the way we look, think and act.
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Cultivate the practice of self-awareness
and awareness of others.
and awareness of others.
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Honor and make time for fun and joy.
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And challenge ourselves,
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practice being OK,
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making mistakes,
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and support each other through them.
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Remember, these kids were 11 years old
when they came up with this.
when they came up with this.
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They articulated what took us
20 years to identify.
20 years to identify.
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One of the great by-products
of creating these vibrant communities
of creating these vibrant communities
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is that we become attractors for people
who want to prioritize these values.
who want to prioritize these values.
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They want to prioritize it above things
like money and prestige and tradition.
like money and prestige and tradition.
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We can all be on this road together,
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you at your own values
in your own companies,
in your own companies,
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in your own communities and families.
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For us, for me, it was about
prioritizing children's voices
prioritizing children's voices
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to give them the tools to help build
a harmonious and sustainable world.
a harmonious and sustainable world.
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I invite you to be on this exciting,
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passionate, joyful journey together.
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And together, good as can be expected
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is limitless when the expectation
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is that by reshaping our environments,
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we can change the world.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Matt Goldman - EntrepreneurMatt Goldman is a co-founder of the international theatrical sensation Blue Man Group and the NYC-based Blue School.
Why you should listen
A few of Matt Goldman's titles include award-winning writer and performer, Grammy-nominated musician and composer, co-founder of the international theatrical sensation Blue Man Group, CEO of its parent organization Blue Man Productions, and co-founder of the NYC-based Blue School.
Goldman spent his boyhood in New York City, with parents who encouraged him to learn about a diverse range of interests. After earning an MBA degree, he began a career in software development, only to step away from the growing industry to follow where the Blue Man path would lead. His business knowledge assisted the friends early on, guiding them to make decisions in regard to the longevity and ownership of their creative work.
After nearly twenty years at the Blue Man helm with Chris Wink and Phil Stanton, Goldman made the decision to follow his passion for learning and education. The threesome teamed up with other artists and educators to form Blue School in New York City. With over 300 students enrolled in Pre-K through 8th grade, the school is designed to reimagine a more complete, balanced and exuberant approach to education. Goldman serves as Board Vice-Chair and co-Founder of the school.
Matt Goldman | Speaker | TED.com