Prism Decision Systems

  • Email
  • RSS
  • HOME
  • THE EIGHT KEYS
    • Buy Now
    • Reader Praise for the Eight Keys
  • BLOG
    • Papers
    • Readings
You are here: Home / Decision-making / Decision is the virtue of the will

12/18/2017 by Sean Brady

Decision is the virtue of the will

*The is a re-post from June 2013*

Today in my neighborhood I passed by workers installing rebar-reinforced concrete. Recently, I went to a movie theater that had floor lighting I could walk on. About a month ago, I had dinner in my neighbor’s “great room.” My architect brother has always been a great fan of track lighting. So what, you say?
Taliesin West 2
Last month, my wife and I visited Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter residence and architectural campus in the Sonoran Desert. Having grown up in a Buffalo, New York neighborhood home to the Darwin Martin Complex and the Davidson House, we were very familiar with the famed architect’s reputation as an iconoclast.

Nonetheless, we were stunned to learn that Wright had introduced all four of these innovations — the great room, track lighting, floor lighting, and steel reinforcement in concrete — during the construction of this desert masterpiece and National Historic Landmark. As we toured Taliesin West, we wondered: What makes such a great innovator? We could imagine Wright thinking, Everyone else puts lights in the ceiling, so I guess I’ll put the lights in the floor.

FL Wright Organic Commandments

On the last stop of the tour, we marveled at yet another innovation, the movie theater. Designed as an irregular hexagon, the theater achieves 95% acoustic purity, according to the docent. To demonstrate, he lowered his voice to a whisper and then slowly turned his back to us. We could still hear him clearly despite the fact that we were sitting in the very back row.

Turning to leave, we discovered Wright’s Organic Commandments displayed rather inconspicuously on a metal sign toward the back of the theater:

  • LOVE is the virtue of the HEART
  • SINCERITY the virtue of the MIND
  • COURAGE the virtue of the SPIRIT
  • DECISION the virtue of the WILL

Discovering these Commandments helped to satisfy our need to know what made Wright an iconoclast. More importantly, we agreed that the Organic Commandments could be the foundation upon which to build any rich, creative and productive life.

Share this post:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Decision-making Tagged With: creative problem solving, innovation

Like What You’re Reading? Subscribe Today!

Contact

[email protected]

Buy Now!

You Are What You Decide is now available in paperback and for all e-Readers.

BLOG: SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Blog: recent posts

Prism Decision Systems, LLC: 25 fulfilling years

Resilience in three steps: endure, adapt & thrive

How to run successful virtual decision-making meetings

The power of Amazon’s press release and FAQ protocol

Leadership during a pandemic: Joseph McShane, S.J.

Blog: all posts

BLOG: SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Contact

Sean Brady
President
Prism Decision Systems, LLC
[email protected]

 

Search this website

Connect

  • Email
  • RSS

Copyright © 2022 · Prism Decision Systems, LLC · [email protected]

 

Loading Comments...