Two out of 300,000
The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) has roughly 300,000 pieces of art spanning 5,000 years of human history. If you looked at each piece for 30 seconds at a time, it would take 312 days, assuming an 8-hour day. With no breaks.
So, when my wife and I signed up for one of the free 45-minute tours at the AIC, I had my doubts. Maybe a guide could give a brief history of the museum itself, list off some of the more famous works, and then race by a handful of them. In a museum this big, skimming the surface had to be the tour’s only option.
To my surprise, our tour guide took us to see just two works of art — The Basket of Apples (1893) by Cézanne and Old Man with a Gold Chain (1631) by Rembrandt.
Two.
Out of 300,000!
We went deep with both pieces. We compared and contrasted them. We stood in silence before them. Our guide shared a great deal of his expertise while also continually turning the whole tour into a shared conversation about art in relation to authenticity, truth and how to be better humans. It was the single best museum tour I’ve ever had. And the fact that it included just two pieces of art is actually what made it so uniquely good.
More, that’s the same magic that is a game-changer for countless other endeavors, not the least of which is one of the best tools a leader has today — Storytelling. However, as leaders across the board double down on their storytelling skills, the trap that many fall into is trying to make their point or insight via a big, broad, universal story that everyone can relate to. Light on details, big on generic truths. Light on vulnerability, big on vague success. It’s the Skimming the Surface approach.
And those stories never land. The truth about stories that stir, awaken, and move people? They dive deep on one moment, one interaction, one granular aspect of reality. And - in telling that small story - they end up reaching everybody. Depth is what truly travels.
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A few days after our tour, I wrote a note to the Art Institute of Chicago thanking them for the best museum tour I’d ever enjoyed. That same week I also told a few locals that they absolutely have to do one of the Institute’s tours.
Gratitude and enthusiasm flow when you shut out the 300,000 things you could and should say and risk going deep on just one or two. It’s true for storytelling. And it’s true for leaders and organizations, too.
