What is Visitor-Centered Thinking?

It's thinking that dwells on the experience of somebody who enters my space. My visitor will have some kind of experience, no matter what I do. I have an opportunity to shape that experience. My product is a memory. What sort of memory will it be?

If you enter the space of my workplace, I can be expected to do things to make you feel welcome, at ease, able to interact with positive energy. If I am effective, one of your memories will be the experience of "hospitality."

If you enter the space of my museum, I'd better think in exactly the same way. The foundation of the memories I hope to shape for you is the experience of "welcome" and active engagement with you. I want you to participate in what you learn and how you learn.

If you are going to be a learner in "my space," I need to imagine ways to help you earn "interest" on your "investment" of yourself in entering my space. I need to imagine "my space" as "our space" and be open to learning with you. If I can create a high degree of interest while you're in this space, I think you'll feel as if your investment of yourself brought handsome rewards. But if I bore you, I think you'll look for another "bank."

That is the gist of visitor-centered thinking. We're working on this so that ordinary institutions can become wonderful. The fuel of visitor-centered thinking is not a pool specialized knowledge. It is a pool of common knowledge, or ordinary social skills combined with common curiosity. We can build amazingly creative institutions when we release the imprisoned creativity of ordinary people.

Who are We?

Using VCT as a tag