When I was growing up, I used to get so excited watch Cosmos with my father (amongst other things like Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes). Now I watch Jersey Shore and Project Runway. Whaaaaa happened? That’s going to take a bit more soul-searching than I’m prepared to do now. As a planner, I’ve certainly wielded a few of Sherlock’s great quotes to make a point, or explain what I do. Can I get a “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” That’s not a question. So when I stumbled upon Cosmos’ “The Persistence of Memory” on the Science Channel my planner ears perked up… and my fingers got-a-typin’. Here are some Sagan sound-bytes for your mind (we still do alliteration like it’s nobody but our business)…and for external use at the risk of sounding like a jerk-off.

The units of biological evolution are genes. The units of cultural evolution are called ideas. Ideas have transported all over the planet. They reproduce through communications. They are selected by analysis and debate.

One thing will be clear about us: No one sends such a message on such a journey without a positive passion for the future.

I love this last one. I wish it was more true of our industry.

You see…but you do not observe

-Sherlock Holmes (Scandal in Bohemia)

As a strategist/planner, you can always count on finding a good quote for a presentation from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes, or his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson. Yet, my interest in him and these stories began to develop back when my father and I would watch “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (Granada Television production) starring Jeremy Brett on A&E. I’ve continued to dabble in this passion since with the video box set, the Complete Works in book form, The Rivals of SH, and some treasures I’ve found on my father’s book shelf like this:

My parents bought me a handmade chess set with SH characters (Moriarty is “king” on the villains side) when we were in Cork visiting my studying abroad sister. Besides sending out a huge “Nerd Alert,” it serves as a frequent but quiet reminder that all I’ve been doing is dabbling in these (chess too, I was runner-up in our elementary school tournament – take that!) passions.

This weekend, however, I stumbled across The Sherlock Holmes Social Network on Ning. In fact, it was a planning world connection that brought me back into the world of the detective. Plaid posted its new site for Crayon where a guy named Scott Monty heads up strategy, who happens to have formed the group (among other Sherlockian things – podcast, blog, and journal). Cool coincidence, right? It also got me excited to finally dive right into this passion.

You dabble…but you do not develop.

-El Gaffney (Getting My Holmes on, Holmes)