Artists can teach leaders a lot about creativity and innovation. In my recent Inc.com column I’ve laid out five creativity strategies from five world famous artists. Read the full article here.
Tag: picasso
The rivalry between Picasso and Matisse can teach us how competition can make us better, more creative, and more innovative. Read my full article on competition, Picasso, and Matisse on Inc.com.
There are those that say: “I work well with others when they leave me alone.”
The following presentation isn’t for them.
Partnerships can drain, dilute, and deplete creativity and innovation. Ernest efforts to ‘work’ side-by-side, turn into long hours of hanging out, making jokes, and producing little.
Yet some partnerships can energize, enliven, and excite visions and agendas. Just look at the following three examples:
The recent airing of General McChrystal’s grievances of the Obama administration’s handling of the war in Afghanistan through a public outlet has raised a series of important dilemmas for individuals hoping to enact reform within their organizations. How should I go about drawing attention to problems within my business?
One on hand keeping the matter “in the family” can spare higher ups having to deal with potentially embarrassing inquires and audits which will also undoubtedly keep you in your bosses’ good graces. However, without any external pressure there exists the likelihood that your ideas will falter, as a powerful motivation of change has dissipated. Conversely, you can choose to go public with your misgivings, increasing the probability that change will occur, albeit with the added price of media scrutiny and a sure trip to the unemployment insurance rolls. Usually, I think many would agree that informing principals of your qualms and deploying political competence to see these change through is the optimal solution. However, if the situation merits urgent attention your best option may be to blow things up and take the requisite lumps that will come. One such situation emerged in the years preceding the full outbreak of World War II.
Throughout history, art has undeniably been linked to propagandistic motives. Picasso’s Geurnica was painted after the tragic bombing of Guernica by Nazi bombers in the hope of drawing international attention to the tragedies of the Spanish countryside. Painted in 1937, Pablo Picasso masterfully conveys the suffering of the Basque people and the tragedy of war. In choosing such a public forum, one of Spain’s artistic lights was able to draw international attention the suffering of his people.
Picasso used light and dark shadows and images to amplify the atrocity of these heinous acts. In order to maximize international attention, he highlights victims by using representations of light and dark along with a linear composition to emphasize the inhumanity and terror caused by the Franco regime.
Unfortunately, in some cases perverse incentives (typically delayed promotion, being labeled as a snitch, or even fear of termination) keep employees unwilling to collaborate with employers. Non-hierarchical workplaces can temper some of these anxieties and help keep tensions at a minimum. Occasionally, problems need to be addressed in larger forums, which should be used to gauge general concerns and begin to build a consensus towards finding acceptable solutions. Picasso’s painting served this purpose, a large-scale mural, which directed the conversation.
Every organization faces two competing demands: it must execute its current activities and adapt those same activities to face future opportunities and challenges. Organizations hoping to maintain a competitive edge must be able to accurately diagnosis internal malaise.
Business leaders aren’t always raised in a board room. More often than not they have to work long hours to gain the respect and influence they have. The following business leaders prove that moving up the ladder takes more then a degree or two and a letter of reference. Instead, it takes the ability to work odd jobs, have interesting experiences, and learn from them.
1. John Y. Brown, Jr.: Before Brown made the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken into a household name–he sold Encyclopedia Britannica door-to-door. While Brown attended law school he earned an estimated $60,000 a year selling the reference works to Kentucky’s bibliophiles. Later, Brown entered politics and became the governor of Kentucky.
2. Michael Dell: Chances are you’ve used one of his Dell computers. However, it’s unlikely that you ate at the Chinese restaurant he used to work at when he was 12 years old. Dell was a host at a local Chinese restaurant until he was bought out by a neighboring Mexican restaurant a year later. When he was 16 he sold newspaper subscriptions by cornering the newlywed and new resident markets with a direct mailing campaign. Needless to say, he dropped the sales job to study computers.
3. Stephen M. Case: Case, founder of AOL, was one of the first entrepreneurs to set America and the Internet up on a blind date. Before that Case worked in Pizza Hut’s marketing department testing and advertising new flavor combinations. What Case discovered, we individually knew: people like their pizza simple. The basic cheese, crust, and sauce recipe always won out over complex flavor mash-ups and cheese stuffed crusts. He brought this “keep it simple” aesthetic to AOL and made the internet as user friendly as possible.
4. Ben Cohen: Cohen was a part-time, minimum-wage-making, Renaissance man before he helped create the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s. Cohen worked as a McDonald’s cashier, a security guard, a taxi driver, and a mop-boy at the restaurant chain Friendly’s until he finally settled down and became a teacher. His steady teaching job gave him the free time to start experimenting with quirky ice cream ideas. As you probably know, he had a knack for flavors and eventually started a small ice cream shop in Vermont.
5. Adolf Zukor: Zukor redefined the film industry. He made one company responsible for the production, distribution, and exhibition of a film. It was a winning formula that made Paramount Pictures a industry leader. Yet, Zukor wasn’t always involved with the stage. Oddly enough he was involved in what stands in front of it. He was a hard-up New York immigrant chair upholsterer. Later, he got into the fur and fur sewing business and made a large fortune. He used his new fortune to invest in a playhouse along with a friend. The profits convinced him that he was on to something and he eventually created Paramount Pictures.
6. Christian Dior: His family wanted him to be a diplomat and he wanted to become an architect. It’s too bad he became one of the biggest names in fashion. Dior’s first job wasn’t exactly grueling. He was a gallery owner in Paris who sold works by Picasso, Braque, and Cocteau. Sadly the gallery shuttered when Dior’s family lost their wealth just before World War II erupted. After the war Dior was convinced France and the world were ready for a new fashion and a new look. His artistic eye and tastes, molded from his days as an art dealer, helped him shape and define post-war fashion.
7. Warren Buffett: Now the CEO and primary share holder of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett wasn’t always one of the world’s richest men. Instead, he was a newspaper delivery boy who worked small side gigs to get by. He famously filed his first income tax return in 1944 at the age of 14. He landed a $35 dollar deduction for the use of his bike and watch on his paper route.
8. BONUS—William Addis: In 1770 Addis was imprisoned in England for starting a riot. While he was there he wanted to make something of himself–so he turned his attention to oral hygiene. At the time teeth were brushed with a rag dipped into soot and salt. Addis had a better idea. He stole a bone form his prison meal, whittled holes into it, and lodged bristles into the holes. The modern tooth brush was born. When Addis was released from prison he massed produced the toothbrush and became wealthy by 1780.
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