My two cents would be
that I hope as we are able to intervene in organizations, we are costing the
benefits for our clients. If we expect to sit at the table with CEOs,
CFOs, CIOs, etc, then we need to be able to speak their language – now more
than ever – and that’s numbers.
I believe that the
arts are a necessity in all the arenas of our life, as they open and build
cognitive paths for new ideas. (I have evidence to back this up, but not
going down the grounded theory route here). That said, we still need to
be able to speak the language of the culture in which we are working.
Speaking the language provides credibility as well as allowing our audience to
“hear” us.
FYI: a good
book to start with if you haven’t done this sort of thing
is:
Costing Human
Resources: The Financial Impact of Behavior in
Organizations
By Wayne
Cascio
(1982) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
We have long secluded
the arts from the other areas of our society’s functioning rather than
embracing it as an integral part of our operation as humans. Now more
than ever, we need to use the benefits of a creative process to break through
the reified barriers that are holding this culture hostage. I see this
time as the supreme opportunity in our lifetime – much like our parents
grappled with WWII and the Depression.
As a new member to
AACORN myself, I find this discussion stimulating and exciting. Yes, as
one member stated previously, through debate and conversation, we are engaging
and finding our process, too. I’m honored to be a part of so many
thoughtful and practical (at the same time!)
colleagues!
Ok, this ended up
being more than two cents…
leslie
Leslie
Stager Jacques, PhD
Lecturer
Department of Management & International Business
Massey University, Albany Campus
Private Bag 102 904,
North Shore MSC
Auckland
New Zealand
Email [log in to unmask]
Phone + 64 9 414 0800 Ext. 9420
From: Aesthetics, Creativity, and
Organisations Research Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ralph Kerle
Sent: Thursday, 2 April 2009 2:24
a.m.
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re:
actualisation
Hi
Sue,
With all due respects, let's leave
the rhetoric out about opportunities at the moment.I get emails from the
erudite through to spam daily exhorting me to adopt new thinking, new design
processes and thinking, creativity and innovation programmes, arts based
processes etc that will lead me out of this
mess.
After two weeks
of interviewing CEO's in middle to large corporations in
Australia around leadership,
creativity and innovation, I can categorically state where business
is focused.
Back to basic business
fundamentals particularly revenues that are dropping rapidly in every
industry regardless; prices, costs and head counts and the cutting of all
surplus expenditure especially those to do with what are perceived as non
essential services such as training, O&D, HR where outcomes cannot be
calculated and expressed in hard and fast monetary
terms.
I found that as opposed to 12
months ago, at least the CEO's are now prepared to listen. They
acknowledge they don't know where things are going. They want creative
conversations. However, in all the discussions without exception they ask to
be shown the tangible outcomes art based processes and creativity and
innovation programmes etc will have on their bottom line in
order to help them make their figures so their people can
retain their jobs!! It's that focused!
Senior management is not
interested in theorising, they are seeking practical financial
outcomes..NOW..it is a matter of survival. So here is the challenge for all of
us as I see it involved in this field.
How does one respond to that
from an aesthetic, creativity and organisations research
perspective?
Ralph
ralph
kerle
chairman
the creative
leadership forum
http://www.thecreativeleadershipforum.com
p 612 9403 5327 m
0412 559 603
From: Aesthetics, Creativity, and
Organisations Research Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sue Congram
Sent: Wednesday, 1 April 2009 9:41
PM
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re:
actualisation
I agree with these sentiments - that there is an
opportunity for the arts to have a positive affect on the current economic
situation.
I hear time and time again from people in
business that there is a need to be 'creative' in order to survive. I hear
that as both an inward (how we work) and outward (products and services)
statement. My interest is in the extent to which the arts can
create paradigm shifts in business, because that is what I
believe is needed in order to take business minds into new ways of thinking.
To achieve that at a cognitive-thinking level invites the old
paradigm to keep it's bag of tricks active, making change difficult. In my
view the arts can offer incredibly effective ways to create sustainable
paradigm shifts in the way that people engage in leadership, management and
business practice (in both the HOW and the WHAT) stepping around
old established patterns which no longer
work.
Is it the case that there is a window of opportunity
open right now that will close soon? If so what does it mean to build on the
opportunity that is open to us?
Interested in your thoughts on
this.
Bringing
imagination to life and work
'Education
and Imagination' Edited by Raya Jones, Austin Clarkson, Sue Congram, Nick
Stratton, published by Routledge
On 31 Mar 2009, at 17:43, Taylor, Steven S.
wrote:
I'm with John in that I think the financial crisis is
an opportunity for
arts-based thinking/work. As we start to move
beyond the initial panic
responses and start to look for new practices that
may be better suited to
working with the complexities of the world the arts
offers a lot.
- Steve
On 3/31/09 9:51 AM, "John Cimino"
<[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
Jügen,
Thanks for reviving your timely question.
There are probably many unique
responses to the economic crisis from within our
profession. Many of my
American colleagues are impacted by their major
clients' withdrawal into a
reactive state of innovation dormancy and short-term
thinking. We believe
this protective mode will soon produce its own
problems. Creativity,
innovation and artful thinking are needed now more
than ever. Some of us
practitioners are endeavoring to position ourselves
in anticipation of this
second realization, that creativity holds at least
some of the keys to working
ourselves out of the mire of the present economy.
I also find more and more
pracitioners turning to one another in what feels
like a very healthy
dialogue, establishing bonds of friendship and a
level of sharing more rare in
prosperous times. I experience this as a
silver lining to the present crisis,
something from which much good may
come.
Secondly, I also perceive at least some of our
arts/aesthetics dialogue
merging with the dialogue around "design thinking"
which may result in some
healthy cross-fertilization and a strenghtening of
the cases for both in the
wider world.
I look forward to your comments and others as well.
Our own community might
well be strengthened by this dialogue.
Best.
John
John J. Cimino,
Jr.
President &
CEO
Creative Leaps
International
845-469-7254 (office) 845-216-0607
(cell)
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
www.creativeleaps.org <http://www.creativeleaps.org>
Steven S. Taylor, PhD
Associate
Professor
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Department of
Management
100 Institute
Rd
Worcester, MA
01609
USA
+1
508-831-5557
[log in to unmask]
