"I have always wondered how employees are supposed to be creative working for organisations that make them sit in front of a screen all day, preferably at some grey desk (of which there are 100's), five days a week…9 to 5…. I understand that flexi time, allowing employees to work from home, or finding ways to decrease the dependency on computers can be seen by many as not only impossible to manage, but to achieve.Since I have never been the CEO of a major corporation I will not challenge this opinion (having said this I will argue that, at the very least, buying a pot of paint, a few random chairs and some non corporate desk lamps should not be an impossibility - just as a start!).
This morning I was reminded of an old idea I used to advocate, the concept of organisations setting aside an 'arts budget', a budget aimed at exposing employees to the arts. Basically the idea is to in-source what I believe is a key ingredient to creativity - being shown something beautiful and inspiring and different through an artist's passion, and most importantly something totally unrelated to business and every day work.
Why? It's simple…to foster creativity and hence innovation.
This morning I found myself staring at my computer, stuck…I had nothing to say, no ideas, and there was really nothing I wanted to do. Probably a case of the Monday morning blues, which I have been known to cure with a massive Monday morning treble shot of Espresso!
Minutes later I find myself in a café, My Apple Mac and a coffee in front of me, and not exactly sure how, in the middle of a debate about Shakespeare with the man next to me (Ralph). Between us Shakespeare never rocked my boat, and I would never choose to go and see one of his plays… but this is the point… Ralph's passion about the subject energised and engaged me, and when he recited Macbeth and Cleopatra with such intensity and love for the arts, Shakespeare all of a sudden started to mean something to me, and I felt all of my energy coming back.
D. Goleman, P. Kaufman were clearly right in 'The Art of Creativity' when they wrote 'When the creative spirit stirs, it animates a style of being: a lifetime filled with the desire to innovate, to explore new ways of doing things, to bring dreams of reality'. My creative spirit was clearly stirred because I ended up cracking a work related problem that has been bothering me for ever - I'm not saying the next Google will come out of the idea I came up with, but whatever will is guaranteed better than if I had stayed staring at my screen.
So if an 'arts budget' could create one experience like this per person per month, and we were to multiply it with the total number of people in an organisation only God knows how many ideas could be generated (I know you will need to see some fool proof ROI - topic for another time)…..
However, we may have to send people to see a play though as I doubt Ralph is in a position to help. It was only half way through my four hours of working I realised that Mr Shakespeare was in fact Ralph Fiennes.
I hope he forgives me for not having thanked him for the inspiration he brought the world through Schindler's List. The Constant Gardener, and the English Patient!!"
Imagine having RF reciting Shakespeare to you alone over morning coffee. Some girls certainly have all the luck
Don't you call them something Danish?
