Exploration, Bravery and the Space of Good Work

Hi

I was reminded after the work you had all done on your business plans these last couple of days about the importance of Grief in the creation of extraordinary work. It is only after you have grappled with things to the extent that it feels like surfaces have been disrupted and transformed that you are truly beginning to emerge in a place of tremendous discovery and Joy. This poem, one of my favourites, is a talisman for you on that Journey. E 

The Well of Grief by David Whyte 

Those who will not slip beneath  

the still surface of the well of grief  

turning downward through its black water  

to the place we cannot breathe  

will never know the source from which we drink,  

the secret water,  

cold and clear,  

nor find in the darkness  

glimmering the small round coins thrown away  

by those who wished for something else.  

Art and Business Stereotypes Revealed

This morning Lisa Maddison received an email from Jess Henson, who seems quite sceptical about the work we're doing with the BAA programme. I almost shot off an emotional response, but then I thought that perhaps a more credible response would come from the delegates and lecturers on the programme.

Please have a read, and if you feel inclined to respond to Jess, please leave your comments here.

Subject: questions about biz acumen for artists course

dear Maddison

• your breakdown for the course says "Transfer knowledge from other creative thinkers from across the creative industries, cultural sectors and associated professions". isn't that just a long winded way of saying "steal other peoples' ideas effectively"?

and "Generate possibilities through Improvisational Theatre and exposure to the skill of Active Listening"  - does that mean we get to play house? (erm, or office, i should rather say)

• your established arts practitioners - are they participating in this course because you pay them kick ass rates, or because they can't afford to feed their pets on their life modelling salaries? who are they? and how do you gauge their creative and financial success?

• how do you guarantee relevant processing if you're opening the course to any creative practitioner? you might end up with one poet and seven graphic designers. PR and marketing is very different for a rock n roll band than for a fine artist.

• do you not provide a drop-in option for the course(or some other stratified approach) - someone may not need to go through the motivational work shopping, but might be looking for help with their admin...

• i'm interested in knowing what research prompted (and supports) the information you share on this course, how the course has benefited participants in the past (if it's a rerun) and, considering it's a UCT initiative, how academic your approach is. i'm  weary and wary of  academia's myopia and  relative  unhelpfulness in the  working world... 

 many thanks for your time jess

My own comment: Firstly, neither the business school, the mentors, nor the lecturers are accepting any payment for their involvement in this programme. All revenue generated by the course fees goes to the renovation of the Obs Community Centre. This is a new project which I have personally undertaken to direct and design free of charge, because I care very deeply about the sustainability of artistic and creative endeavours in this country. If there is any doubt as to the credibility of the organisation behind the content on the programme (UCT Graduate School of Business), perhaps Jess should look at our standing in the international education and business community.

I believe that this programme cross-pollinates both the business and creative sectors, and that the economy of the 21st century is built on global collaboration and the spirit of abundance rather than that of scarcity and fear.

Lastly, I think that the best reflection of the value of the programme would come from the feedback of the delegates who are on this journey together. Sorry, but none of the people involved in this programme fit into the stereotypes you've constructed here. 

- Elaine Rumboll  MA (cum laude), MBA (Wits)

Director of Executive Education

UCT Graduate School of Business

(and Programme Director of Business Acumen for Artists)

Lessons for Business from BAA

We are in the third week of the Business Acumen for Artists programme. One of the most critical leverage points for Business which has emerged from this process is the way in which multiple forms of artistic expression can help to invigorate organisational thinking. We ran a process last week at the UCT GSB called the Think Indaba where we used visual process facilitation to help delegates to visualise Africa in 2012. The findings were profoundly positive not only because it allowed executives to start thinking through another medium but also because of the pride which emerged at the end of the process and what they had created together. What this brought up for us in terms of the BAA was how rich a deposit the language of creativity is for business - imagine being able to document a journey you go on with your EXCO through represented images, melodies, and even theatre that they create by means of a guided facilitated process together!  Consultants are so often looking for the next big thing to differentiate their offerings in the market. I for one, after having seen the extraordinary success of this tool am all for the tracing of multiple creative disciplines into the texturing of strategy and multiple perspectives so crucial for business value creation and sustainability. Try it - you might even surprise yourself at the results. 

Group Multi Media exhibition, Sharp Artists and The Tricky Part

I am suddenly inspired by the idea of a group multi-media exhibition at the end of our programme. The complete project I am working on is HUGE and will only be realised in 2010, but a slice, a snippet could well be part of a Sharp Artists exhibition (We’ll have to think of a sexier title - “Business Acumen” isn’t very sticky.) At tea time tonight I went scouting for a site for my performance art piece for the exhhibition(shot gun on the eucalyptus trees near the parking lot)… can’t you just see our work being, hung, projected, shown, sung… PLAYED all over and around the community centre for one juicy night? Thank you to all for the rousing “Happy Birthday”. I’ll miss ya’ll next week as I’ll be working. If you are up for a night of excellent, thought-provoking, challenging theatre. Don’t miss my production of The Tricky Part opening at the Baxter Theatre on 11 September and running till the end of September. (not quite sure about blogg protocol - is it ok to use it for shameless marketing?) Jacqueline

Making the Business Case

Firstly, thanks to Elspeth Donovan for providing a practical approach to what many find a daunting exercise. What I found heartening was that many of you could start relating the business case to the business plan - realising that making a plan for your efforts is not an otherwordly exercise but one which can be cracked open with ease if one has the right attitude and a model from which to work. Remember that if you don’t have a coherent story that interests you, why should it interest anyone else. And finally, to draw on the NA meeting which happens on a Monday night next door to us - If you work it, it works! E