Doug, a most enjoyable read, as always, that leaves me pondering my own management career, style and experiences.
In the 90’s I found myself at the vanguard of the Information Age as the Program Director at the Vancouver Film School’s new campus for Multimedia, the arrival of the Internet and digital media had ushered out the Industrial Age, changing the world and also my views on the role of the principle, the teacher, the artist and the producer.
The impact on businesses, education, traditional media (remember Napster!) government and society were hot topics in our weekly Guest Lecture series and in my Internet Studies classes. Innovation and Information Technology, and those that could harness both were in high demand.
Unlike many other sectors, the media arts has always been one rooted in Ideas and the management of a huge team of managers each managing autonomous experts and artists to produce a single item, a unified front, a Borg of creativity not assimilation. Just look at the credits on your favorite album, movie, or Nintendo game and ask how do the Producers and Director manage to manage all those creators, now each applying the tools of the Information Age in an Idea Age.
When it comes to artists, like my classical animation friends creating the Simpsons, who had to behave like children to produce cartoons for them, or the young, and stoned Kurt Cobain making an “enhanced CDROM”, there is an added complexity of anti-authoritarianism, the dislike of managers, and the temperamental “screw you” attitude. How do executive producers of music and film make money from eccentric and “unreliable” talent under such circumstances I was asked. “Put yourself between the money and the talent.” I replied. There is a thin line between insanity and genius, and the producer is that thin line.
Managing a classroom full of these type As, who have access to everything you know online, and 24/7 to study what you do not, can be daunting. Facilitating became required, if not necessary, and my philosophy that “Everyone is a student, everyone is a teacher.”, still applies today with the security guard at the grocery store, or at the board room table. Creating that environment, being the manager of many thought leaders, where on some days, someone else is acknowledged as the subject expert, the teacher, the “lead actor” is the key.
It was through grappling with management and leadership theories under these new paradigms that I was fortunate to have John Kao as a guest speaker for staff and students. His book Managing Creativity: Text, Cases & Readings became required reading for all staff at the film school thereafter. As a fellow musician, I thought you may appreciate John’s work, The Six Essential Intelligences and Jamming: Art and Discipline of Corporate Creativity, as a lens to looking at business management, leadership and innovation:
“The Six Intelligences – We need a new playbook in order to navigate effectively in a time of discontinuity. A new portfolio of competencies must include: finely honed situational awareness, innovation sophistication and digital literacy, emotional intelligence, a moral compass, and the ability to galvanize needed transformation. Taken together, they comprise the deep “how” of leadership.
Jamming – Improvisation as the heart of innovation - This truly is the age of improvisation -today’s organizations must have the creativity and agility to generate value on the fly. I explore these ideas in my best selling book Jamming that describes the lessons leaders can learn from jazz.”
Have a great day, and thanks for providing a weekly dose of ponderance with my morning coffee :)
Thanks, Dana, for sharing your experiences and reflections. I particularly like the advice to "Put yourself between the money and the talent." I'm always on the lookout for a few words that capture an important insight. Value creation depends on people who know when to wear a tie and when to wear a Tee, and are comfortable in both. Thanks for pointing me to the Six Intelligences. I think I'd better read it. It sounds like Kao has captured some of what I'm groping for in this blog. Thanks again for taking the time to move the conversation along. This is exactly the sort of discussion I'm hoping for.
Doug, a most enjoyable read, as always, that leaves me pondering my own management career, style and experiences.
In the 90’s I found myself at the vanguard of the Information Age as the Program Director at the Vancouver Film School’s new campus for Multimedia, the arrival of the Internet and digital media had ushered out the Industrial Age, changing the world and also my views on the role of the principle, the teacher, the artist and the producer.
The impact on businesses, education, traditional media (remember Napster!) government and society were hot topics in our weekly Guest Lecture series and in my Internet Studies classes. Innovation and Information Technology, and those that could harness both were in high demand.
Unlike many other sectors, the media arts has always been one rooted in Ideas and the management of a huge team of managers each managing autonomous experts and artists to produce a single item, a unified front, a Borg of creativity not assimilation. Just look at the credits on your favorite album, movie, or Nintendo game and ask how do the Producers and Director manage to manage all those creators, now each applying the tools of the Information Age in an Idea Age.
When it comes to artists, like my classical animation friends creating the Simpsons, who had to behave like children to produce cartoons for them, or the young, and stoned Kurt Cobain making an “enhanced CDROM”, there is an added complexity of anti-authoritarianism, the dislike of managers, and the temperamental “screw you” attitude. How do executive producers of music and film make money from eccentric and “unreliable” talent under such circumstances I was asked. “Put yourself between the money and the talent.” I replied. There is a thin line between insanity and genius, and the producer is that thin line.
Managing a classroom full of these type As, who have access to everything you know online, and 24/7 to study what you do not, can be daunting. Facilitating became required, if not necessary, and my philosophy that “Everyone is a student, everyone is a teacher.”, still applies today with the security guard at the grocery store, or at the board room table. Creating that environment, being the manager of many thought leaders, where on some days, someone else is acknowledged as the subject expert, the teacher, the “lead actor” is the key.
It was through grappling with management and leadership theories under these new paradigms that I was fortunate to have John Kao as a guest speaker for staff and students. His book Managing Creativity: Text, Cases & Readings became required reading for all staff at the film school thereafter. As a fellow musician, I thought you may appreciate John’s work, The Six Essential Intelligences and Jamming: Art and Discipline of Corporate Creativity, as a lens to looking at business management, leadership and innovation:
“The Six Intelligences – We need a new playbook in order to navigate effectively in a time of discontinuity. A new portfolio of competencies must include: finely honed situational awareness, innovation sophistication and digital literacy, emotional intelligence, a moral compass, and the ability to galvanize needed transformation. Taken together, they comprise the deep “how” of leadership.
Jamming – Improvisation as the heart of innovation - This truly is the age of improvisation -today’s organizations must have the creativity and agility to generate value on the fly. I explore these ideas in my best selling book Jamming that describes the lessons leaders can learn from jazz.”
Have a great day, and thanks for providing a weekly dose of ponderance with my morning coffee :)
Thanks, Dana, for sharing your experiences and reflections. I particularly like the advice to "Put yourself between the money and the talent." I'm always on the lookout for a few words that capture an important insight. Value creation depends on people who know when to wear a tie and when to wear a Tee, and are comfortable in both. Thanks for pointing me to the Six Intelligences. I think I'd better read it. It sounds like Kao has captured some of what I'm groping for in this blog. Thanks again for taking the time to move the conversation along. This is exactly the sort of discussion I'm hoping for.