7 Deadly Virtues to Shift the Leadership Paradigm
30-11
It was as if I was descending into the heart of darkness. Some months after I was temporarily appointed as head of a 60-people local government department, the organization grinded to an almost complete halt. Frankly, I despaired, I lost control, withdrew, started to mistrust people, constrained communication and became lazy. Now after almost half
Read more...The Art of Making Things Happen Together
2-11
Navigating Complexity Last week I reconnected to my strength. I was asked to present a one-hour workshop for 50 people at the Human Systems Dynamics Institute conference in Chicago: Navigating Complexity. I designed a process making a collaborative paining as a metaphor for the dynamics in complex adaptive systems. The whole process was in silence.
Read more...Managing Complexity: Four Simple Rules for Painting
10-10
In the course of the years I have developed a workshop combining my understanding of complex systems and art. It has been widely recognized in anthropology, biology, physics and computer science that living systems are governed by simple rules. Like in a flock of birds: fly to the centre, keep the same pace and don’t
Read more...I am a Hybrid Professional: Shouldn’t You be One Too?
23-9
It seems there is an increasing number of people who combine a professional life in the service industry with a professional life in the arts. While there is an increasing demand for specialists in organizations, I know professionals who are also actors, big band conductors, painters, sculptresses, saxophone players, etc. Why is this? Shaman After
Read more...I Bet you’re an Artist too: Art is in the Seeing, not in the Making
8-8
What ‘s a work of art anyway? This is a question that can be answered in many ways. Two well-known misconceptions are: Because it takes artistic skill (“My little sister can make this, too”) or because it is inside a museum (Duchamp put a urinoir in a museum which turned the thing into a work
Read more...How to Make a ‘Good’ Painting: Three Initial Conditions
7-7
I have often wondered, are there initial conditions for making a ‘good painting?’ I think there are. And what’s more, these conditions are the same for doing anything important like redecorating your house, designing a change process for an organization or raising a child. Choices around preparation, control and attachment form important initial conditons for
Read more...
