How long is now?
A visit last month to The Long Now Foundation in San Francisco inspired the theme for this newsletter. The term was coined by Brian Eno, who noticed when he first moved to New York City, here and now meant this room and this five minutes, as opposed to the larger here and longer now that he was used to in England.
The Long Now Foundation hopes to provide counterpoint to today’s “faster/cheaper” mind set and promote “slower/better” thinking.
Civilization is revving itself into a pathologically short attention span. The trend might be coming from the acceleration of technology, the short-horizon perspective of market-driven economics, the next-election perspective of democracies, or the distractions of personal multi-tasking. All are on the increase. Some sort of balancing corrective to the short-sightedness is needed-some mechanism or myth which encourages the long view and the taking of long-term responsibility, where ‘long-term’ is measured at least in centuries.
The Long Now explores whatever may be helpful for thinking, understanding, and acting responsibly over long periods of time. http://www.longnow.org/about/
Time is Elastic
At a recent workshop on whole-brain thinking I asked a group of managers to listen to a piece of Baroque music, then tell me what they experienced. Most of them thought the piece went on too long and they were somewhat bored by it. When I told them the piece was only three minutes long, they were surprised. When I asked them to paint what they heard as I played the same piece again, they complained the music ended too fast and they barely had enough time to finish.
The lesson? Our perception of time changes depending on how engaged or absorbed we are in an activity. Art and music have the power to expand or contract our experience of time.
When I ask people to paint conversations with each other, rather than speak, they become absorbed in the creative process and lose all sense of time. When I invite them to add visual conversations to their meetings, they tell me, “We can’t do that, we don’t have enough time!” Most had no awareness that each painted conversation took three-five minutes. It takes almost no time at all to incorporate an art-based process as a catalyst for reflection, and insightful dialogue.
Time Out
And speaking of reflection, in my travels across the US last month, I asked leaders and managers how much time they take to reflect on workplace challenges. I knew the answer before they told me, but it still shocks me. Almost nobody in US organizations today takes time out for reflection. Is there a correlation between an absence of reflection and the circumstances we face in the marketplace?
Time Well Spent
Roger Martin and Richard Florida report on Ontario’s Opportunities in the Creative Age:
Despite the current economic environment, Ontario is well positioned to compete and prosper in the ongoing global economic transformation. While the economic environment has worsened in the past year, the current upheaval only accelerates the longer-term trends – especially the shift from more routine-oriented to creativity-oriented jobs. Yet Ontario can do more to ensure it is a globally competitive jurisdiction. That is the key conclusion from the report released today, Ontario in the Creative Age.
Their recommendations can be adapted to benefit both developed and developing countries. For example:
Harness the creative potential of [citizens]
- Increase creativity in all jobs
- Strengthen creativity skills through our education system
- Make diversity a cornerstone of economic prosperity
Broaden our talent base
- Strengthen our managerial capability
Establish new social safety nets
- Make early childhood development a high priority
- Invest in skills development for recent immigrants
- Consider wage insurance for longer tenure workers
- Invest in connectivity
Source: http://martinprosperity.org/ontario
Toyota doesn’t want to lay off employees and in the U.S., its production shakeup means some 4,500 employees aren’t building cars while factories are retooled. Instead, Toyota is asking them to keep busy by doing everything from training programs to filling in at assembly lines elsewhere or helping out in local communities.
Upcoming Events:
Design-Thinking For Today’s Executives
March 31st, 2009
Presented by Linda Naiman
Design isn’t just for products, it’s also a strategic thinking tool that leads to dramatic new forms of value for organisations such as P&G. Hosted by Happen.ca, Vancouver, BC.
Creative Thinking for Uncertain Times:
Creative Practices, Creative Conversations, Creative Commercialisation
Presented by The Creative Skills Training Council Internationale
Melaka, Malaysia, May 26 — 31 2009
International Conference on the Creative Economy
Helsinki, Sept 9-10, 2009
Deadline: 30 April, 2009
How are you using your time to prepare for the upturn?
This is a great time to find inspiration and direction through creative conversations with a trusted thinking partner.
Most leaders and managers don’t have anyone they can talk to about their workplace challenges. I can help you brainstorm ideas, find clarity out of chaos, make informed decisions, increase your effectiveness, and reclaim your time so you can have your life back.
If you have recently been laid off and you are in North America, let’s talk, thirty minutes… on my dime. Drop me a line to set up an appointment before June 31, 2009.
In the meantime….
Happy Creating,
Linda Naiman
Creativity at Work is a consulting, coaching and training alliance at the forefront of creating transformational change in organizations. Our focus is on leadership and team development, creativity, collaboration, and cultivating environments that foster innovation. We use artistic processes in concert with dialogue, weaving right-brain imagination with left-brain logic and analysis to help you uncover breakthrough solutions.
About The Creativity at Work Newsletter
The Creativity at Work Newsletter provides overviews of new research in creativity and innovation, ‘best practices’ of leading organizations, links to new or relevant websites and an array ideas and techniques from innovation experts. Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues.
Last night a lawyer told me he doesn’t have time to think anymore because he spends so much time reading email. Here’s an idea from one of my subscribers, a director of communications: He sent me an auto-reply to my email with this message:
“I check my e-mail only at 8:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 4:00 PM. Therefore, I may not see your message right away. If you need a response sooner than that, please call me at 1-800-xxx-xxxx extension xxx.” Very wise.