Synopses & Reviews
For many, work is the ultimate four-letter word, the embodiment of all that is mundane. For respected business writers Stan Davis and David McIntosh, work is an opportunity to find beauty, meaning, enjoyment, balance, and longevity. How? By treating one's work or business as art. According to The Art of Business, people get more satisfaction from creating something than from doing something. Purpose, mastery, and permanence are hallmarks of good work, whether in the arts or in business. The book represents a powerful paradigm shift, empowering readers to harness their artistic energies not only in work, but also in all facets of their lives. Using real-world examples such as Apple's attention to art in the design and marketing of the iMac and iPod, The Art of Business shows how introducing the aesthetic into a business framework can inspire both achievement and satisfaction.
Synopsis
All of us--business executives and artists, audiences and consumers--can benefit from seeing the world with both an aesthetic sensibility and a strategic bent. When you see yourself as an artist, everything you do can be a work of art--planning strategies, developing technologies, creating new products, working in teams and serving customers.
In the traditional model, business operates in an economic flow of inputs
(resources and raw materials), outputs (products and services) and processes that help get you from one to the other (research and development, production, distribution). Davis and McIntosh show that artistic flow operates the same way, but with inputs that include things like emotion, imagination, and intuition; and outputs that include things like beauty, meaning, excitement, and enjoyment. Step by step, Davis and McIntosh show how you and your company can blend the two flows, interweaving them to achieve both success and fulfillment in everything you do.
By blending the aesthetic and emotional richness of the arts with the strategic and operational perspectives of business, you'll begin to see texture where everybody else is seeing shapes. You'll see colors where others see only grays. You'll see not just what is, but also what can be.
Synopsis
For respected business writers Davis and McIntosh, work is an opportunity to find beauty, meaning, enjoyment, balance, and longevity by treating one's work or business as art. They explain to readers how to harness their artistic energies not only in work, but also in all facets of their lives.