Creative connections

Art Fry had a little problem that vexed him: when he sang in his church choir, the bookmarks in his hymnal kept moving around or falling to the floor.  One Sunday in 1973 he recalled that a colleague at work, Spencer Silver, had developed an adhesive.  The glue wasn’t very marketable, but it did have some unique properties: it did not leave a residue, and was strong enough to stick to things but still weak enough to remove easily. Fry decided to apply some of the adhesive along the edge of a piece of paper.  His bookmark problem was solved.
 
You may have heard the story before. Fry and Spencer worked at the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, also known as 3M. From that simple idea the company developed the product that we all know as the colourful Post-it notes, now sold around the world.

This story illustrates a point about ingenuity.  As Apple founder Steve Jobs summarized: “Creativity is just connecting things.”

Jobs’ life is an example of how varied experiences can come together to inspire creativity. The idea of calling the company “Apple Computer” came to him from spending time at an apple orchard in Oregon where he attended a spiritual retreat.  Jobs also spent some time at an ashram in India and experimented with calligraphy in a class at Reed College. These were experiences that were quite different from daily life in the suburbs and stoked his creativity. These same memories later shaped his thoughts about simplicity and design, which he so famously applied to the computer business. When Apple built the Macintosh computer, the company hired musicians, artists and poets along with engineers.

Another important innovator, Leonardo da Vinci, also saw the value of those inter-disciplinary connections.  He wrote, “Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses - especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else."  

A contemporary expert in thinking, Edward de Bono, believes that “creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”  

That’s motivation for all of us to get out there and try different things...


A related stories:  
How to foster creativity, previously in this blog.
How great business innovators are made (not born), from Fortune magazine. The article refers to two recent books.

Note:
The Leonardo da Vinci and Edward de Bono quotations are collected in BrainyQuote, a very useful site.

Corporate Social Responsibility

In the world of business, the first decade of this new millennium seems to reflect one sad story of corporate greed and mismanagement after another. We've gone from the Enron and the WorldCom scandals, to the mortgage collapse that hurt so many over-extended homeowners before bringing down giant firms like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and now the wider financial crisis that threatens everyone.

But there's another story that I like about this decade. It's the rise of corporate social responsibility -- the idea that businesses should be involved in making the world a better place and not just focused on maximising profits.

When you look at the business landscape it appears such a contradiction, doesn't it? While some executives have ruined lives through greed and incompetent leadership, others are seeing their role in a new way and steering their companies in refreshing directions. I think society is much better off because of it.

Firms in the near future will be judged much more on the effectiveness of their environmental policies, for example. In many ways corporations are becoming important partners of government and of the social services sector in our communities. Many companies today are involved in charitable activities and in volunteerism.

Bill Gates, whose charitable foundation has given millions to health care and community-improvement projects around the world, recently wrote an article for Time magazine called "Making Capitalism More Creative" (link below) that offers some clear examples of how companies can make the world a much better place.

He cites the (RED) campaign, where companies like Hallmark, Dell and others sell (RED)-branded products. When consumers buy these products, the companies donate a portion of their profits to fight AIDS. Gates argues that firms can and should do much more. He calls on governments to provide greater incentives to firms that launch ideas like these. Simply obtaining more recognition in the public arena is a big plus for companies that are willing to be graded on their social responsibility initiatives.

I like Starbucks' aggressive three-point strategy in corporate social responsibility: the company says it wants to achieve more "ethical sourcing" for their coffee (not take advantage of farmers in poor coffee-producing areas); contribute to communities and reduce Starbucks' environmental footprint. For me, the best aspects of the company's approach are the key performance indicators Starbucks has employed to measure its success in these areas; as the saying goes, "What gets measured, gets done." For example, Starbucks keeps track of how much coffee it purchases each year over year from Fair Trade Certified farmers, how much water and electricity it consumes per square foot of retail space each month, how many dollars are given in charitable contributions ($18 million last year), and so on.

Next time you're in a Starbucks, pick up their "Of Coffee and Community" pamphlet. One could dismiss it as another public relations exercise, but I found it to be a good read. It shows tangible steps.

Many companies today support charities. Others are nourishing the arts in their communities or providing funding for social service projects, like assisting the homeless. In Canada this is the case with the RBC Foundation and Goldman Sachs Canada Inc. Both give money to the LOFT Community Services organization, among others.

There are many more examples to remind us the world is getting better, despite the dark clouds overhead.

Other link:

Bill Gates in Time: "Making Capitalism More Creative"

Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero

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A comfortable way to travel

When explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark made their way across the Rocky Mountains on their gruelling expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific (1804-1806), they certainly didn't travel like this.

How times have changed.

This is a view of the business class pods that airlines are fitting on planes flying long distance routes. They're good for sleeping and for working in privacy; but not so good for conversation.

On this particular Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Toronto, all 24 business class seats were occupied.

Our quest for ever-increasing comforts on journeys of mere hours, protected from the elements, probably would have Lewis and Clark rolling in the aisles in laughter.

But the world turns and things never stop changing.

Celebrating achievements in a new country

In a country like Canada, which attracts so many immigrants, it’s interesting to see how new communities develop and grow. In the years after the Second World War, Toronto attracted many Italian and Portuguese workers. In recent years, Asian and South Asian immigrants have predominated. In the last fifteen-twenty years, Toronto has also become home to many Polish and Russian families.

Last night, I attended an event organized by the Russian community to celebrate the achievements of its business people and entrepreneurs in Canada. It was an elegant gala at a suburban banquet hall that attracted several political dignitaries and also Alex Shneider, the Russian-Canadian billionaire who heads the Midland group of companies (Midland Resources Holding Ltd.).

Immigrants arrive in a country, work in small groups, gradually establish themselves and go on to form larger and more influential organizations. Meanwhile, immigrants in groups that preceded them become integrated into the larger society and the younger generation moves forward in the context of a new cultural dynamic. It’s the wheel of immigration. Canada owes much to it.

Immigrant groups do well when they get together and share their accomplishments with the local community. It sets the tone for greater prosperity but also sends out a very positive message of conciliation and cultural enrichment that also benefits the host country.

Last night's award recipients were very interesting people.

Madeline Ziniak, who has been instrumental in the development of ethnic media in Canada, received a lifetime achievement award from the Russian Canadian Business Association. She’s the national vice president of OMNI Television, Canada’s first and most important multilingual television system.

Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman, who founded the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Toronto, received the award for leadership and commitment. The Centre runs a number of programs to facilitate the integration of Russian immigrants in the Toronto Jewish community.

There were many other others, including a talented friend, Valery Tokmakov, who was recognized in absentia for his many activities in the community.

(My thanks to BSK for the silhouette illustration.)

Disney World as business school

Some time ago, our family visited Walt Disney World in Florida. It was around this time of year and we all enjoyed the experience quite a lot. We found the resort stimulating for everyone, children and adults. We especially enjoyed Epcot . (The acronym used to stand for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, but Disney has since dropped that. Some people on the web also jokingly point out that the acronym also stands for Every Person Comes Out Tired, but that's another story!)

Disney World is really a marvel of logistical organization and customer care. Slate.com's business reporter Daniel Gross recently visited the resort and writes that it should be seen as a business model for many companies. In his article, entitled "The Mickey Mouse MBA: What We Can All Learn From Disney World," Gross points out that restaurants and airlines could use some of the innovations introduced at the resort to manage line-ups and schedules. He also shows how the simple approach of "under-promising and over-delivering" is key to enhancing the visitor's experience.

Last year, Disney World saw 49 million people move through it's turnstiles. That is a number of people larger than the population of many countries. The safe and orderly processing of so many people offers key lessons for government border controls, Slate says. Disney World combines the latest available technology, including biometric scans, with "old-fashioned humanity."

MSN Money reports that in the last five years, the Walt Disney Company's growth in net income has been in the order of 30.5%, and revenue this year have been 35.5 billion dollars. Its theme parks represent only about a quarter of its operating income. The rest comes from its media networks (ABC, ESPN, etc.) at 56%, its studio entertainment division at 11% and its consumer products division at 9% . In short, a formidable company. And still a company that seems to take care of the small details when it comes to the interactions with its customers.

The company also runs a consulting business called the "Disney Institute" . It focuses on leadership development, service, customer loyalty, team building and creativity.

In his article, Gross suggests CEOs should buy a three-day pass to Disney World and spend some time observing. He particularly recommends Epcot for American companies that do any business overseas:

"Finally, every CEO should take at least three or four rides on It's a Small World and then spend the rest of the day in Epcot. For years, the United States has been shrinking as a global economic force, a trend that is accelerating with the continuing boom in Asia and the domestic slowdown. For more and more companies, future growth and prosperity will depend on penetrating foreign markets. But Americans aren't so much innocents abroad as ignoramuses abroad. A day at Disney can remedy all that. It's a Small World is like an animated version of Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat. Epcot allows visitors to immerse themselves in the cultures and cuisines of 11 countries, from Mexico to Norway, in 40 compact acres."

Gross may be exaggerating just a little about American business savvy abroad, but the references to the Epcot experience are apt, I think.

For the rest of us looking for an interesting time on vacation, it's still a fun place to visit.

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For more information on the Walt Disney Company's corporate structure, investor relations and environmental efforts, see:
http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/index.html
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Photos courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu/