Charvolant

Lots of people have been saying that old corporations still practicing “business as usual” will not be able to learn the new(ish) ways of the internet market/conversation, but I, for one, seem to be a bit more optimistic. After all, the Mythbusters did prove that, contrary to popular belief, old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. And because people are (generally) smarter than dogs, I think corporations will have no problem adapting to this new environment. It’s just a matter of time, patience, and repetition. Kind of like training a dog. Because as Leo would tell us, it’s more about developing different work habits than actually learning anything new.

Lack of motivation to begin changing their habits seems to be the only thing holding the corporations back. How do you motivate them? Well, dogs are motivated by food, but most companies will only develop new habits when things start to go terribly bad. However, in many cases, the old way of doing things hasn’t fallen apart enough to the point where they are panicking (like it has in, say, the music industry), so most corporations don’t see the need to change yet. But really, it’s just a matter of time.

People will argue for days about whether business is an art or a science, when in reality you need both to run a company well. Unfortunately, the balance between the two is heavily tipped in favor of science throughout modern business schools and within industries as well. The evidence is everywhere. We always think of a great company as a well oiled machine, not as a masterpiece. And that’s a problem. Not enough attention is being given to the artistic side of business.

You need to be creative and be able to improvise. All the formulas and numbers in the world won’t help you come up with a remarkable product or idea that isn’t as boring as everything else that’s out there. And later on, technical scientific jargon (read: corporate speak) isn’t going to help sell it within a conversation, either. Sure, there are parts of companies that are more scientific by nature, like accounting for example (although some companies seem to be pretty creative there, too). But in general, most businesspeople are lacking the artistic characteristics they should have in order to run a great company.

Instead of enrolling in that executive MBA program at some prestigious university, try taking a painting course or creative writing class at a local college. You may find it does wonders for your mind as well as your career.

I have been looking forward to establishing this blog for a while now, and I am very glad to have finally made it a reality. Throughout my life, I have always looked at things from a different perspective than most other people I knew. This blog represents part of my effort to join the online conversation and offer some of my own unorthodox thoughts about a range of business-related topics, and maybe a few others, to the world.

The title of my blog runs in the same vein and is a tribute to one of my favorite inventors in history, George Pocock. Way back in 1826, he invented a kite-powered carriage called the charvolant which achieved an estimated speed of 20 miles per hour, making it the fastest (and cleanest, and most unique, and…) mode of transportation of its day. Quite a remarkable and inspirational feat, if you ask me.