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Being an avid dance fan, I had been tuned in to the buzz about the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada and its founding CEO, Susan Chalmers-Gauvin, which culminated in the company being named Emerging Business of the Year by the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce. So it was a happy coincidence when I was approached by writer Aimee Lorefice Mains about contributing to Progress. Apart from her magazine experience, she had spent several years studying in the professional divisions of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal before switching to journalism.
So late in October, we attended the Halifax performance of Phantom of the Opera to see for ourselves. We left delighted and eager to show a business audience how a cultural start-up is like any other. You need inspiration, a sound business plan, and financing. You must attract the management, the talent, and the right customers. For lessons in leadership and marketing with a creative edge, turn to page 26.
As this issue came together, it occurred to us that the worlds of business and theatre collide every day. For example, notice that the language of business is largely composed of terms that come from theatre. Leaders act.
Performance is rewarded. Managers direct talent toward shared visions. Customer service is scripted. And who doesn’t want their company to be in the spotlight?
Let’s face it: When you emerge from wardrobe every morning and assume your role on the business stage, you are in character. So should we all take acting lessons? It can’t hurt. Over lunch in November, I asked Nick Jupp to corroborate my theory that an artistic hobby can make you a better businessperson. He was the perfect yes-man, since much of his spare time is
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spent as artistic director of the Theatre Arts Guild, Canada’s oldest continually operating community theatre. Nick’s hobby is his passion, and it runs the gamut from writing, acting, and directing to set design and even handyman.
He told me that he applies what he has learned from his craft to his IT business every day. In addition to the parallels between creating a new product and mounting a production, he points out a less obvious connection: finding and creating character tension. By not being afraid of that dynamic, it has helped him better understand and manage people. See how he does it on page 13.
Lyn Heward understands the complex dynamics that govern teams, risk-taking, new products, and the pressure to innovate. As the former head of creative content at Cirque du Soleil, she has distilled her experiences into a book called The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire that Lives within Us All. A business strategy that depends on the unfettered creativity of its people works best if it is based on trust, Heward advises on page 20.
Precision BioLogic’s CEO Michael Scott understands this too, even though he is in the medical-testing-products business, not showbiz. But the way Precision BioLogic got competitive and profitable was to thoroughly understand its customers’ experience with its products, as the case study on page 36 explains. Call it role-playing, or “method” customer research. (Interesting note: in his spare time, Michael Scott practices the art of tango.)
Where do you find your creative inspiration? Community theatre, dance classes, a craft, marathon running? It’s the perfect time of year to start something new. Find your muse, and make progress in the theatre of the real.
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