BOOK

Business, Open Innovation and Art

"Great book, deep thinking, connecting the dots....

 Illustrateing the deep role and connection between art and innovation"

"Provides compelling evidence to pry open the minds of contemporary leaders."

"Excellent introduction to this unique field of study!"

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After its predecessors turned humans and organizations into machines, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is turning machines into humans. As digital machines acquire more and more cognitive intelligence, the development of humans becomes ever more vital, for society and business alike. Time has come to recognize the value of art and humanities.

As the world experiences massive turbulence and companies find their "whitewater" environment increasingly complex to navigate, the 20th-Century mantras of efficiency, the bottom-line and shareholder value no longer suffice as proper guidance. New futures call for anticipatory creativity. Channeling inventiveness, aesthetics and a sense of meaning, art can be a powerful tool to catalyze innovation and transformation, helping companies (re)discover their compass, create new rafts to conquer the rapids, and find "blue ocean" market spaces in new world realities.

Authored by multidisciplinary contributors brought together by editors BeiBei Song and Piero Formica, "Business, Open Innovation and Art" reflects a New Renaissance movement to revive humanness in the age of AI and harmony between man and nature. The research, case studies and experiments demonstrate a rich, multidimensional relationship between art and business, be it artistic strategies and processes, artful leadership, or art thinking for radical innovation. In this crucial phase of history, this book serves to advance the fundamental role of art and humanities, together with science and economics, for sustainable human enterprise.

What You'll
Learn

• Creativity in business education, with review of literature around theories of creative potential and performance, and arts-based methods.

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• The potential of musical study in general, and classical guitar study to a greater degree, to improve divergent thinking and creative problem-solving abilities. 

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• A genuinely integrated interdisciplinary class that interweaves personal development and growth with problem framing and solving skills, and diverse-team participation and leadership, taught at UC Berkeley by faculty from the Theater and Dance Performance Studies, Art Practice, and Business disciplines.

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• From Design Thinking to Art Thinking — a case study of how art thinking rescued a cultural institution in Dublin

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• The legacy of Joseph Beuys’ art and teaching on Man–Nature relationship as a pioneering experience of Open Social Innovation and an enduring source of inspiration for innovators, entrepreneurs, economists, and community leaders. 

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• Art Hacking for business innovation, with an exploratory case study on artistic strategies applied to problem solving at a healthcare organization.

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• Artistic practice as a powerful tool to infuse sustainability dimensions into technological developments. 

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• Opportunities and challenges of ArtScience collaboration, from an organizational perspective.

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ARTICLES

Artful Life Playshop Series — A Retrospective

A look back at our creative community's collective journey over the summer, with highlights of precious learnings and evocative creations.

The Great Pause, Great Reckoning and Great Renaissance

A New Renaissance could be upon us, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the disasters around us. Its spiritual dimension, besides the creative and intellectual.

Light in the Coronavirus Darkness and An Opportunity for Creative Rebirth

My reflection about the pandemic over the past four months (which began before Chinese New Year, the hardest I have ever experienced), and the purpose behind Artful in Quarantine