What Poetry Brings to Business

Can Poetry be of Value in the World of Business?

“…For Clare Morgan "Reading poetry requiresdemands -a very particular way of thinking. And that way of thinking is vitally important in addressing the complexities of the economic, social, and political world we live in" (Morgan, 2010 (Iser, 1972). This is exactly what we do when we read a poem and try to grasp its meaning.…”

“…Concerned that business and management strategy were too often reduced to a narrow, toolbox approach, the Strategy Institute of the Boston Consulting Group commissioned Clare Morgan to work with them on a project exploring the relationship between poetry and strategic thinking. The investigation of the role poetry might play in business by Morgan and her colleagues is recorded in the book, What Poetry Brings to Business (Morgan, 2010). Ted Buswick, who initiated the project, said: "What our theories offer isn't an 'alternative' approach.…”

“…I thought around and beyond and through the data that confronted me" (Morgan, 2010 (Lennox, 2005). Clare Morgan suggests that poetry can help in business in the following ways (Morgan, 2010): A poem is multidimensional which develops our ability to detect different modes of meaning and to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty. A poem doesn't offer closure -this teaches us to handle non-resolution.…”

“…Referring to the advertising slogans: "Have a Break, Have a Kitkat" and "Wonderbra for the way you are", Clare Morgan suggests: "The power of poetry has been added to the words of the advertisements to reach beyond those words and elicit a response that does not depend on logic or fact. The poetry aspect has reached into the customer's decisionmaking process to assess nonlogical but highly decisive responses that affect the purchasing patterns of whole sectors of society" (Morgan, 2010). Poems have often been used to market products and this was especially evident at the start of the new millennium.…”

“…The Leveller likes to categorise, levels differences and emphasises similarities and Þ nds the unique, unclassiÞ ed sensation difÞ cult. In contrast the Sharpener tolerates anomalies; is ready to think and perform symbolically, may seek out ambiguity and variability of classiÞ cation; plans ideationally and is ready to assume an attitude toward 'the merely possible' (Morgan, 2010). Morgan's argues that engaging with poetry fosters a different mindset from that which typical analytical business training promotes.…”