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2016-04-29 09:04:43
Piero Formica
April 27, 2016
Coworking spaces are on the rise, from Google s Campus in London to NextSpace
in California. Much has been made of these shared workspaces as a brand-new
idea, one that barely existed 10 years ago. But the way they function reminds
me of a very old idea: the Renaissance bottega (workshop) of 15th-century
Florence, in which master artists were committed to teaching new artists,
talents were nurtured, new techniques were at work, and new artistic forms came
to light with artists competing among themselves but also working together.
The Renaissance put knowledge at the heart of value creation, which took place
in the workshops of these artisans, craftsmen, and artists. There they met and
worked with painters, sculptors, and other artists; architects, mathematicians,
engineers, anatomists, and other scientists; and rich merchants who were
patrons. All of them gave form and life to Renaissance communities, generating
aesthetic and expressive as well as social and economic values. The result was
entrepreneurship that conceived revolutionary ways of working, of designing and
delivering products and services, and even of seeing the world.
Florentine workshops were communities of creativity and innovation where
dreams, passions, and projects could intertwine. The apprentices, workers,
artisans, engineers, budding artists, and guest artists were interdependent yet
independent, their disparate efforts loosely coordinated by a renowned artist
at the center the Master. But while he might help spot new talent, broker
connections, and mentor younger artists, the Master did not define others
work.
For example, Andrea del Verrocchio (1435 1488) was a sculptor, painter, and
goldsmith, but his pupils weren t limited to following his preferred pursuits.
In his workshop, younger artists might pursue engineering, architecture, or
various business or scientific ventures. Verrocchio s workshop gave free rein
to a new generation of entrepreneurial artists eclectic characters such as
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 1519), Sandro Botticelli (1445 1510), Pietro Perugino
(c. 1450 1523), and Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 1494).
What can those who want to create more innovative and collaborative workplaces
today whether that s a better office in a traditional organization, a
coworking space, a startup incubator, or a fab lab learn from the workshops
of the Renaissance? The bottegas three major selling points were turning ideas
into action, fostering dialogue, and facilitating the convergence of art and
science:
Turning ideas into action. Renaissance workshops were not just a breeding
ground for new ideas; they helped ideas become reality. Likewise, today s
innovative workplaces need to be equipped with everything people need to turn
their insights, inspirations, and mental representations into new products and
ventures. Coming up with new ideas is hard enough, but the real challenge for
many organizations is figuring out how to exploit them and turn a profit.
Fostering dialogue. Ferdinando Galiani, a Neapolitan economist of the 18th
century, argued that markets are conversations. The quality of the network
that is, the combined intelligence of people and organizations with different
skills and abilities plays a critical role in innovation.
In Renaissance workshops, specialists communicated with each other consistently
and fluidly, facilitating mutual understanding. The coexistence of and
collision among these diverse talents helped make the workshops lively places
where dialogue allowed conflicts to flourish in a constructive way. The clash
and confrontation of opposing views removed cognitive boundaries, mitigated
errors, and helped artists question truths taken for granted.
Today, we often recognize the need for these kinds of illuminating
conversations without really making space for them in our organizations, either
because organizations are too afraid of conflict or because people are simply
too busy to try to expand their understanding of each other. But Renaissance
workshops offer proof of how important it is for collaborative workplaces to
draw on sources of opposing ideas and controversial opinions.
Facilitating the convergence of art and science. While often remembered as
primarily artistic today, in truth the Renaissance workshop was
transdisciplinary. This helped create a holistic approach to creativity, which
stands in opposition to our own organizations, in which people in different
specialties are often separated into silos.
For example, during the Renaissance nature was seen as a convergence of art and
science, as in the famous Vitruvian Man drawing by da Vinci. Many of today s
most exciting business opportunities are similar meetings of technological
advances and aesthetic beauty. Bringing these disciplines together fosters
mutual learning through experiments that lead to business opportunities.
Whether you are running a coworking space or trying to get your own
organization to be more creative and collaborative, think about some of the
ways you might follow the example of a Renaissance workshop.
Piero Formica is the founder of the International Entrepreneurship Academy and,
currently, a Senior Research Fellow at the Innovation Value Institute. He is
author of The Role of Creative Ignorance: Portraits of Path Finders and Path
Creators.