Artists always treat businessmen people as money-obsessed bores. Or worse, many business people, for their part, assume that artists are a bunch of pretentious wasters. Bosses may stick a few modernist paintings on their boardroom walls. But they seldom take the arts seriously as a source of inspiration.
The prejudice starts at business school, where “hard” things such as numbers and case studies rule. It is reinforced by everyday experience. Bosses constantly remind their underlings that if you can’t count it, it doesn’t count. Few read deeply about art. Sun Tzu's The Art of War does not count while some tasteless business books are pleasing to them: consider Wess Roberts' Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun.
But lately there are welcome signs of a thaw (缓和) on the business side of the great cultural divide. Business presses are publishing a series of books such as The Fine Art of Success by Jamie Anderson. Business schools such as the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto are trying to learn from the arts.
Mr. Anderson points out that many artists have also been superb entrepreneurs. Damien Hirst was even more enterprising. He upturned the art world by selling his work directly through Sotheby’s, an auction (拍卖) house. Whatever they think of his work, businessmen people cannot help admiring a man who parted art-lovers from £ 75.5 million on the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed.
Studying the arts can help businessmen people communicate more effectively. Most bosses spend a huge amount of time “messaging” and “reaching out”, yet few are much good at it.
Studying the arts can also help companies learn how to manage bright people. Rob Goffee of the London Business School points out that today’s most productive companies are dominated by what they call “clevers”, who are the devil to manage. They hate being told what to do by managers, whom they regard as dullards. They refuse to submit to performance reviews. In short, they are prima donnas. The arts world has centuries of experience in managing such difficult people. Directors persuade actresses to cooperate with actors they hate. Their tips might be worth hearing.
【小题1】What kind of person is Damien Hirst actually?| A．An artist whose works changed the art world. |
| B．A businessman who just cares about money. |
| C．An artist who is good at doing business. |
| D．A businessman who had prejudice toward the arts. |
| A．quite stupid | B．rather proud | C．really bright | D．very efficient |
| A．Good management takes skill and patience. |
| B．Artists should show respect for businessmen. |
| C．Painting is a special form of communication. |
| D．Businessmen have much to learn from artists. |
