The Michelangelo effect

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (Michelangelo) is renowned as one of the greatest painters and sculptors to have ever lived and, despite him being long gone and having lived in the 15th century, his approach to his craft can still tell us a lot about how we can create vision and success in 21st century business.

One of his most famous works is the state of David which he is rumored to have carved after sneaking into morgues to study the human form. The work is considered one of the greatest examples of renaissance sculpture. When queried on the work, Michelangelo is reported to have replied that "I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David"

The lesson being that to achieve excellence we need to focus not so much on always building, but sometimes in being clear on our vision and stripping away the things that aren't important. This will eventually reveal the finished product which has emerged from the process.

In business we can get so bogged down in all the add-on's and minutiae of keeping the business going that we can let things build up over time. Strategy involves taking a step back and looking at what is truly important. Its the ability to find the vision and to the take the hammer and chisel and remove those things that don't serve the vision or can even be holding us back.

To help with getting clarity, to develop a vision or even to assist with chipping away the stuff that doesn't matter, give Anton a call on 0272392842 for a free, no obligation chat about how to move your business forward.