Wild New Mind

Finally, someone did it.  That is, he put into words something I've always believed in, that the "soft" side of business is just as important as the "hard" side of business.  A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink argues that today you can't compete just on logic, price, quality, effieciency.  You absolutely need those and you need to engage the people inside and outside your organization.  He breaks the important concepts into Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. 

What's cool is that Wild Apple has, at least subconsciously, been working along these dimensions ever since we started.  The whole reason Laurie and I left the urban corporate scene is we wanted to run a company based on personal values (Meaning).  Creativity in discovering, developing and presenting artwork is the main value we bring to the market (Design). We see artists and customers and employees as indivduals deserving repsect (Empathy), and we know that the business is only one part of their lives.   We can't seem to get through a day without some sort of practical joke or goofy event (Play).   We may be using different words, but the ideas fit. 

What's cooler is that there's a lot more we can do by bringing these ideas right up to the front of our brains, not relegate them to afterthoughts, "nice to have" but non-essential concepts.   Have we told WIld Apple's story, or each artist's story, well enough?  Does our website communicate with words, pictures, sounds to its full potential?  Does our catalogue capture the imagination as effectively as it might?  Does this blog provoke the kind of thought and inspiration I'd like it to?

Stay tuned - it looks like we have work to do!