Re-Discovering Calvino: A Literature Champion for the Management.

We live in a fast-moving world. Keeping us up-to-date with constant changes and innovation is a daily challenge.

My educational formation happened in the liberal arts. I often enjoy looking at different sources of inspiration. When faced with complex problems, sometimes the best approach is to turn to old literature for new solutions. It works for me.

I recently re-read "Six Memos for the Next Millennium.". The Italian writer Italo Calvino was supposed to deliver a lecture series at Harvard University in 1985. The lectures emphasised six values that Calvino believed were essential for writers to promote in the future.

He addressed the importance of lightness, quickness, accuracy, visibility, and multiplicity in the writing. Calvino intended to write a sixth memo on consistency but died before writing it.

These lessons cannot be limited to literature alone. I can see some applications for modern management and business operations.

Lightness: Embracing a Different Perspective

Calvino valued lightness in literature to communicate deep meaning with simplicity, brevity, and imagination. He believed that lightness allowed literature to transcend reality and offer new perspectives. Writers and philosophers inspired him; he cites Borges's clear, sober storytelling style that implies infinite worlds. Ultimately, lightness gives literature lasting power and allows it to connect with timeless, universal truths.

Today, a company that embraces lightness can quickly respond to market and customer needs changes, making it more agile and resilient and achieving tremendous success by focusing on simplicity, brevity, and adaptability.

By simplifying unnecessary complexity, businesses create products that are helpful to clients in their everyday lives. This, in turn, delivers more value, fosters a culture of creativity, imagination, and open-mindedness, and promotes innovation and growth.

Imagine when Apple creates user-friendly and intuitive products. By prioritising simplicity, Apple ensures that its products are accessible to a broader range of customers, thereby providing more value to them. Apple customers adore their innovations for their ease of use and serve as the brand's most influential marketing ambassadors.

Quickness: The Speed of Thought

In Pulp Fiction, talking to Vincent, Mr. Wolf says, ” If I'm curt with you, it's because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast, and I need you guys to act fast if you want to get out of this.” ****

The second memo addresses the concept of "quickness." Calvino does not refer to a narrative pace, which can vary from slow to repetitive or stagnant. Instead, quickness is a form of lightness that encompasses agility, mobility, and ease. These qualities are inherent in writing that naturally digresses, jumps between subjects, loses the thread multiple times, and finds it again amidst numerous twists and turns. Despite writing in the 1980s, before the widespread use of digital communication, Calvino argues that in an era of fast and pervasive media, speediness in literature is crucial to facilitating communication between inherently different things. Instead of blurring their differences, quickness intensifies these distinctions in alignment with the genuine essence of written language.

The reflections of Italo Calvino on "Quickness" offer insights that can be extended to technological innovation and strategic management. Calvino's focus on agility, mobility, and ease in writing, aligned with the significance of rapid adaptation and efficient information exchange, reflects critical strategic priorities in today's fast-moving business landscape.

Businesses must rapidly adapt to changes and incorporate new technologies into their products or services. Microsoft exemplifies this lesson through its early and decisive integration of AI into products like Azure AI, Office 365, Copilot, and GitHub Copilot. Microsoft prioritises quickness to stay relevant and competitive, harnessing AI to enhance productivity, creativity, and the user experience.

Calvino's prediction about the age of "fantastically speedy, widespread media" emphasises the significance of keeping up with technological advancements. Microsoft's leadership in integrating AI demonstrates its commitment to research and development, evident in its continuous investments in AI, computing, quantum computing, and neural networks. This understanding of the importance of innovation keeps Microsoft at the forefront of its competitors.

“I think fast; I talk fast.”

Exactitude: The Power of Precision

Calvino's Memo on "Exactitude" focuses on precision, accuracy, and meticulous language use. According to the author, having a clear plan and using precise language to express nuances of thought are required to achieve a "crystal structure" in writing. This allows for expressing the world's complexity in a stable language. The author worries that language has become more rough, casual, and careless over time, leading to a loss of cognitive power. Calvino sees exactitude as a cure for this dilution of meaning. Calvino's knowledge exploration reminds us of the need to represent the world precisely through words or visual elements. By embracing "icasticità," the ability to vividly represent reality, organisations can communicate effectively and enhance their understanding of the world.

His emphasis on "icasticità" and exactitude guides Tesla.

Tesla's approach to communication, product design, and technological development mirrors Calvino's call for precision and meticulousness. The company explains the complexities of electric vehicle technology, battery efficiency, and autonomous systems, epitomising exactitude.

Tesla tries to show the benefits of its products. It also teaches the market about sustainable energy. These efforts reflect a commitment to innovation and clarity. Tesla presents detailed specifications. It also shares safety goals and technology demonstrations. This helps the public understand complex concepts.

Tesla's digital strategy displays its innovations and makes sustainable transportation accessible globally.

Furthermore, Tesla's approach to product development aligns with Calvino's concern for precision. Tesla exceeds expectations in engineering and design. They do this by testing and refining software and hardware.

The company embodies Calvino's ideals well. It does this by communicating complex ideas. It also builds a connection with the audience. Clarity, accuracy, and vivid depictions of reality form the basis of the connection.

Visibility: Imagination as a Tool

Calvino's Memo on "Visibility" highlights the importance of fantasy and imagination in knowledge and communication.

He emphasises the role of literature and imagination in generating fresh perspectives and imagery to understand the intricacies of the world. He believes that literature can transcend reality and offer fresh perspectives by employing imagination.

Calvino cautions against the overwhelming abundance of images in modern media and advocates for using literature to create meaningful and innovative visual representations. He proposes that literature combines spontaneity and logic to explore hypothetical realities and that imagination and literature can convey diverse world perspectives.

These observations from Calvino's examination of visibility and imagination can be extended beyond literature to enrich understanding and communication in different domains.

Calvino's reflections on "visibility" offer other lessons. Businesses should promote creativity and innovation to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Embracing imagination and fantasy can generate fresh perspectives and groundbreaking solutions. Investing in creative R&D processes can be leveraged to stand out beyond traditional methods. They use eye-catching visuals that highlight what makes them unique. Weave stories into marketing to create a lasting impact. Balance creativity with structure by using events like hackathons or team brainstorms; these will promote a culture of innovation. Finally, simplify complex ideas by using relatable stories and examples.

Pixar Animation Studios fuels innovation through a potent mix of storytelling, bold exploration, and collaborative imagination. They prioritise narratives that resonate with audiences, asking audacious "what if" questions that push the boundaries of possibility. Pixar's open, team-oriented environment facilitates a free flow of ideas. They apply a constant process of brainstorming. Pixar redefines what animation can do. It keeps raising the bar. This inspires a culture of creative exploration. It shows that imagination is the best tool for progress in any field.

Multiplicity: Embracing Complexity

Calvino's exploration of "multiplicity" celebrates diversity in literature and beyond. He recognises the value of encyclopedism, systems management, and the richness of multiple perspectives. Calvino sees the world as a complex network of systems and believes literature should reflect this by integrating diverse knowledge and viewpoints. Multiplicity, for him, means embracing ambiguity, different interpretations, and even contradictions. He values the dynamic tension between precision and chaos, order and diversity. By focusing on intricate details in literature, Calvino captures life's complexity, finding universal truths within the specific. Engaging with diversity enriches literature, allowing it to adapt, evolve, and maintain a fresh vision through diverse influences, forms, and techniques.

Google embodies the principle of "multiplicity" in its approach to innovation, culture, and product development. Its diverse workforce fuels a problem-solving approach that values various perspectives. By integrating knowledge from engineering, design, psychology, and more, Google creates intuitive, valuable products that resonate globally. The company's structure balances creative freedom with the focus needed to turn ideas into reality, mirroring the tension between Calvino's values. Google's "20% time" policy exemplifies this, allowing employees to explore personal passions and drive innovation from this rich mix of initiatives. Additionally, Google's interconnected product ecosystem demonstrates multiplicity, offering services that meet many needs. Their focus on user-centric design, data insights, and continuous improvement reflects a desire to capture complexity, mirroring literature's embrace of life's nuances through diverse influences.

Consistency: The Unfinished Memo

Unfortunately, the final Memo, "Consistency," remains a mystery, as it was never completed before his untimely passing; it leaves room for speculation and exploration.

The concept involves remaining faithful to an original idea or guiding thread without being persuaded by variety for its own sake. It requires returning to and developing an initial concept or narrative trajectory. A consistent writer follows a well-defined, calculated plan and structure for a literary work, demonstrating discipline, precision, and internal logic in story development. Calvino also highlights the importance of limits, rules, and constraints in writing, paradoxically allowing for new creative freedom and richness. However, there is an inherent tension between consistency and diversity, as multiplicity embraces unpredictability and chaos while consistency seeks order and coherence. Perfect consistency risks becoming uniform or dull, and Calvino likely explored the interplay between consistency and diversity without favouring one over the other.

A prime example of this is Netflix. The platform demonstrates strategic focus, adherence to core values, and the creative use of constraints. By staying true to its guiding principle of transforming how people consume entertainment, Netflix has consistently delivered accessible and diverse content. From its origins as a DVD rental service to its current status as a top streaming platform and content creator, Netflix has evolved its service in line with new technologies and changing consumer preferences. Netflix is committed to delivering great entertainment anytime, anywhere, allowing it to grow its subscriber base.

Netflix improves the user experience by personalising content suggestions and increasing engagement. They utilise data analytics and machine learning while respecting user privacy and ensuring content diversity. This innovation enhances user satisfaction and encourages exploration within their content library.

Netflix balances maintaining a consistent brand identity and user experience while embracing the unpredictability of global content tastes and production challenges. They adapt their content and marketing strategies to fit diverse international markets, demonstrating flexibility. Yet, they ensure a coherent user experience across all regions, maintaining quality and consistency while reflecting local tastes.

By investing in a broad spectrum of content, Netflix fosters innovation in storytelling and content creation. This captures the complexity of global audiences and reflects Calvino's idea of finding order within chaos. Netflix crafts a structured yet dynamic content library, captivating audiences and pushing the boundaries of entertainment.

The Outcome

Calvino's "Six Memos for the Next Millennium" transcends literature. They guide businesses to navigate complexity, adapt, and innovate.

Companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Pixar, Google, and Netflix embody these principles. They embrace simplicity, adapt quickly, define products meticulously, use imagination for storytelling, and value diverse perspectives. Calvino's wisdom invites the corporate world to embrace these values and find meaning amidst the complexities.