A talk about freedom of expression in business and in art

Last Thursday I got to spend a bit of quality time in the company of the +30 student organizers of the upcoming 50th St. Gallen Symposium. We would talk about freedom of expression in business and art and, since I had never done such a talk before, I had no idea what to expect ... well, what followed left me moved to tears, laughing out loud and thoroughly hopeful.

My talk was(heck, they all are) about life, down-to-earth, human, simple. That's what I believe life is: simple. As human beings, with that large brain of ours, we just keep doing everything we can at pretty much all times to make what it simple seem complicated. Well then, how to broach the subject of freedom of expression in business and art?

I believe that art is what gives us reason to live beyond survival. Art is what moves hearts and mountains. Art is what elevates the soul - and art, lived bravely, can change the world by inspiring and challenging us. Art is courage - and art is speaking up in countless forms ... and so I began the talk with the story of a man who believed he had not been speaking up enough - Martin Niem?ller. Niem?ller, WWI submarine officer turned priest, had experienced the horrors of the first world war and joined priesthood. When he saw what was beginning to happen in the new Germany, he raised his voice and spent seven years in prison during WWII. Still, he believed he had not done enough and that everything that had happened, had happened because people had not raised their voices - he then famously penned the following:

While everyone will tell you that it's important to speak up, most people actually don't. This is true in private life, and this is most definitely also true in business. Companies do a great deal to enable and empower their employees to raise their voices in the best interest of their company - but often does that not happen. Instead people stay silent and there are a number of understandable reasons. This, of course, doesn't help the company. Even more importantly, it harms the individual. Life lived authentically, truthfully, honestly, is life at its best (mind you, not life at its easiest). If you're not honest, why do you bother? Fear? Career? Again, there are understandable reasons for staying silent ... but ultimately they harm you.

There are a lot of leaders trying hard to create the right environment, one that doesn't just enable and empower, but that also encourages and urges and even mandates the act of speaking up. In an email to his employees, to ensure Teslas's rapid innovation cycles, Elon Musk urged his employees to forget hierarchy and always directly speak to the right person: "Anyone at Tesla can and should talk to anyone else according to what they think is the fastest way to solve a problem for the benefit of the whole company." Below the link to the whole email - well worth reading.

Another excellent example is that of McKinsey & Company - they have, spelled out clearly in their values, the duty to "uphold the obligation to dissent" - now that's strong. And in the below article by Andrew Millar, he references a Genral Motors leader who would not take a decision until they had what he called "developped disagreement." Dissenters are, in my view, essential for companies.

But while dissenters are essential for companies, what doesn't automatically follow, of course, is that those dissenters are appreciated. It's always easier to just nod and/or say nothing. It's always harder to raise a hand, stand up, step forward and speak up. But, again, I believe that is life lived at its best. When it comes to speaking up, there are a few important elements of what I'd call a good corporate rebel. I believe the list below was originally put together by Lois Kelly of Rebels at Work and it is something worth sticking to your computer screen - first of all, yes, do speak up. Second - find the positive ways - be that good rebel.

At Swiss Re, ten years ago, our leadership green-lit an entirely open engagement platform (we call it Ourspace) where suddenly every employee around the world had a voice - and one that could reach every other employee. It created an entirely new level of openness, sharing of insights and opinions and ideas and stories - and it is, to this day, very much also lived by example by our senior leaders. I shared one example of an employee publicly raising a critical question way back then, and how it stirred the pot - and how much this open engagement (and the fact that our leaders live it), has helped us progress toward an open culture that is far more engaging, caring and inclusive.

Speaking up, being that good rebel, takes courage - and so we talked about courage for a bit and this was just beautiful - these were thoughts about life, about relationships, about trust and vulnerability. In my case, I talked about black holes. Black holes are the decision moments in our lives. Black holes are the crossroads. What do we choose? Will we fear or will we dare? Do we step up or do we step back? Better the devil you know than the devil you don't? Go for independence or not? Take the new job or stay in the old one? Hold on to a waning relationship or make an honest decision? Talk to that smiling face or carry that nagging feeling with you for years because you never had the courage?

In my life, black holes have made all the difference. We all come across these holes, some of them shallow, some of them miles deep. My take is simple: If you're confronted with a black hole, take a deep breath and jump. Not all destinations will be satisfying ones and you may even regret some of the results from the odd jump. But in my experience courage is always rewarded, even if the reward may not be obvious st first. Sometimes it's instant, sometimes it takes years. But here's another good reason for courageously jumping into black holes: courage is a muscle you can train. Jump, and jump again. Dare, and dare again. And fail, and fail again - you'll better get to know yourself with every time, and with every time your courage muscle grows stronger. You start trusting your muscle, it becomes who you are with all the clarity that makes you you.

In our session, making the switch from business to art proved surprisingly effortless after our conversation about courage. What does a company need? I needs to innovate, it needs those creative new ideas. But, while all little children freely create, adults have been told time and time again that they a) are no good at it or b) are wasting their time.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up.” (Pablo Picasso)

A culture that's anything less than open will always stifle ideas - and that isn't just detrimental for companies, it can be downright deadly. Simply to give creative freedom the opportunity to spark and let loose for a while, we split into small groups - every group tasked with picking any global challenge - and then think wild and free into how that topic might be artistically addressed. What came back half an hour later were ideas that blew me away ... and I wish that at least some will someday see the light of day - heck, maybe in the form of installations at a next St. Gallen Symposium!

It takes courage to bring that which is stifled, be it from within or without, to the fore. Just as we all have the creative juice, we all have, within us, the courage to make use of our freedom of expression.