We all need a bit more Michelangelo in our mindset...especially in our leaders.

NB: If you feel the same way I do please reshare this post. Doing nothing doesn't work.

By now, if you’ve been following me, you know I’m of Italian heritage. My parents came here in the late 1950s from central Italy, like most immigrants, in search of a better life. They had no knowledge of the English language, no money and very little education; somewhere around a grade 3 level, they think.

Regardless, also like many immigrants, they leaned on three things: a tight family, a tight community that was always ready to help, and a massive desire to succeed in Canada. Over time they, together with my aunt and her family, opened and operated a small family business, a hair salon, in Richmond for 30 years that afforded all of us a lower middle-class lifestyle.

Just before my 16th birthday my dad thought it was time to return to Italy and show me where they, and I, came from. When we arrived in the little Italian village of about 1,000 inhabitants that was home to my parents, located in the foothills of the Abruzzo Apennines, I was blown away by the ancient white limestone buildings. The stone, plentiful in the area, was easy to work with and took on a golden patina over time. Sculptors and craftsman from all over Italy used the material in their work.

One day, my dad, Mom and I went to see Vatican City in Rome, about an hour drive from our little town. That was where I saw my first glimpse of the mastery of Michelangelo. From his conception of St. Peter’s Basilica to the frescos adorning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to the drama of the Pieta sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion (see below). I was hooked by his artistry and ability!

Later in life I came to learn that Michelangelo was a disruptor, a game changer. He understood how the world really was. How people really were and how they thought at the time. His art was a beacon of light in a tumultuous time. He shattered norms. He was a master of anatomy and used musculature and body positioning to create movement in his work and to create drama and emotion that left a lasting intentional political thought in the viewer. His Statue of David was a symbol of freedom in the Renaissance and to this day remains the most famous sculpture in history.

I became even more interested in Michelangelo when my cousin told me about the Taddei Tondo (see below). It’s a circular marble relief sculpted around 1505 and is considered one of Michelangelo’s finest works in the medium of relief sculpture. It was commissioned by Taddeo Taddei, a wealthy Florentine patron and admirer of Michelangelo. I don’t know if I’m somehow related to Taddeo. I think, possibly, somewhere along the line my ancestors, like many Italians, worked his lands as peasants and eventually took on his last name. This was common practice at the time in feudal Italy.

By now you’re thinking, “what does this have to do with Industrial Matters?” Be patient, I’m getting to the punchline. But, before that, a bit more context is important.

Michelangelo hit his prime in the early/mid 1500s, during the European Renaissance. This was a period during the 15th and 16th centuries that marked a transition from Middle Ages (dark times) to modernity (enlightened times). There was great social change in the areas of art, architecture, science, literature, and politics. It was “a turning” if you will. Sound familiar?

Sidebar:

If you are familiar with Strauss-Howe generational theory, you’ll know that there are 4 turnings in a century, with each turning lasting about a generation (25 years). They are:

? First Turning (High): A time of institutional strength and social order, following a major crisis. Society is cohesive, optimistic, and oriented toward collective goals.

? Second Turning (Awakening): A period of spiritual revival and challenge to established norms. Individualism grows, and cultural movements flourish.

? Third Turning (Unraveling): Institutions weaken, and individualism peaks. Society becomes fragmented and distrustful of authority.

? Fourth Turning (Crisis): A major upheaval occurs, such as war, revolution, or economic collapse, which restructures society and rebuilds institutions.

I don’t know about you, but it sure feels to me like we’re somewhere in and around the transition from the Third to the Fourth turning. Yikes!

OK, back to Michelangelo.

What was his mindset? Well, some people thought he was nuts. Ya ya, not politically correct these days. Let’s use the word, “passionate,” or maybe even “obsessed.” It’s well known that Michelangelo had an obsession with perfectionism, had a relentless work ethic, was competitive and proud. Apparently, he was also acutely aware of his mortality and obsessed with his legacy. Sure, he was flawed, like all of us are. But perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to see the potential in things. He is believed to have said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

This last sentence, “setting the angels free,” is what we need more of in Canada today. We are suffocated by rules and regulations, complexity and bureaucracy. It seems like freedom is at risk. There is a push to regulate us into sameness. Creativity and innovation are being stifled precisely at the wrong time in history. I believe we are at a crossroads in Canada today and we need to be careful which path we take. One path will lead us to shared prosperity and the other to more of the same old: declining opportunity, declining innovation, declining real wages and a race to the bottom, a declining standard of living.

As we all know, the world is changing dramatically and quickly. From geopolitical multipolarity, the USA’s battle to maintain its hegemony over the world, deglobalization, the energy transition, climate refugees, AI, an aging global population, declining population growth, etc. etc. etc., its hard to keep up. And when it gets hard, most people retreat.

If you believe the ChatGPT machine, somewhere around 30% of us, shift into our Learning and Growth mindset when faced with difficulty. Most of us, however, move into avoidance, distraction, support seeking modes. Based on my personal observations during my business career, I think this percentage sounds about right. So, its times like these, that we need our leaders to be more like Michelangelo; have a vision, focus and work hard on what is important, relentlessly chip away at all the things that don’t matter, that offer no pay-off, to disrupt, to change the game and to unleash the human potential in all of us. True leadership, innovativeness, courage and drive have never been more important to our shared prosperity than they are today.

At Conwest we’re trying to do our part in all of this. We have sharpened our mindset. We thrive on "hard." We don't shy away from it. We've also focused our philanthropic finances and our time on supporting the youth, the next generations, to develop the critical mindset and skills needed to thrive in today's world. That’s why we’re involved in things like UBC Sauder, SFU Beedie, BCIT Real Estate, CREW, NAIOP Developing Leaders, and the ICSF.

We’re also advocating hard for our industry, that quite frankly, is seen as a villain and is under siege by all levels of government. We’re bringing solutions to government and to our work everyday. We're striving to be the best at what we do and in 2025 we’ll double our efforts again.

The question is "What are you going to do?" Are you going to be a leader? It’s in all of us. It’s a choice. It’s also not a right. It’s a privilege that should be taken seriously. Oh ya, and it’s not easy.

Show up. Stand up. And do something.

Ben

p.s. I guess in Michelangelo’s case, he was laying down when he painted the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. Never mind. You get my point.