Allen's Reflections on Heward

When Lyn Heward began describing her “seven doors” she used to outline the principles that are used to manage Cirque de Soleil’s creativity and creative talent, I was immediately struck by the similarities to my own work. As Vice-President of Plank, a web design company, I am put in the position of managing creative people all the time. I was pleased to hear that a lot of what makes the Cirque successful in this regard is also being practiced at Plank on a regular basis.
One of the most important elements at Cirque and at Plank is finding great people. Ms. Heward described the third door of “treasure hunting and creative transformation” when referring to recruiting and human resource management. Treasure hunting is something Plank takes to heart. When looking for employees, we are looking for potential, and the hidden talents of individuals. Web design employees fall into three categories – designers, programmers, and integrators. A key to a good employee is someone who applies for a job in one area but has some skills or knowledge in one of the other areas – these are the hidden talents that get exploited to the benefit of the company as a whole.
This last point also relates to one of Ms. Heward’s points about creative transformation – the need to work outside your comfort zone. At Plank, we ask our programmers about design all the time; they are working outside of their comfort zone. Some of what a programmer does in the sphere of design can get incorporated into the final product. Working outside their comfort zone has helped the overall project and stimulated creativity from unexpected places.
Ms. Heward’s described the fourth door of nurturing the creative environment through collective creativity. This was something that was recently brought to light at Plank. Whereas in the past only the designers were involved in the creative process at the beginning of a website design, recently we have initiated a system where the other groups of employees – integrators and programmers – have a say in the creative development of a website from the beginning. By adding their voices and concerns, the entire creative process has been dramatically improved, and the final product is a much better one.
Finally, providing the nurturing environment is perhaps the most important principles of creative management at Plank. Our office is designed as an open concept, and everyone, from the President to the most junior employee, with the same desk and chair. This translates to an egalitarian environment where open discussion and dialogue are encouraged and fostered. Furthermore, numerous non-work related group activities provide a sense of collectivity for all employees, which helps foster a sense of team, and again, a better product in the end. While fostering a sense of team may sound like flaky management BS, it works. I was pleased to see the Cirque and Plank sharing this philosophy.
There were numerous other parallels between Cirque’s techniques and Plank’s, yet space prevents examining them all.