valeriegd's posterous http://valeriegd.posterous.com Most recent posts at valeriegd's posterous posterous.com Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:46:41 -0700 The Richness of Diversity http://valeriegd.posterous.com/the-richness-of-diversity http://valeriegd.posterous.com/the-richness-of-diversity

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a performance of Aida in Bregenz.  This is such a special atmosphere as it is open air, the stage is on the lake, the lighting is amazing as are all the props.  Positioned in the lake and on the main stage are pieces of metal painted blue with gold stars.  These are pieces of the Statue of Liberty – the symbol of freedom - but a bit strange in a storyline set over 100 years ago in Egypt. The costumes are a mix of old Egypt and modern day clothes (the figures in the photo are actors).  

Image002

So the plot unfolds as per Verdi’s script.  Suddenly there is a commotion behind us.  Turning around I saw a line of riot police – not Egyptian but pretty Germanic looking, with shields, viziers .. They moved towards the audience sitting in the front row and proceeded to engage them with batons and shields, the audience fights back – at this point the main stage is not getting too much attention – and many end up in the cold lake.  So you have guessed, this was part of the performance. 

This production rather than staying with ‘we have done it this way for years and it was successful’ choose to combine the classic vision with a translation of the story into the modern world.  The result was an extremely rich production that in fact takes the audience beyond the beautiful music, costumes and stage to reflecting upon freedom of speech, action in our current world..

Taking this to our professional environment – the value of diversity, be it gender, generational, style can only add to the richness of a discussion or plan and impact the outcome.  When did you last really look at your team to see how diverse it is.  You know that if the team is not diverse, it will be easier to manage (the yes team) but you also know that a diverse team can be more chaotic, more creative, more impulsive but most importantly generally deliver a better outcome.  Note to self for tomorrow – check team composition!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle