How Beautiful

Continuing with the theme of the past two weeks, this posting will examine what beauty may look like in an organization and how we might gauge it.
In the visual, musical, written, or any other art, various components must be brought together in an organized, congruent manner to produce pleasing results. The beauty captured by Bach, Beethoven, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Dickens, Cecil B. DeMille and other great artist is almost universally recognized. What is it about their work and can it be captured in business?
As a contractor, I visited many sites. Some were happy and productive, producing great work; others were gloomy and accident-prone, often needing to tear down and redo much work.  Reflecting on various projects, I’d like to present these thoughts on the following elements of beauty:

1. Harmony. Does the design team work well with the owner? Does the design team co-operate with the contractor? Do the subcontractors work well with each other and the contractor? Do team members augment each other?
2. Rhythm. Is the superintendent a good conductor? Does work in flow from begin to end? Is there a steady beat? Are earlier tasks completed before contingent task begin? Is it rushed? Is it chaotic?
3. Balance. Does the amount of work match the number of workers? Does the reward match the effort?
4. Symmetry. Do the plans reflect the need? Does the product reflect the plans? Does the schedule reflect reality?
5. Complementarity. Does each group complete their assigned tasks? Are tasks awarded to the proper groups? Are there overlapping assignments?
6. Fullness. Are all the necessary parts there? Are there any extra parts?
7. Passion. Is everyone fully committed to the project?
8. Intensity. Is there a smooth transition from lulls to crescendos and back?

     Any such list in a short blog post can’t, obviously, be exhaustive, but these might serve as inspiration for developing a more humane corporate culture than would otherwise be achieved. Perhaps by monitoring our organizations against these metrics we could make them beautiful and bring more joy into our world. 

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