True Confessions of a Business Romantic

True Confessions of a Business RomanticTrue Confessions of a Business RomanticTrue Confessions of a Business Romantic Blaszczyk, Managing Editor, Resurce CenterAre you bold enough to be a business romantic? And no, were bedrngnis referring to workplace CupidsAuthor Tim Leberecht, who coins the terms in his new book, The Business Romantic Give Everything, Quantify Nothing, and Create Something Greater Than Yourself (Harper Business, 2014), explains that business romantics are first and foremost humanists. Theyre bold enough to upend traditional business behavior and brave enough to bring heart and soulmusik to their work.This intriguing model was first inspired by Leberechts own popular 2012 TED Talk, 3 Ways to (Usefully) Lose Control of your Brand.In this interview, he explains his own personal epiphany that led him to become a business romantic and how it can benefit the workplace.Monster What exactly is the mindset of a Business Romantic?Leberecht Its a mindset that explores witho ut exploiting. A lifestyle and leadership style in business that maintains a sense of wonder, doubt, and vulnerability as the basis for the ability to appreciate and manage complex relationships and contradictions.Monster When did you know you were a business romantic?Leberecht It goes back to 2004 when I was serving as an advance press chief for the Athens Olympic Torch Relay. It was then that I experienced my own business romantic epiphany moment.As parte of our six-week trip around the world, the flame touched African soil for the first time in Olympic history. I remember being in Tahrir Square in Cairo and feeling a sense of awe when I saw the pride and joy of thousands of Egyptians around me. It was one of the most romantic moments of my life and the best job Ive ever had.I realized then that this intensity of emotion was exactly what I wanted to experience for the rest of my career. I then looked to business for a sense of adventure and meaning far beyond profit and productivi ty.I wrote The Business Romantic because I believe we need more romance in our lives and that we can find it in and through business.Monster You advocate for being vulnerable and passionate at work and not always playing to win a zero-sum game. Is this a new gestalt for employers and their workers?Leberecht I hope so The Business Romantic aims to show that while romance is a world view and a lifestyle, it can also be a powerful framework for business.As professionals, we need to build romantic muscle and practice acts of romance. With the book I wanted to uncover the secrets of business romantics, and help those who arent romantics to recognize its value.Monster How did you test your theory?Leberecht As part of my research, I wanted to test the market demand for Business Romanticism. So I created and posted a fictitious sample job description. I received more than 100 applications in the first week My favorite one was I love this job description, but I will not apply because that w ould be utterly un-romanticI think we all want material gains and social security through our work, but we also all have an innate desire to connect with something greater than ourselves and to believe in something. The quest for meaning, beyond our individual pursuit of self-realization and happiness, is an incredibly strong driver.I view romance as a key factor of happiness and meaning it is the best way to describe a profound desire for the worlds beauty that cannot be captured in quantitative terms.Monster You also say that work is no longer defined as a place that we go to but rather define it by what we bring to the work. Can you explain?Leberecht This is actually a quote from researcher and writer Stowe Boyd who wrote an article about a start-up named Somewhere that I cite in my book. He said that work is increasingly a thing we do, not a place where we go.With nearly 50% of the global workforce projected to work remotely by 2020, and 75% of the workforce Millennials by 2025 , were witnessing a profound work revolution in increasingly fragmented talent markets, tomorrows knowledge workers will be digital nomads, interdisciplinary micropreneurs, personal brand-builders, and hybrid hackers.The construct of employment with a company is just one of many platforms for these schrift of workers. Their unique capital will be as much data-driven as it is cultural and romantic.Companies who appeal to their values and how they make them feel will become even more important in attracting and retaining them. Passion and purpose will play a bigger role in the design of careers, and permanent learning will no longer be a means to an end, it will be the end. Author BioTim Leberecht is author of The Business Romantic (Harper Business, Jan.) and chief marketing officer of NBBJ, a global design and architecture firm that helps organizations like Amazon, Boeing, Google, Samsung, Starbucks, and Tencent create meaningful experiences. Previously, Leberecht was CMO of product design and strategy firm Frog Design. He has spoken at TEDweltweit, The Economist Big Rethink, DLD, and the Silicon Valley CEO Summit, among other venues. His TED Talk, 3 Ways to (Usefully) Lose Control of Your Brand, has been viewed by more than 700,000 people to date. Based in San Francisco, Leberecht serves on the World Economic Forums Global Agenda Council on Values and on the board of Jump Associates, a strategy and innovation consultancy.Read More Resolve to Be a Business Romantic