Robert Austin (1)

A good business book which explores art (and especially the theatre performance) as a metaphor for a way of working more functional for contemporary, knowledge-based organizations moving into a volatile and competitive context. Nothing especially new (but it has to be considered that the book is from 2003), but well told.

Artful Making builds the case that a number of knowledge work companies are erroneously using an “industrial making” approach to their projects: they try to standardize processes, to shield themselves from uncertainty, and to plan heavily before acting. For many industries, Austin and Devin say, this is the right approach. But for those occupations that share a particular set of characteristics (low cost iterations, need for innovation, and reliable repetition), the industrial making show more approach is not helpful. For this kind of work –and especially for software development–, Austin and Devin suggest instead an “artful making” approach, one that, strangely enough, is based on their observations of how theatre troupes work.

Contrary to what I initially expected, the book is not touchy-feely, it’s not new age-y, and it has nothing to sell. Instead, it’s a fantastic look at the similarities between actors and knowledge workers, and a deceptively simple roadmap to make artfully, and to have fun while doing so. show less