A few years ago Antony Gormley persuaded
Sefton Council to let him place 100 cast-iron figures along the foreshore at
Crosby. I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about providing inspiration for business
people when he did that. But that’s certainly what he did for me when I took my
family to visit Another Place this Christmas. What’s more, I think his statues
give us a brilliant example of what value visiting “another place” can give. Indeed
if you are someone battling to succeed in business then simply being in
“another place” can be the key that unlocks your creativity, reveals a new
angle or allows you to put an old problem into perspective…
As I see it there are at least 5
major benefits you can enjoy if you take the trouble to visit any major sculpture
in such a natural and often dramatic setting. You’ll probably have different
ones and maybe even more but see what you think of mine. I hope my experience
can help you to find your “other place”.
Here are my top 5 points:
·
Inspiration
comes from just seeing things done very differently and in a remarkably bold
way
·
Sculptures
like these often provide more questions than answers and thus encourage you to
keep faith in a business process which often does the same and where answers
are similarly hard to find
·
Personal
interpretation is challenging and fosters original thought, steering you well
away from the familiar patterns and ruts of everyday business thinking
·
Community
and family values are enjoyed and reinforced in a shared experience which is
novel, memorable and therefore of lasting value
·
A
vigorous walk along a wind and rain swept coastline provides an excellent
chance to live by the motto “a healthy mind in a healthy body”
I just hope when you visit Another
Place that the wind is blowing a little less vigorously since we managed to
visit on the windiest day of the year and consequently enjoyed a sand-blasting
experience too which will also not be forgotten easily!