Resources
Database of pieces of literature and art
Melancholy Woman / Liūdinti moteris
In 1902, living in Barcelona Picasso painted scenes of deprivation and depression, affected also by a close friend's suicide in Paris and remembering the sketching prostitutes at the women's prison. Colour blue had many associations for the symbolists living in the turn-of-the-century, suggesting, representing night, evil, and death; it may be found often in the young artist's works of this time. "Melancholy Woman" probably depicts the mistress of his dead friend; a woman to whom Picasso himself felt attracted. She is shown staring at the wall of her cell. Looking at this picture through the lens of entrepreneurship, we can speak about bankruptcy - when you lose your business, have to sell your property or the creditors take all the assets that you have, you have to fire your employees and deal with the emotional challenges of feeling a loser, a failure. Text adapted from www.dia.org/art
Pablo Picasso
Skills: Bankruptcy
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard / Napoleonas kertant Alpes
The painting depicts the victorious crossing of St Bernard pass in May 1800 by the army under the direction of the Bonaparte, showing his triumph in Italy. Bonaparte shocked everyone in crossing the pass which was thought to be impossible to cross during spring. In Napoleon Crossing the Alps, the raised hand and finger undoubtedly shows the will and determination of the commander to reach his goal. It shows the observer that the victory inevitable and at the same time gives the order to his soldiers to go after him. This painting might be used to speak about the characteristics and the role of the good leader - the one showing direction, being at the front, inspiring his / her team to move forward, etc. The showing of direction to the team (in Bonaparte's case - his soldiers) is clearly demonstrated by Napoleon's finger. His posture on the horse, holding a strong animal with one hand shows us - looking from the entrepreneurial point of view - a strong leader.
Jaques-Louis David
Skills: Leadership
Exam table
The artwork depicts an empty exam room with a formal semi-circle table surrounded by high-back chairs, a pair of glasses, a school bell, and other objects randomly distributed on the table. In the middle, a small table and an ordinary chair are placed, obviously for the person under examination. Looking from the entrepreneurial point of view, the scene could be interpreted either as a preparation for or a result of a business presentation or a sales pitch in front of potential clients or investors. A sole lamp is hanging from the ceiling focusing the attention on the person under examination and strengthening the feelings of nervousness and pressure. It could be associated with the stress under which the businessperson is in such a situation and the importance of their communication, presentation, and/or negotiation skills. No people are depicted in the scene, which makes the results from the exam not clear and allows speculations if they were positive or negative.
Rolf Escher
Skills: communication, negotiation, presentation, stress management
High Society
The surrealistic painting depicts a double silhouette of a bourgeois "little man" with a bowler hat, typical for Magritte. The one silhouette is filled in dark green foliage, while the other represents part of a beach scene with sands, water, and clouds in the sky, symbolising the constant play between reality and illusion. Looking from the entrepreneurial point of view, the enigmatic juxtaposition of the two figures could be seen as a symbol of the dual nature of the entrepreneur – a visionary, who leads others forward, and a real person, doing day-to-day business.
Rene Magritte
Skills: leadership, communication, delegation, stress management
The persistence of Memory
The surrealistic painting depicts the contradiction between the illusion and the way we perceive reality. In this picture, the hard objects (watches) melt or attract ants, and the flesh is shown as at once alien and familiar. Some literal reality is also included in the distant golden cliffs representing the coast of Dali's homeland Catalonia. Looking from the entrepreneurial point of view, the limp watches create an illusion of softness and uncertainty. Each watch shows different times, which could be interpreted that different people could have a different understanding of time management and thus work in different ways. In this way, time loses all its meaning. Permanence also goes with it: ants, a common theme in Dalí's work, represent decay, particularly when they attack a gold watch.
Salvador Dali
Skills: time management
Rouen Cathedral - series
The series of the Rouen Cathedrals consists of 28 oil paintings made from the same spot; The artist used the cathedral as a basic element to study and represent the changes in light and colour, emphasised by the Gothic forms. The observation and study of light and colour are at the heart of the Impressionist movement, while the mere object only represents a means. One should focus on the different colours and shades of the paintings; the analysis can be then transferred and linked to the different perspectives and points of view the individual should focus on to tackle a challenge and overcome it. As the artist chooses different times of the day to paint the cathedral, in order to highlight different features of it, the entrepreneur can adopt different methodologies and techniques to understand the several facets of a context, a problem. When bringing all the results together, as in the painting (s)he will have the whole picture.
Claude Monet
Skills: Problem solving
Departure of the winged ship
The painter depicts a ship with butterfly wings that substitute sails; it is a typical surrealist action. Butterflies give the vessel an extraordinary lightness, the painting arouses a sensation of freedom. The colours suggest hope. The element to focus on is the ship with its butterfly wings. Irrational and rational are blended together, giving life to something new and innovative. The picture itself can be a metaphor of creative problem-solving: the ship symbolises convergent thinking style, while the butterfly wings represent divergent styles. As the painter sees reality and ordinary life as full of possibilities, so should do the entrepreneur when facing a challenge. Problems should be seen as open-ended questions, so it will be easier to find the butterfly wings that suit them.
Vladimir Kush
Skills: Problem solving
The Gift
The artist contests the main function of iron, that is to produce smooth and caressing surfaces, through the insertion of 14 nails that tear rather than smooth the surfaces with which they come into contact. What unites the objects is a paradox. As in the case of another ready-made, the meaning of the work arises from a recontextualization of the object. If considered individually, the two objects that make up the readymade piece have a minor value, but when brought together in a single work they become more fascinating, and this is amplified by the unusability of the creation. This can lead to reflection on how innovation works, how bringing together extremely different elements or areas can create a totally new and successful one. In addition, the attraction enhanced by the unusability provides a link with the topic of ostensible demarketing, a marketing strategy that results in the revival of a product if downgraded or withdrawn from the market.
Man Ray
Skills: Marketing
The Bright Beneath
Artist Shih Chieh Huang created this installation inspired by bioluminescence in marine animals. He carried out scientific research along with scientists, studying and documenting specimens that produce light in order to survive. The result was not a faithful biological reproduction of the animals studied, only the emotions are reproduced in the installations: astonishment, creativity and imagination. The artist achieved his purpose using lights, plastic tubes appendages and computer parts. The element to focus on is bioluminescence. It is not only inspirational for arts: as a biological, sustainable source it inspired the creation of living lighting systems that might change the way we illuminate the world. A French startup, Glowee, was born in 2014 on the basis of this purpose. The topic could be useful to introduce participants to biomimicry, the innovation inspired by nature.
Shih Chieh Huang
Skills: Marketing
MURAL PAINTING IN DJEHUTIHOTEP'S TOMB
It shows dozens of workers dragging a sled carrying a colossal statue and a character climbing on the front of the sled pouring water on the sand, presumably to facilitate the transport of the statue.
unknown
Skills: Capacity to work in teams. Communication skills.
Washington crossing the Delaware
It commemorates General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River with the Continental Army on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. That action was the first move in a surprise attack and victory against Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey on the morning of December 26.
Emanuel Leutze
Skills: leadership and assestiveness. Capacity to task risks and strategic thinking
Composition 8 (Komposition 8)
This painting of abstract art inspires many different feelings, ideas and emotions to the viewer by a combination of lines, colours and shapes. It is a pure representation of creativity and imagination. It can be found in the Guggenheim Museum, in New York.
Wassily Kandinsky
Skills: Creative skills and open-mindness. Capacity to understand visual art and find different ways to approach things.
The school of Athens
The mural pictures of the old Greek philosophers depict different branches of knowledge. Although the philosophers lived in different times in classical antiquity, the picture represents how these great philosophers, mathematicians and scientists guided each other and learned from each other and served this knowledge to humanity.
Rafaello Sanzio
Skills: Leadership, guidance
Shaun the Sheep / Baa-gherita / Season 6, Episode 1
A hungry Shaun turns creatively the Farmer's pottery oven into a pizza factory in an unprecedented and unusual manner. Turns it into a business venture by using the whatever tools are left in the garbage in order to put his ideas to the chain- product of pizza production and marketing.
Georgia Pritchett
Skills: Creativity, teamwork, time management.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
The painting displays a corpse body and medical professionals around it. Dr Tulp is explaining the musculature of the arm to the men in the Picture. It can be suggested that the idea in the picture underpins the autopsy of modern medicine.
Rembrandt van Rijn
Skills: Commitment, entrepreneurship, teamwork
The Thinker
The Thinker is a man lost in thought. The question is "What are actually the thinking skills?"
Auguste Rodin
Skills: critical thinking skills, self confidience, reflextion, problemsolving.
Uncertain Journey
Confronting fundamental human concerns such as life, death and relationships, Shiota explores human existence throughout various dimensions by creating an existence in the absence either in her large-scale thread installations that include a variety of common objects and external memorabilia or through her drawings, sculptures, photography and videos. From an entrepreneurial perspective, this installation also symbolizes the possibilities and impossibilities in our current society: the many possibilities but at the same time also the lack of clarity in (social) networks, challenges, choices and goals. As an entrepreneur, this requires risk management, ability to understand root problems, critical thinking, planning prioritization, strategic planning, etc.
Chiharu Shiota
Skills: risk management, ability to understand root problems, critical thinking, planning priorization, strategic planning,
Matchmaking / Piršlybos
In this painting, we see one of the old Lithuanian tradition of matchmaking. A matchmaker comes to the house of a girl to convince her parents to let her get married to a boy the matchmaker represents. This is a long process of convincing, proving that the boy is worth to wed the girl. Parents of the girl are asking tricky questions to test the matchmaker (and the boy at the same time). This painting if analysed from the entrepreneurial point of view could be used to speak about the very beginning of setting up a business - writing a business plan, trying to "sell" your idea to possible investors or institutions providing loans, other financial resources. Also, it is possible to discuss where a new businessman can go for support - his/her parents, bank, approach other financial mechanisms. This needs to be well thought of decision and a young businessman should think well about the commitments in order for this "union" to be successful.
Vytautas Kasiulis
Skills: Financing (finding resources)
Rest / Poilsis
In this painting we see many different figures which all look similar, there is not much difference in them. This picture could be used to induce a discussion about entrepreneurship - more precisely about distinguishing one's business (product, services offered) from the others - if you are offering something similar to what is already on the market, why people should buy from you? Is your product better in quality? Does it have a better price? Does it offer something new? Here looking at the painting we speak about the completely opposite - not being somebody who blends in but finding what in your business differs you from the others and finding your customer.
Jadvyga Dobkevičiūtė-Paukštienė
Skills: Branding (being different than the others and able to sell)
From the series Carmine / Iš ciklo "Karminas"
In the painting we see a group of men lined up and a commanding officer who is pointing with his finger at one of the men. This painting when seen from the entrepreneurial point of view could be used to discuss the opposition between "a good" and "a bad" leader. What qualities a good leader should possess? What does the leader do, how he/she behaves? How does poor management look like? What can we learn from this? (it is also possible to discuss how the management culture is changing - how the leader/ manager was understood 20-30 years ago and how he/she is seen nowadays). The colour red might also be associated with something alarming in the approach or behaviour of the leader/ manager and how this affects the internal atmosphere in the team.
Adomas Danusevičius
Skills: Leadership
Garden II
The artwork is in the figurative painting style, which characterises with an unclear depiction of real objects and situations, and thus is purely representational. We could look at the man, depicted stepping on a rock, as an entrepreneur trying to reach out to others and to transmit his message or to sell his products or services. The sticks going out of the water could be interpreted in two different directions: either as other potential entrepreneurs, who the man should "inspire" with his ideas and bring up from the water or as possible steps, which he should take to reach to the figurative boat at the background. The endless water and heavy clouds could be interpreted as obstacles which the entrepreneur should overcome.
Ivan Kostolov
Skills: negotiation skills, time management, delegation, leadership
Photography II
The photograph represents an old man walking with a bucket in his hand and surrounded by ruins. He might have suffered a devastating fire, an earthquake or a bomb explosion and everything around him is now destroyed. If we look at the man as an entrepreneur, he is under huge pressure and stress (and might be in bankruptcy) and should rebuild his life and business anew. He should plan where to start from and how to solve his problems. We could speculate what assistance he would need and how he could rely on support from others (teamwork). The brown colours of the earth and ruins sharply contrast with the sky blue and the light clouds and could be interpreted as a reminiscence of the calmness of nature (and the surrounding environment) versus human tragedy.
Tihomir Petkov
Skills: stress management, business planning, teamwork, problem solving
Destinations
The painting follows the traditions of the modernism of 1960s and combines universal signs and shapes with colourful human, usually female sketches. Looking from the entrepreneurial point of view, the artwork could be interpreted as an endeavour (partially framed by a semi-cross) and a team trying to communicate their products, services or ideas with a potential customer or an investor. The red colour could be interpreted as a uniting element bounding together the figure outside the semi-cross, the ones inside and the endeavour itself and could be linked with the blood colour (as a symbol of partnership and likely-minded people). The other dimension is to interpret the semi-cross as an entrepreneurial endeavour in a transition and employees being under pressure and stress. The figure outside could be seen as an entrepreneur trying to solve the problems and the red colour – as a bounding type between likely-minded people during the process.
Encho Pironkov
Skills: teamwork, stress management, communication, sales, problem solving
Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral
The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore is the largest masonry dome ever built in the world, it is unique. The height of the tax floor and its octagonal shape forced Filippo Brunelleschi to choose a pointed arch shape, instead of the hemispherical one. He also opted for a double dome in order to lighten the load. The problem-solving element lies in the dome itself. Innovation and continuous learning are key to entrepreneurship and problem-solving. The polyhedral configuration of the dome can be seen as the complexity of an everyday situation or a market situation. As much as it may seem hard to find a way through a situation, a market, a target, you can exploit the adversity, build on it and achieve something new and unique out of it.
Filippo Brunelleschi
Skills: Problem solving
David
The type of marble chosen for the statue presented some problems: it was of low quality, fragile, characterized by many cracks and holes. The shape of the block was too high and narrow; the danger was for the statue to collapse because of its weight, which was greater in the upper part. Confident of his success, Michelangelo nevertheless sculpted the David on that block, providing the stuccoing and covering of the marbling and taroli of the statue with lime mortar, so as to make it more precise and realistic. To avoid placing the weight of the statue on the left side of the block, Michelangelo placed all the weight on the right leg, strengthened by a small trunk that has an essentially static function, as in ancient statuary. The general element to focus on is the proactive approach, the idea that you can achieve something successful starting from scratch, starting from a 'bad' initial setup if you adopt the right mindset and attitude. A specific element to focus on is the weakness of the left side of the statue, compensated by the right one: every idea or process can be strengthened, so to strengthen the whole picture.
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Skills: Problem solving
Oedipus and the Sphinx
The painting represents the mythological story of the encounter between Oedipus and the Sphinx. Oedipus manages to solve the enigma posed by the Sphinx. -"What is the animal that walks with four legs in the morning, at noon with two, and in the evening with three?" -"It is the man, who as a child walks on all fours; when he is mature, he walks upright on two feet, and as an old man he must use a stick as a support to walk". Besides the enigma itself, the element to focus on in the painting is presented by the cubes on which the sphinx and one of Oedipus' feet are placed. The cube under the sphinx represents the extent of the problem, the process of problem shaping; the smaller cube on which Oedipus' foot rests, represents the initial formation of a solution strategy. One should also focus on the position of the mannequin, which 'stretches towards the problem' even though it is of higher level. This can be a clear reference to introspection and the attitude needed for solution-finding.
Giorgio De Chirico
Skills: Problem solving
The last kiss of Romeo and Juliet
Hayez's painting is taken from William Shakespeare tragedy and depicts the farewell between the two lovers. The painting was an extraordinary success thanks to the novelty of the subject and the pictorial language, but it also caused a stir in the society of the time, as the scene was considered to be of strong eroticism. The novelty and the scandal of the time make the painting somehow comparable to modern guerrilla marketing.
Francesco Hayez
Skills: Marketing
Woman at the mirror
The painting depicts an actress getting ready for a show. The mirror reflects the blank stare of the woman, her head buzzing with thoughts. The element to focus on is the woman and her reflection, the introspection it brings; how people see themselves looking at the mirror, what they would like to look like and how they think other people see them. It will be preparatory for the introduction of the concept of self and brand personality and the impact they have on consumer behaviour; how they can be exploited in a marketing strategy and advertising campaign - Definition and understanding of actual self-image, ideal self-image, social self-image, ideal social self-image and expected self-image, extended self. - Creation of a persona, a product or brand core consumer. - Definition of personality and brand personality (Personality-like traits associated with brands)
Cagnaccio di San Pietro
Skills: Marketing
Sacred and profane love
This is one of the most enigmatic paintings in the history of art. It may represent a bride (dressed in white), sitting beside Cupid and the goddess Venus. There have been numerous conflicting interpretations; some critics think it represents the dualism of a single person. Tiziano was strongly focused on colour and the red in his paintings was so particular and unique that it took its name from him (Titian red). He used this warm, heated shade of red to communicate something different according to the characters. In this one, it represents passion and sensuality. We should thereby focus on the use of colour, which has a fundamental role in the painting, and so it has in branding and advertising. Through visual stimulus the painting provides sensations, colour provokes emotions that vary according to culture and personality. Colour also provides a chance for the painter and the marketer to make its product/brand stand out. The idea is to make a parallelism between the use of colour in Tiziano's artwork and the strategic use of colours in companies.
Tiziano Vecellio
Skills: Marketing
Mae West Lips Sofa
The sofa is the same colour as the 'Shocking pink' lipstick developed by the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, for whom Dali himself designed hats and dresses in 1937. The sofa's shape derives not only from Mae West's lips but also from other sources, including the luxurious curves of Gaudi's architecture. Dali took his principal inspiration from a particularly irregular and uncomfortable rocky formation near Cadaques. As he said, Surrealist objects were never meant to be practical.
Salvador Dalí
Skills: Creativity: experimenting with different elements and ideas to create new ones.
Aidez L'Espagne [Help Spain]
Although Miró was not famous for getting involved in politics, in this painting, in the Spanish Civil War context, he asked to design a stamp to be sold for the benefit of the Republican Government in Spain. The painting represents the clothes of a typical peasant raising his fist in a protesting manner. The predominant colours are those of the Spanish and Catalan flags. However, although the stamp was never issued, Miró subsequently made a stencil print of the design. One of the printed editions included this transcription: "In this present battle I see on the fascist side just the outdated forces, and on the other side, the people whose immense creative resources which will give Spain a power which will astonish the whole world".
Joan Miró
Skills: Leadership: value of defending your ideas and strategic thinking
Fifth Avenue, Nueva York
This painting represents the Fifth Avenue in New York and the painter himself is represented in a window, working from a hotel. The painting shows the quick movements of people and cars in the city; a dynamic urban life filled with automobiles. It captures a casual moment of the city in those times where its power in the business sector was growing exponentially.
Joaquín Sorolla
Skills: Entrepreneurship: ambitions, hard-work and risk taking in that context
Antiochos I of Commagene shaking hands with Herakles
This stel is acknowledged as a symbol of uniting the east and West idea (Greek and Persian) of the Commagene Kingdom in terms of territory, religion and politics.
Unknown
Skills: Leadership, communication, negotiation
The Tortoise Trainer
The painting depicts an old man holding "ney" (Sufi flute) in his hand, and on his back carrying a drum called "nakkare" and wearing a traditional hat which is worn by dervish called "arakiye". Just around his feet, there are five tortoises and he is trying to train them with his instrument although training tortoises is almost impossible. However, in order to achieve things patience and determination come first. The painting subtly portrays a social message: change is difficult, requires much patience, in fact, the patience of a Sufi dervish.
Osman Hamdi Bey
Skills: Patience, determination
Golden-winged seahorse brooch also called "hippocampuse"
The Croesus Treasure, a collection of artefacts from the time of King Croesus' rule of the Lydian Kingdom. It is pure gold but what makes it so unique is the wings. This mythological creature can be used to attract attention in order to reveal and support the entrepreneurship skill in multi-ecological environments to set out multiple skills (walk on earth, swim in the sea, fly in the sky).
Unknown
Skills: Entrepreneurship skills, determination, adaptability. Gold winged seahorse brooch is an artwork which carries an entrepreneur skill for its owning adaptability in order to achieve goals.
Self-portrait
We use one self-portrait of Rembrand and put there the quote of Rembrand: "Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know." Rembrandt was on this self-portrait young and inexperienced. But he does not shy away from experimenting due to practice and practice. It's the only way to learn.
Rembrandt van Rijn
Skills: creativity, experimenting, dareness, patience.
Sun Flowers
Vincent painted sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow 'and nothing else'. In this way, he demonstrated that it was possible to create an image with numerous variations of a single colour, without any loss of eloquence. From entrepreneurial skills, we can learn from this by taking advantage of what is nearby and experimenting around a particular product, idea, concept; by practicing in a focused way; by knowing our motivation sources, by reflecting and changing the rules or strategy if necessary; not letting the circumstances hold us back; by enduring until we reach our goals; doing what you are good at.
Vincent van Gogh
Skills: Strong Work Ethic, Experimentation, Perseverance, Innovation, ungoing improvement, Passion
Ascending and Descending
Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world's best-known graphic artists with his work, which skilfully plays with perspective, space and reality. The regular division of planes and playing with perspective and the impossible characterize Escher's great work. In this work a staircase that keeps climbing or descending. It is a closed ring-shaped thing, like a snake biting its tail. The symbol for infinity and the cyclical nature of things. But the downside is that even if you are climbing or descending the stairs. Both directions, although not without meaning, are and remain equally useless. From an entrepreneurial perspective, this work shows that when building a business or developing a business, you must always look critically and reflectively at your own ideas, goals, developments. Where are you now and where do you want to go. Are you still on the right track? Are you climbing or descending without noticing?
Maurits Cornelis Escher
Skills: Understand root problems, identify causes, brainstroming, collaboration, building business plans, goal oriented, critical thinking, (strategic) planning, transformation, etc.
Marti / Daugther in Law
The writer who created in the second half of the 19th century depicted the life of rural people, but for the first time, she showed a woman as a central figure. Before then, the life of people from lower social levels, in particular women, could be an object of only a comedy or satire. This was a tendency not only in Lithuania but in Western literature as well. In Žemaitė's works, the attitude towards a woman is serious, even existentialist. Žemaitė's women characters seek happiness, make decisions, struggle, reconcile, experience guilt, shame, critically reflect on themselves and the environment around them. "Marti" (Daughter-in-law) shows a situation when, upon agreement of the parents of two families, the main character Katrė, originating from a tidy and wealthy family, is married to the son of poor, negligent peasants, however, holding vast land. In the new home, Katrė is faced with laziness, slovenry, roughness, indifference and even violence. Initially, she believes she can change it. However, the environment and its resulting relations appear too great to be overcome. Katrė's in-laws might be analysed as a poor example of leadership. The main character Katrė might be used to speak what makes it a good entrepreneur or about the challenges women entrepreneurs still face in the contemporary business environment.
Žemaitė
Skills: Women entrepreneurs; Poor and good leadership; qualities necessary to be an entrepreneur.
Dievų miškas / Forest of the Gods
In this novel, the writer himself talks about his experiences in the Nazi concentration camp in an ironic way. Even though the story is terrible, the writer was presenting all his heart-breaking experiences in a humoristic way. His attitude can be related to a good characteristic of successful leadership, also as a solution to cope with problems, negativity, keeping up the spirit. Humoristic attitudes sometimes help to build trust in relationships and reduce the stress in the work environment.
Balys Sruoga
Skills: Leadership; attitude towards negative things, coping with obstacles
Poem
Here the most important motif is the road. It is often used as a metaphor of life. In the Bible, it often means the journey itself, the spiritual growth, development. In the second verse, the idea of forgetting personal goals and working together is raised. This verse might be used to speak about the importance of working in the team, reaching a common goal of the company. The third verse continues this idea and it is possible to speak that each team member has different knowledge, competences but when all this experience is put together, we have a balanced team working towards reaching company goals.
Justinas Marcinkevičius
Skills: Teamwork
Physics of Sorrow
Part family history, part coming-of-age saga with slight dips into magical realism, part stories of a small village, part amusing riffs on outdated technology the end of the world, and how to answer the question H"ow are you?"
Georgi Gospodinov
Skills: Empathy
Blood (of a Mole)
The short story describes a personal sacrifice of an ordinary individual, who is ready to give some of her blood and to lie to a strange woman in need but to help her. It is also linked with belief and empathy, with setting personal example and pain. As the author shares - she wrote the story after a big personal loss of her lovely grandma, who suffered a heavy illness before passing away.
Zdravka Evtimova
Skills: Leadership, empathy, risk taking
A MIRROR
The poem focuses on the reflections and how they influence the way we see the world around us. The mirror could be interpreted as a source of imagination, which changes our reality and gives us an opportunity to be proactive and flexible. It could also be interpreted as a symbol of subjectivity of the way we perceive the reality or as a screen which lays between us and the real world.
Atanas Dalchev
Skills: proactiveness, imagination
Campanelli (Bells)
The poem Bells is an example of "words in freedom", a literary style introduced by Filippo Tommaso through the Futurist manifesto It is a non-poetry poem. It narrates in a different way, constituting a sort of "visual poetry". Moreover, Depero published the Manifesto of Futurist Advertising Art in 1931. Fortunato Depero was a pioneer of advertising, he collaborated with the famous company Davide Campari, for which he designed the famous bottle, still in use today. The element to focus on is the strong visual impact of the poem. The sound becomes a word. The word, bolstered by the vivid colour, becomes motion, thus a sign, a symbol. The poem is a synaesthetic piece of literature and that is why it could be linked to sensorial marketing: visual marketing, auditory marketing, sound branding. The same elements can bring to the introduction of visual merchandising, because of the word disposition in space and the colour strong contrast. Since different cultures and languages may entail different 'words' to describe a sound, the poem may also be used to address the topic of global marketing strategies.
Fortunato Depero
Skills: Marketing
La locandiera (The mistress of the inn)
The mistress of the inn is a three-act play. The plot revolves around the character of the innkeeper Mirandolina, whose character is precisely described. The play is one of the finest examples of "Commedia di carattere". With the "Commedia di carattere" Carlo Goldoni revolutionized the world of theatre, previously characterized by the "Commedia dell'Arte". With his reform, Goldoni introduces the psychology of characters into the theatre. While characters previously behaved according to pre-established, immutable psychological patterns, and the actors were free to improvise, in the "Commedia di carattere" the characters are subject to a detailed representation, and have a well-defined and changeable personality. The play testifies how important it is to outline the characters' psychology. The elements to focus on should be Mirandolina's psychological features. They will constitute the starting point for the introduction of market research and segmenting; psychographics in particular. The process is thus also similar to the building of a persona (A buyer archetype) in marketing.
Carlo Goldoni
Skills: Marketing
Marcovaldo al supermarket (Marcovaldo at the supermarket)
Marcovaldo at the supermarket is a story that is part of the collection of twenty short stories "Marcovaldo or the seasons in the city", from 1963. In this fairytale of the '60s, Marcovaldo goes to the supermarket only to experience the opulent promise of happiness represented by the appealing products. The frenzy of shopping is described, the social value of all those products on the shelves is outlined: these are the elements to focus on. They could be used as a tool to describe the evolution of marketing strategies applied in supermarkets, focusing on the ones used nowadays: shelf marketing, category management for example. Other links could involve psychological pricing, consumer buying motives (hedonic consumption/utilitarian consumption) and relate strategies that target them.
Italo Calvino
Skills: Marketing
Uno, nessuno e centomila (One, no one and one hundred thousand)
In the novel One, no one and one hundred thousand Vitangelo Moscarda discovers by way of a completely irrelevant question that his wife poses to him that everyone he knows, everyone he has ever met, has constructed a "different Vitangelo" in their own imagination and that none of these personas corresponds to the image of Vitangelo that he himself has constructed and believes himself to be, so he starts looking for his true self. The novel may be seen as a problem-solving process overturned on an existential level, as it largely reflects the problem-solving process: the discovery of a "problem" (Vitangelo realizes that his nose hangs a bit to the right), the series of questions that follows and the pursuit of a solution to these questions, through various actions and attempts, which are often not endorsed by others. Specifically, the novel may reflect the trial-and-error problem-solving strategy.
Luigi Pirandello
Skills: Problem solving
I promessi sposi (The Betrothed)
The Betrothed is the first Italian historical novel. The novel is set in northern Italy in 1628, during the oppressive years of direct Spanish rule. It deals with the relationship between Renzo and Lucia prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Betrothed's exploration of love, power, and faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life and is one of the greatest European historical novels. The attack on the Spanish rule hides an attack to the Austrian empire, which controlled the region at the time the novel was written: freedom of speech was limited, so the author managed to find a smart way to override the system and express his opinion. The author's strategy reflects breakthrough innovation: finding non-conventional solutions for a clearly-defined problem.
Alessandro Manzoni
Skills: Problem solving
Il principe (The Prince)
The Prince is a 16-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. The author presents the characteristics of principalities and the methods to conquer and maintain them. The text is meant to be a sort of teaching to sovereigns and the powerful on how best to manage and maintain power over a State, the result of the author's past political experience and his theoretical knowledge, and this teaching is totally unrelated to any moral and religious scruples, so it can be said that the treatise lays the foundations of modern political theory. Machiavelli, for his concreteness and frankness in dealing with practical problems, had and still has much credit. The treatise, if considered as a 'guide' could serve for the introduction of the algorithm formula for problem-solving, a step-by-step methodology.
Niccolò Machiavelli
Skills: Problem solving
The devil inside us
The novel includes two prominent characters' love, Macide and Ömer. In this novel people's own inner speech and how they try conclusions with themselves are commonly used and by this means the feelings are successfully described.
Sabahattin Ali
Skills: Without knowing self, it is difficult to understand others. Understanding life and its way of meaning.
The Atlas of Misty Continents
The novel describes colourful characters and improbable and complicated events. The main character is İhsan the Arab who is a pirate. In the book, there is another İhsan (the Long) nephew of İhsan the Arab. İhsan the Long is inherently lazy and he has no wish to travel the world. However, he finds a simpler way to travel and see the world that he takes sleep syrup and his soul travels while his body stays in bed.
İhsan Oktay Anar
Skills: New looks, new horizons
Timur’s Elephant- Nasreddin Hodja
The problems of the people in the town with the elephants and how Nasreddin Hodja deals with them when he is left alone in front of Timur, the Persian King of that time.
Anonymus
Skills: Communication, negotiation
This is my life
Born as a son of a cotton trader, worked in every rank of his father's business and didn't have a chance to finish high school. However, Sakıp Sabancı was hardworking and with his entrepreneurial spirit and courage and with the assistance of his brothers he carried Sabancı company among the world's top companies beginning from 1980. He was also among the most colourful personalities in the Turkish industry world, Sakıp Sabancı was the head of Turkey's largest chain of companies. In 2004 he was among the world's top billionaires.
Sakıp Sabancı
Skills: determination, passion, communication, negotiation, leadership
SIDI
Sidi is an exciting novel on leadership, personalized in El Cid, the leader of a host of Castilian warriors who suffer the exile of their natural lord King Alfonso VI, to whom he remains loyal. An approach to the difficult art of managing people that Pérez-Reverte shows he knows in-depth in its most authentic, vital and everyday aspects, as we can verify today in any organization or situation where people freely share and carry out a mission.
Arturo Pérez Reverte
Skills: leadership: good communication skills within a team. Strategic thinking and acting
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha
This Spanish novel is one of the most influential pieces of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. It is often labeled "the first modern novel". The novel tells us the adventures of a nobleman from La Mancha named Alonso Quixano, who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his mind and decides to become a knight-errant and serve his nation, under the name "Don Quixote de la Mancha". He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who has to deal with Don Quixote's monologues and imagination. It is quite a long book written in complicated language, but it is a good recommendation for entrepreneurs as it deals with imagination, the value of ideals, perseverance, the search of virtue and the importance of choosing a good partner to accompany you on your journey.
Miguel de Cervantes
Skills: Entrepreneurship: capacity to be different and think differently from the others. Perseverance, courage and risk-taking
Rimas y leyendas
This book is a collection of seventy-six short poems which refer to the emotions and memories of lived experiences to experiences converted into feelings, to love, disappointment, the desire of escaping, despair and death. This collection is a great way of working on creativity, imagination thanks to its portray of romanticism and fantasy.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Skills: Creativity: see things differently and be capable of understaing the inner message of poems
The diary of Anne Frank
Let me be myself and then I am satisfied,' Anne Frank wrote in her diary on 11 April 1944. To the Nazis, Anne Frank was just Jewish. But Anne wanted to be just herself.
Anne Frank
Skills: Identity, Let me be myself. Without knowing self, it is difficult to understand others.
De Avonden ( The Evenings)
The novel describes ten evenings out of the life of the 23-year-old office clerk Frits van Egters living in Amsterdam. It is partitioned into ten chapters, of which each describes an evening between 22 and 31 December 1946. The story gives, by describing an individual's experiences, a detailed description of contemporary post-war society which was marked by fear, boredom and loneliness. From the first evening, we observe a young man's obsession trying to make good use of his time, something that (naturally) he never manages. Even if every evening is a disappointment, there's always another one tomorrow, where things might be different – have another sleep, dream another dream, and look forward to another day where something exciting may finally happen… From an entrepreneurial perspective, being passive, not looking for alternative ways, trying to solve problems, being proactive, you risk to create a backlog for yourself and your company.
Auteur Gerard Reve, drawer Dick Matena
Skills: coping with difficulties, make something of your life, get in action, critical thinking
Karakter (Character)
Karakter ('Character') is F. Bordewijk's most famous novel. It tells the story of Katadreuffe, a clerk who is struggling to work his way up in society. He opens a small tobacconist's shop, only to be made bankrupt by the formidable Rotterdam bailiff Dreverhaven - his own father. Every time success is within reach, his father blocks him. When Katadreuffe finally achieves his great ambition of becoming a lawyer, he refuses to shake his father's hand: crying that he won't accept congratulations from a father who has 'worked against him' his whole life. Slowly, clearly, hoarsely yet gently, Dreverhaven says: 'Or worked for you.' A masterly story of the dark side of the father-son relationship and, at the same time, a portrait of pre-war Rotterdam where the drama is set.
Ferdinand Borderwijk
Skills: coping with difficulties, ambition, perseverance
The lioness and the vixen / Liūtė ir lapė
The fable is about the lioness and vixen who are speaking about their cubs. Vixen is proud of having many cubs whereas the lioness proudly mentions that she has only one, but it's the lion. The fable might be used to speak about the company values - what is important to the business - quality or quantity? How do we understand quality? What is important to the company and how to communicate those values to the employees? It is also possible to speak about the vision and mission statements of the company to reflect the most important values, attitudes in several sentences which should accompany, be embedded in all subsequent activities.
Aesop
Skills: Values; quality not quantity
The Bremen Town Musicians / Brėmeno muzikantai
The story begins with the depiction of an old donkey who is starting to lose his strengths. When he realizes the farmer wants to kill him, he flees. He's then joined by an old dog, an elderly cat and a rooster. Animals decide to join forces and go to the town of Bremen, where they want to become musicians. On their way, they come to a house which is occupied by some robbers. The animals tumble in through the window and the robbers run away and the house is left to the four friends. The animals show kindness and understanding for one another, and their ability to work well together may be treated as a good example of the teamwork and thus the discussion about the importance of having a good team to reach organisation's goals, further growth, ensuring the good working microclimate might be induced.
Brothers Grimm
Skills: Team work
The old man and the sea / Senis ir jūra
The book tells the story an ageing fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin off the coast of Cuba. It is not just a story about an ageing fisherman. It is a story about meeting goals and meeting your fate. The sharks that eat the Marlin are said to be literary critics. Hemingway found them irritating, always belittling writers, without creating anything themselves. The sea is a symbol as well. It hides important things from the fisherman, like the fish he wants to catch. When it finally gives it to him, Santiago must fight to keep it. The sea is life. Life hides things from us, only to give them to us later. All these symbols might be analysed from an entrepreneurial point of view - critics around us (and the need for support to go on entrepreneurial activity), the need to put a lot of efforts to succeed, the will not to give in even after several failures.
Ernest Hemingway
Skills: Reaching your goals; values; the will to go on;
One
The book is strange and thought-provoking fantasy. How would your life turn out if you had made different choices, split up with your spouse been born in a different time and place?
Richard Bach
Skills: inspiration, imagination
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen
The book describes the adventures of a German nobleman, who often exaggerates the reality and puts lots of imagination, illusion and misinterpretation of his abilities. In pop culture, Munchausen became a synonym for a liar and a person which exaggerates events to the point in which they seem fictional. In psychology, Munchausen's syndrome is a medical term of people who tend to exaggerate their health issues whether they're true or fake.
John Kendrick Bangs
Skills: flexibility, imagination, self-confidence, proactiveness, risk-taking, over-exaggeration of personal abilities
King Lear
The play discusses lots of issues related to justice, authority vs chaos, reconciliation and fidelity, nihilism, self-knowledge, etc. It poses lots of questions about blindness – blindness to others' motivations, blindness to one's own true nature, blindness to the emptiness of power and privilege, and blindness to the importance of selfless love.
William Shakespeare
Skills: power and authoritarianship, manipulation, wrong decison making, miscommunication
I wandered lonely as a cloud
This poem, also known as "Daffodils" is one of the most famous English Romantic poems. It was written in 1804 and published in 1807 for the first time in "Poems in Two Volumes". The poem is characterized by the connection between man and nature and by the conception of poetry as a memory of vivid and lively emotion. The text is based on an autobiographical experience, a walk in the countryside with his beloved sister Dorothy during which the poet stands in front of an extension of daffodils beside a lake. The Daffodils in the Lake District inspired the poet, and at the same time, the poem made this English geographical area extremely popular. It is an example of how literature can play a key role in a territorial marketing strategy. Thus, the latter is the topic the poem could introduce. The poem offers a multisensory type of communication that can be considered fundamental in territorial marketing and territorial branding.
William Wordsworth
Skills: Marketing
Cinderella
The classic fairytale of Cinderella is about a beautiful girl who is an orphan and gets mistreated and abused by her step-mother and step-sisters. She never gives up and eventually gets to marry the prince. Cinderella is a great example of storytelling that can be applied to branding. Archetypal characters and stories are a great resource for marketers. The fairytale moral is that of sacrifice, through which one can achieve the ultimate happiness, once represented by the social status of a princess. The individual can easily identify with the fairytale main character because everyone has experienced some sort of distress or mistreatment sometimes in their life. The individual can somehow relate to Cinderella's feelings. The latter is key for branding, it is necessary to create a "brand story" towards which the consumer can empathize. The element of nostalgia can make the process easier; as adults, fairytales have the ability to transport us back in time.
Grimm brothers
Skills: Marketing
El jardìn de los senderos que se bifurcan (The garden of forking paths)
"The Garden of Forking Paths" is a short story, part of the book Ficciones (Fictions). Yo Tsun is an English professor and a spy for the military intelligence service of Imperial Germany, at the time of World War I. He meets doctor Stephen Albert, an eminent Sinologist. They talk about Ts'ui Pên, Yo Tsun's ancestor, who wanted to write a vast and intricate novel and to construct an equally vast and intricate labyrinth. Ts'ui Pên was murdered before completing his novel and what he did write made no sense to subsequent readers; nor was the labyrinth ever found. Eventually, Dr Albert reveals that the novel is the labyrinth, a novel that takes place in time rather than space. In most fictions, a character chooses one alternative at each decision point and eliminates all others. In The Garden of Forking Paths, all possible outcomes of an event occur simultaneously, each one itself leading to further proliferation of possibilities. The story could be an encouragement to deeply consider various options when seeking a solution, taking into account that different times require different solutions. Dealing with a number of different and potential solutions, the story could serve as an introduction to design thinking.
Jorge Luis Borges
Skills: Problem solving
The art of war
The book contained a detailed explanation and analysis of the Chinese military, from weapons and strategy to rank and discipline. Sun also stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort. The book "The Art of War" has been inspiring leaders from various industries and professions – not just in the military – for generations. His wisdom has inspired many to think critically about their leadership skills, and how they may help or hinder their chances at their desired outcome.
Sun Tzu
Skills: leadership and strtategic thinking. Team-development and commitment
Steve Jobs: the exclusive bibliography.
Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years - as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues - this is the acclaimed, internationally bestselling biography of the ultimate icon of inventiveness. Walter Isaacson tells the story of the rollercoaster life and intense personality of creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
Walter Isaacson
Skills: Creativity in terms of problem-solving skills and deal with uncertainty. Capacity to adapt to new and unknown situations.
Playing the enemy
The behaviour of a leader. The behaviour of a leader is extremely important to successfully lead teams in organisations. President Mandela excellently displayed both personal and task-oriented leadership. He intended to transform the image of the Springboks in the eyes of the black natives and sought the help of Pienaar. Through Pienaar leadership, the team member successfully won the hearts of the black natives and gained their support, which steered the team to victory.
John Carlin
Skills: leadership: capacity to work in teams and have a strategic way of thinking. Dealing with ethical and civic practices.
Chocolat
Vianne Rocher, a single mother, has an innate talent for cooking and a charming personality, opens a chocolaterie, but outsiders are not welcome in this small town. However, with her charming personality, Vianne, Vianne builds regular customers and changes the lives of the people in town.
Joanne Harris
Skills: Creativity, communication, assertiveness, confidence, perseverance, risk-taking, courage, ambition.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter, an orphaned boy, lives with his aunt and uncle and at the age of eleven, he discovers that he is a wizard. Harry and other children with such magical abilities are invited to exclusive magic schools in order to be taught the essential skills to succeed in the Wizarding World. In this school learns to overcome the problems he faces.
J.K. Rowling
Skills: Problem solving, teamwork,creativity.
What’s a man?
A dialogue between a young man and an old man about the nature of human.
Mark Twain
Skills: In order to make sense of life and the human, the story can broad perspectives and improve creativity and analytical thinking abilities.
Le Petit Prince
In this literary piece, adult life is narrated from a child's perspective. The book consists of twenty-seven parts and starts with the encountering of Little Prince and the pilot whose plane crashes in Sahra desert. The book tells Little Prince's visits to seven planets and criticizes the typical adult life.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Skills: This literary piece can resolve the prejudgments towards diversity while imroving abilities related to susceptibility, love, emphaty.
The Fisherman of Halicarnassus (The man who made Bodrum famous)
A historian, humanist, ecologist, Turkey's first professional tourist guide and one of the most popular writers in Turkey, Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı described as modern Homer. He is also known as the man who made Bodrum famous (coastal area İn Turkey known for its sea, natural beauty, magnificent coves and history).
Roger Williams
Skills: Entrepreneurship, assertiveness, innovator.
The Little Black Fish
A curious little black fish wants to discover the world. Against all the opposition of her kind, she sets off to see it. She meets all different members of the river, of the sea; the good ones, the bad ones and she goes on. Many dangers await her, but the little black fish has the courage to fight them.
Samed Behrengi
Skills: Courage, determination
Frindle
Although the kid Nick looks as if he is a trouble maker, he always has plenty of ideas. When he finds out how the words are created, he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever… the frindle. He starts saying frindle for a pen and he gets his friends to use this new word for a pen. Then the people in town start saying frindle and he becomes famous in the town that he starts working with a businessman.
Andrew Clements
Skills: Creative, innovation, cooperation, communication
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. In this adventure, Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. The overcoming of greed and selfishness is the central moral of the story.
JRR Tolkien
Skills: Personal growth, problem solving, selfevolution, assertiveness.
The ugly Duckling
A mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the other birds and animals on the farm as an ugly little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse from them. When the duckling is fully grown, he is going to the swans. But the swans are not terrible with him, they accept him. Then he realizes that he's now a beautiful swan and not an ugly duckling.
Hans Christian Andersen
Skills: selfconvience, personal growt, problemsolving, risk taking.
Tela Habitada [Inhabited Canvas]
This work plays with the wooden stretcher bars of the structures that form the support on which the canvas is stretched. This structure is usually invisible to the viewer, but here exposed through the use of a semitransparent cloth, which reveals the contours of the artist’s body as she tries to penetrate through that membrane. Helena Almeida was a painter, photographer, performer, and video-artist, yet she could not be defined by any one single media. She used elements of each in her work alternatively, finding new exciting intersections between them. She worked in a variety of different ways in a variety of media confronting as it were the limits of each and using them to overcome the limits of the other. This was her way of tackling problems by applying alternative solutions. That also applies to entrepreneurship. How thoughtfully you start a business, you know that problems will come your way and that you have to deal with it finding appropriateans sometimes creative solutions.
Helena Almeida
Skills: problem solving, creative thinking
