THE BARD & CO
Book Review - The Bard & Co: Shakespeare’s Role in Modern Business
Editors – Jim Davies, John Simmons & Rob Williams
Published – Cyan Books
Year – 2007
Place – London

No author perhaps has had the kind of influence Shakespeare has had on our lives in different forms. This book is another example of Shakespeare’s influence, this time on the business world of today. Twenty six contemporary writers have paired with a Shakespeare play and one of the lead actors of the First Folio list to give us this delightful new insight of the play and the role. The book is a delightful collection of essays on Shakespeare’s role in contemporary business world.
That we have very little biographical sketch to go by demands that “imagination has had to work harder than memory”. And given the “breadth, vivacity, wit and life” of Shakespeares’ plays and their performances, one cannot help but imagine that those actors would be chuckling in sotto voce behind their masks, at our attempt “to capture some sense of their lives and their contribution to the world”
It is fitting that a book on Shakespeare’s role in modern business should be introduced by Dominic Dromgoole, the artistic Director of Globe Theatre. According to him, the theatre actor is the most impermanent of all artistes, considering that once a play is over, there is no remanence of his work except the printed “dramatis personae at the beginning of the published play”. He bows in obeisance to that “mysterious, celebrated and intriguing bunch of bandits who worked at Globe in its first manifestation.” There are 26 names in this list, topped by William Shakespeare. To the uninitiated, there were no women in the list; all female roles were played by men and you will find many a pun in all his plays when a female character disguises herself as a man.
Rosalind in ‘As you Like It’, “If I were a woman, I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased me”
When you think of business, the first word that comes to mind is profits; and profits evokes images of balance sheets. But the bottom line is not about numbers; it’s about people and emotions. And when it’s about people and emotions, it is a natural corollary that it is about communication; a linguistic balance sheet and verbal accounting. Who can play the role of language auditor better than the Bard himself?
A rather discomforting thought for all the managers who believe business is about number crunching.
It cannot have been an easy task for our modern writers. The daunting challenge would have been not just to write as well as Shakespeare but to find something “that touches us and illuminates us for centuries after its creation”.
The uniqueness of this treatise is its treatment of the writings. Whereas previous works have highlighted mostly on the potential of Shakespeares’ characters as role models of business leaders, such as Henry II or indecisive ones, Hamlet, this book approaches the subject through the context of language and the power of words.
Nowhere has Shakespeare used words as powerfully as in his sonnets. In the Introduction, Or What You Will, John Simmons introduces the readers to Shakespeare through his sonnets “a sequence of 154 poems written in strict poetic form, oft quoted but seldom read”.
Simmons bemoans that much of office time is spent in applying previously tried solutions to problems with little or no intellectual stimulation. With a deep sense of rue I realize it also applies to us in the education sector – quite a paradox.
Simmons also believes that this is largely due to the fact that much of today’s writing is devoid of metaphor and challenges businesses to compete with Shakespeare. Businesses will be successful only if the words are right, he concludes.
Stuart Delves showcases the power of Shakespeare’s pen, which he used as a means of advancement in the tortuous politics of the 17th Century court, through his (Shakespeares’) diary on the eve of the first performance of Macbeth, of which the lead actor was Shakesspeare himself. The diary entry reads more like a letter to Chuck – Shakespeares’ lover, perhaps? He describes his anxiety as the play is about to open in August in Hampton Court. Though it had already played at the Globe, Shakespeare appears more anxious as King James will be in the audience. And it is on the King that depends his survival, the King who is the benefactor of all in the ‘business of writing’. Businesses of today need also remember that the ‘pen is mightier than the sword’. And so are we all – the ‘Kings’ Men’, beholden to our employers and dependent on them for our survival.
I almost split my sides reading Dan Radleys’ take on boardroom presentations, comparing presentations to Cleopatra in Anthony and Cleopatra. He likens it to the first time one ever went up on stage, almost died and swore to ‘never go there again’ referring to the anxiety one feels before any presentation. As luck would have it, there you go again “burbling away in front of a powerpoint slide – powerless and pointless”.
A good performance is appreciated when the actor gets under the skin of the character, so much so that even when they are not playing, they are living the character. Remember Jassi and Lola Kutty? You never saw their own personae when the programs were at their most popular high.
In fact, “most great work is rejected because it’s presented badly” opines Radley. He also believes that the primary aim of the audience in boardroom presentations is to sabotage it. The presenter has about 90 seconds to make an impact. Through examples of different actors who have played Cleopatra and other characters of the play, Radley hightlights the virtues of practice, - “Dame Peggy had such an appetite for rehearsal” - gestures and body movement, tone and voice clarity to make your presentations impactful. Ditch the powerpoint and seduce them by the ears is Radleys’ parting shot.
Marriages, they say, are made in heaven, Mergers in the corporate world, are pretty much like one too. And marriage is not an event; more a process with a wooing phase, full of dates, excitement and expensive dresses; A wedding, an event full of promise, a honeymoon period and then ………. all hell breaks loose. Ezri Carlebach compares The Taming of the Shrew to corporate mergers.
A merger, just as a marriage, is based on open and honest communication between the merging parties. The author quotes the merger of America Online (AOL), USA’s top internet service provider, with Time Warner, world’s top media conglomerate, one of the largest corporate mergers at the turn of the century, as an exemplary of a marriage gone sour. Taming of the Shrew is a drama of power, like a business merger. Business mergers are also a power game. It decides “who tames who”, or who gets the upper hand. A merger is more often, more than just a strategic fit. It requires a cultural integration, which may take years or never. It requires a dissolving of individual identity into a composite one, often manifested as “speak more like the other”. This composite culture needs to be percolated top down to “secure the staff buy-in and engagement upon which the long-term success of the merger depends”.
The author, Elen Lewis, cites examples of miscommunication causing misunderstanding and embarrassment for corporate when advertisements have been translated into other languages. Surely a fine lesson for multi-nationals trying to market in cross-cultural environment. Letters to the shareholders also depict the link between clarity of language and clarity of strategy. He cites examples of well-known companies which have been involved in cases of scandal and corruption.
Sometimes, silences can speak more than words. Silences can be used very effectively, in meetings, interviews and other corporate processes. Shakespeare has used silences very effectively in The Winters’ Tale, as he builds the excitement and suspended animation to a crescendo of silence in the final scene as Hermione comes to life. According to Elen Lewis, silence can be a powerful tool for negotiation. During interviews too, a pause can be used to gather vital information. The author believes that businesses that “seem obliged to fill the space” have either nothing to say or something to hide. Communication is an important tool; however there are times when companies need to “stand still and do nothing”. Perhaps that’s what Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz meant when they wrote “You say it best, when you say nothing at all”, first popularized by Keith Whitely in 1988, and now more famously by Ronan Keating in the hit film, Notting Hill. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely! According to Nicola David, it is incompetence that leads to the “inability to cope with power and position”. And it is incompetence which leads people to misuse power and position. What other explanation could there be for “a well-intentioned congressman to become an intern-seducing President”? Is there any interview technique, psychometric test or any other screening process which would be able to weed out such incompetence in the selection process? Don’t the people of America wish they knew about this before electing Bill Clinton to the office?
Serious incompetence can be a nightmare to the stakeholders of any organizations: as Enron stakeholders will vouch. Drawing parallels between the Duke of Vienna in Measure for Measure and bosses, the author describes three characteristics of incompetent managers: shying from the limelight, using complex business jargon to cover-up for lack of self-confidence and winning popularity by avoiding being tough. The play is a classic example of power; but Shakespeare treats his characters with “benevolent malice”, like “incompetent goodies gone astray” rather than as quintessential “baddies”. Why this compassionate indulgence of the characters? The author believes the message is clear: in the workplace, we cannot judge others unless we are prepared to judge ourselves and be judged. Measure for Measure clearly indicates our own failings: we all have an incompetence threshold. To be successful, we need to continually measure ourselves, dosing these measures, as does Shakespeare, with “compassion, humor and forgiveness”. “To be or not to be” – Is that a question or a rhetoric? Author John Bolton cites Hamlets’ soliloquies as soul-searching speeches which “seek answers to profound question”. Contrast to this the jargons emerging from the boardrooms. Most corporates believe, rather naively, that using common buzzwords makes us elite members of the corporate club; “a common language – however hackneyed – suggests common ideals”.
Using Hamlet, Bolton offers two simple solutions: Clear vision, clear communication and well-defined roles for the employees. Bolton suggests that to convince people and garner success and support for organization goals, companies need to use “fresh, original and lively” language. Though a lot of business leaders are outstanding communicators, the advent of technology has made written communication – email and intranet – a critical tool of communication. Here the role of the writer becomes crucial, much like the speechwriters and communications specialists in politics.
Emma Lawson talks about creative partnerships, made more so by wit and expression, like the one Beatrice and Benedick share in Much Ado About Nothing. The characters delight in their sparring of words.
One of the Kings’ Men, Shakespeare himself was a “hired hand”. His business of writing was to “please most the One upon whom one’s livelihood depends”. And so it is with businesses. The book inspires a new perspective on the organizations and employees behave. A must read for all Shakespeare fans, who will enjoy the tongue-in-cheek of the authors, most of who have spoofed corporates in the name of Shakespeare.

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[ 2 ]. As You Like It, Act 5, Scene IV