Business Success Through Leonardo da Vinci's Philosophy

Introduction

The 1999 text How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb is a useful and entertaining discussion of how the philosophical principles of one of history's greatest thinkers can be applied to modern business practices as well as to self-improvement on an everyday level.

Thinking Like a Manager

One of the overarching beliefs driving the Gelb philosophy is that one need not necessarily be a genius in order to think like one. Gelb argues that Da Vinci was particularly skilled at training his mind to think in certain ways — to observe matters according to certain principles that are today applicable to models of leadership. Gelb offers what he calls "seven steps to genius every day", as influenced by the life and working habits of Da Vinci. The seven steps call for the individual to:

approach life with an unending curiosity for learning new things; be willing to learn through effort, mistakes, and experience; stimulate the full range of human senses in any experience; embrace uncertainty and accept paradox or ambiguity; establish a balance between artistic and scientific impulses; treat one's body and health as extensions of the mind; and achieve an awareness of the manner in which all human enterprises are interconnected (Gelb, p. 10).

These features of Da Vinci's code of thinking are said to help individuals of intelligence less extraordinary than Da Vinci's to become greater leaders by using his finest virtues as models to aspire toward. This provides a profound set of expectations for anyone attempting to think like a manager in a business context. The characteristics described above demand that one become a well-rounded individual through cultivation of the mind, which will in turn help one to command the respect of others, to help others achieve to the best of their abilities, and to always strive for innovation, improvement, and greater efficiency.

The notion of recognizing the interconnectedness of all things is a particularly valuable piece of counsel, as it denotes the need for a systems thinking approach to all endeavors. This is extremely valuable to the task of evaluating a company, producing a greater recognition of how such features as employee morale and production consistency can, for example, relate directly to brand image and economic performance.

Ethical Principles and Social Responsibilities

Perhaps one of the strongest aspects of the Gelb text is its inclusion of an array of Da Vinci's proverbs, which, as much as any feature of the book, help the reader better understand the values he espoused. One of the more striking observations notes that "at the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, a complex of wave forms and resonances, which is absolutely individual and unique and yet which connects us to everything in the universe" (p. 189).

This is a moving idea that concedes that, though we are subject to certain flaws in character and behavior, we remain part of something much larger than ourselves. This role should incline us — as Da Vinci's proverb suggests and Gelb's text argues — toward a greater appreciation of the impact our decisions and behaviors can have on others. This is especially true of the modern corporation. A recent wave of corporate scandals and collapses has demonstrated that many corporations act according to the selfish interests of a select and unethical few, always at the expense of employees, investors, customers, and the general public affected by economic turmoil.

Often, corrupt corporate leaders distance themselves either from a commitment to ethical business principles or from any sense of responsibility to the communities within and surrounding their businesses. Da Vinci draws a direct connection between resolving such imperfections as greed, selfishness, and short-sightedness and leading businesses to greater success through service to those internal and external communities.