Book Review: Balancing Acts – Unleashing the Power of Creativity in Your Life and Work

The book is written by Daniel Lamar, Vice Chairman of the Cirque Du Soleil. I got this book as a present that was given to all participants that attended UNICON’s 2023 Team Development Conference 9TDC), hosted by HEC Montreal in Montreal, Canada. I serve as emeritus board member of UNICON, and Daniel was one of the keynote speakers of such TDC, so I had a chance to meet him and hear him share some of the insights and leadership reflections presented in this book.

The twenty main takeaways that I got out of this book are presented below:

• About Creativity – whether you are an entrepreneur, an executive, or a professional, if you are not prioritizing creativity—in the dictionary definition of “making or bringing into existence something new“-you are wasting your time. No company deserves to exist unless it is constantly discovering new ways to make its customers’ lives better. In short, without creativity, there is no business… “Looking around at the inspired design of The Beatles LOVE theater reminds me of another major turning point that illustrates one of the most difficult challenges to living a creative life: how to bridge the gap between a brilliant idea and its practical execution…” “Seeing a major clash in the making between our design team and MGM’s budget constraints, I knew I had to act— quickly. I had only been at Cirque for a few years by then but had come to understand a fundamental truth about the symbiotic relationship between money and creativity: they both desperately need each other.”
• The power of creativity – to be creative is to make yourself vulnerable. It’s human nature to hesitate to let our ideas and emotions flow with the kind of abandon necessary for true innovation unless we feel we can trust the people around us. “That’s why it’s so important, in any creative endeavor, to establish a safe harbor… For the last two decades, that’s been my job at Cirque du Soleil: establishing the conditions for creativity to flower. I’ve always loved being around artists of all kinds, though I never was one myself. I was a conventional businessman in my midforties when I joined this inspiring, astonishing, wacky circus in 2001 as a senior executive. That’s when I discovered my mission in life: to create jobs for artists… By early 2020, we had seven resident shows in Las Vegas alone; one each in Orlando, China, Germany, and Mexico; and thirteen touring productions that covered enormous swaths of the globe. In all, our touring shows had reached 450 cities in sixty countries including all of Europe, most of South Amer-ica, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Israel, and New Zealand. More than 200 million spectators have seen a Cirque show since the company’s founding, and our fifteen million ticket buyers in 2019 were more than those of all thirty-nine Broadway shows combined.”
• Bring into existence something new – “In my travels, I am often asked to give speeches to explain how Cirque du Soleil, after nearly four decades, has remained so boldly creative while also enjoying such tremendous commercial success. Those two qualities, after all, are often considered mutually exclusive. My answer comes in a mantra that anyone eager to thrive in a dynamic, rapidly changing global economy should take to heart: Without creativity, there is no business…” “I use the word creativity a lot, so I should probably explain what I mean by the term. My favorite definition comes from the Encyclopedia Britannica: “the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form.” I like that formulation because it’s both simple and wide-ranging, allowing any company or industry to see why creativity should be a central part of its mission. What could be more important than discovering new ways to help your customer or client?…” “When anyone asks me what keeps me up at night, I usually say, “Imagining someone else at the top of our industry.” That would mean Cirque had lost its leadership position. To prevent that (and help me get a good night’s sleep), we decided to make a serious commitment to research and development. We hired three full-time employees to do nothing but search the world for new ideas and talent in all cultural sectors: music, fashion, architecture, theater, film, games, and more. Meanwhile, our research department, C-Lab, hunts for innovations in areas like science, technology, and biology that are ready for practical application…” “When you go to a Cirque show and see something spectacular that you have never seen before, or even heard of, chances are good that it came from one of these initiatives…” “One important aspect of establishing a creative culture is being able to respond quickly to changes on the ground. The world moves so fast today that you must be able to improvise like a jazz musician. In a live-entertainment company like ours, anything can go wrong at any time. A cast member gets sick or injured. Backstage technology malfunctions. Our creative team decides a show needs a new direction. Weather events disrupt a touring production halfway around the world. A natural disaster, public health emergency, or trade war breaks out, interrupting our expansion plans.“
• The competitive landscape – “we are not unique in that respect. Today, every company must be able to operate with a sense of urgency. Here’s a question to ask yourself: Does your entrenched bureaucracy allow you to react quickly and calmly when something goes wrong? When your computer system is hacked, a supplier goes bankrupt, a competing product is unexpectedly released, or the economy tanks? As the world becomes more interconnected and technology accelerates the pace of change, agility is critical. If you’re busy filling out forms and studying your next move, chances are your competitor has already beaten you to the punch…” “With the world’s aggregated knowledge just a click away and core business functions increasingly done by robots, having a particular expertise or skill set is not nearly enough. Today, workers must possess qualities that machines are not capable of —precisely the sort that artists spend their lives developing: imagination, spontaneity, nonlinear think-ing, openness, discipline, empathy, compassion, and more…” “This shift is so pronounced that I am convinced that we are on the precipice of an entirely new era. Call it The Age of the Artist. The evidence is all around us. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the jobs most resistant to automation are those that rely on “soft skills” like managing and developing people, decision-making, planning, creative work, and interacting with customers and suppliers. Another study from Harvard found that nearly all job growth over the past thirty years has been in such “social skill-intensive” areas. Entrepreneurs and the self-employed are affected too. As consumers flock to niche products and the internet lowers the barriers of entry for starting a business, an artisan economy has flourished, allowing creative people to build sustainable careers.”
• About experience – “I was hired for my experience, but my experience kept getting in the way. Several times I wanted to quit. But I hung in there, got tremendous support from Guy, and eventually found my place, working my way up to chief executive nearly six years later, in 2006. Along the way, I had to change the way I think, the way I talk, even the way I dress—a transformation as complete as that of any cast member who puts on the makeup and costumes of our shows. I did not start wearing an earring or grow a ponytail, but I did show up at work in jeans, boots, a casual shirt, blue-tinted glasses, sometimes a colorful ascot. I was surprised to find that adapting to the artistic culture of Cirque, even in small ways, made me more relaxed and productive.”
• About loyalty – “loyalty, for me, is another way of saying “thinking long term.” A short-term strategy of suing Guy would have forced me to expend so much negative energy, in time and resources, that it would have likely been a losing battle for both of us. Being loyal, on the other hand, meant thinking about the future and the promising relationship that could develop. I never dreamed that forgiving that debt would boomerang back in such a powerful way, of course. I simply liked the idea of a rising star like Guy Laliberté thinking well of me…” “Any company trying to create a market where none has ever existed faces such an existential dilemma at some point. Inevitably, there comes a time when you must either forge ahead— hoping your instincts are right and your research is thorough—or pull the plug and go do something else. After coming this far, Guy was not about to turn back. “I’m not going to wait twenty years to see if we can make a living off what we do,” he concluded. ‘The opportunity is here; let’s make a deal.’”
• About decision-making under a crisis situation – “there must be only one decision-maker. “And that’s you, André,” I explained, making it clear to everyone in the room who would be calling the shots. When there is a crisis, everybody wants to get involved, and everybody wants to be celebrated as the savior of the company. You must not allow that. Do not operate by committee and waste a lot of time debating and agonizing because there is no time to waste: decisions must be made quickly and implemented even faster… You must learn the magnitude of the crisis. Investigate the causes of the problem and calculate how many people are affected. Do this quickly and get your facts right. If you don’t understand exactly what you’re dealing with, you’ll never be able to solve the problem… Short-term financial considerations should not come into play in your decision-making. The stakes are far too high. Your challenge is nothing less than saving the brand, possibly even the company itself. Focus only on being transparent and fixing the problem. This can be the hardest step because people in the company will try to hide the facts, cover their butts, and minimize the impact. That only makes the problem worse, possibly making it spiral out of control.“
• About creating “creative risks” – “anytime you take creative risks, of course, you get pushback. Shareholders and factions within the company will look at the portion of your budget being earmarked for generating new ideas and see a chance to save money and boost profits. They will argue that the chances of that investment paying off are remote. The key is how you defend that spending, appealing to the listener’s intelligence by explaining your logic. You can’t just say, “We’re going to try something crazy!” Rather, you must explain the potential payback down the road. But what if six months goes by without a breakthrough? One year, two years, three years?… In that case, retooling the projects in question may be required, but you must be extremely specific in outlining proposed changes and explaining why they will eventually lead to success. Over time, if you still can’t justify a project, perhaps it deserves to die. Prioritizing creativity, whether in business or life, often means o being ready to fight for your ideas.”
• Developing a creative environment – “to be truly creative, you need a creative environment, one that encourages innovation even in the smallest informal exchanges between employees. I was impressed by how many meetings were taking place, in the corridors and the cafeteria as people lingered over lunch. Or they unexpectedly ran into each other and soon found themselves in deep conversation about the projects they were working on. That’s something you don’t often see in traditional companies. It seemed more like a place of higher learning, where people were constantly talking, debating, dreaming, sketching, writing, stretching, singing, dancing… Inspiration can happen anytime, when you least expect it. Having a physical space that encourages random, serendipitous encounters seems about as close as you can get to an ideal work environment… Companies in other industries should build their creative environments to suit their mission, of course. The offices of the pet-supply firm Bark in New York and Columbus, Ohio, for exam-ple, make it impossible to forget the firm’s purpose: more than two hundred fifty office dogs wander the halls, and next to each desk are side seats made of easy-to-wipe fabrics so the dogs can sit next to their masters. In Billund, Denmark, Lego’s child-centric approach is evident everywhere you turn, from the playrooms that stimulate workers’ imagination to whimsical touches like a curving tubular slide instead of stairs. Whatever your field, walking through your facility should make you feel the creativity underlying your core business.”
• Stand up for what you believe in – “this was a huge lesson for me: when the stakes are high, stand up for what you believe-even when it seems to contradict what the boss wants. Creative companies generate lots of great ideas, but not all of them make financial sense. One exercise I use is to start with the assumption that I am wrong. It’s much too easy to say “I’m right” and then list all the reasons why. It’s harder to make the case against my position, then see if I can disprove it… That makes it easier for me to convince people on the other side because now I thoroughly understand their position.”
• Pick your battles – “you must pick your battles, of course. There’s no need to put your job on the line over a trivial matter. And your research must be rock-solid (your argument based on fact, not opinion). But if the project is important, and your position is well documented, you are not doing your bosses any favors by telling them what you think they want to hear. Plus, you certainly don’t want to be known as the villain who damaged the company by pushing a fawed project… Finally, I realized what was happening and gained another valuable lesson: to thrive in a creative environment, drop the sales talk. I had to learn how to listen more, be less aggressive, and speak more openly, from the heart. Once I did that, it was much easier to fit in, gain supporters, and move my initiatives forward. Best of all, I found myself looking forward to coming to work and began enjoying my job for the first time.”
• Give creators a mandate – “in business, as in life, you can’t just tell people, ‘Go be creative. Come back to me with a fantastic new idea.’ That leads to wasting time and resources and results in ideas your company doesn’t want or can’t use. Instead, give your creative team a mandate-some direction about the kind of ideas you are looking for. In the case of Varekai, the mandate was broad but helped Dominic think about what the show could be: Guy wanted a different kind of story, unlike what Cirque had done so far. He also did not want to repeat the same acrobatic acts as previous shows, so he told his creative team to recruit new talent to offer something different. After giving it some thought, Dominic came back with an idea: The acrobatic acts in Cirque are often about flight, but how about a story about falling? When Dominic was young, he fell from a tree and broke his leg, unable to walk for many months. The experience was quite traumatic. How about reimagining the myth of Icarus by starting the show with the brash young man’s fall back to Earth?“
• Monitor the creative process – “In a business context, providing creative freedom does not mean having no clue about what the product is until it’s finished and ready to offer to customers. That’s a recipe for disaster. The solution is to periodically monitor the process to make sure the product is marketable, consistent with your brand, and sufficiently original to maintain your company’s reputation as an innovative leader. As I watched Varekai develop, I was intrigued by Cirque’s use of “checkpoints” at various stages of a show’s development.“
• Wear the shoes of the customer – “as I watched the Atherton twins rehearse their routine-soaring high above me, flying apart then coming together —1 no longer felt like an executive at Cirque du Soleil doing my job. Suddenly, I was a member of the audience, speechless and awestruck by what I was witnessing… That’s a lesson for every leader: put yourself in the shoes of your customers, of course, but don’t stop there; make it impossible to look at your product any other way. In the rehearsal studio, it took no effort for me to transform into a spectator. In fact, I could not have resisted the spell of the magnificent Atherton twins even if I tried.“
• Avoid conventional management styles – “trying to impose a conventional management style on Cirque, I realized, would be a disaster. Bureaucracy is a dirty word around here. Everyone’s mentality is “The show must go on!” and we constantly operate with a laser-like focus on making that happen. Nobody sits around writing memos and thinking up new policies and protocols that would only slow everybody down…. I realized that many companies with entrenched bureaucracies-including some I used to work for —would benefit from being able to react as calmly and quickly to a crisis as Cirque does… Most companies would not throw a party like this, of course…” “But every firm can find original ways to showcase their ingenuity to attract potential buyers or partners. Steve Jobs, for example, was a master of new-product demos as he whipped up the media, industry leaders, and the public into a state of near-ecstasy over his latest devices. Car manufacturers have also become expert at unveiling new models with glitzy shows that create excitement and goodwill. No matter what business you are in, there are great opportunities to find creative ways to showcase what you do and build important relationships.”
• Stay true to your values – “another big mistake we made with Zaia was to abandon the guidelines we always used to decide whether to embark on a new project. Informally, we called them The Four Criteria, and we still use them today. In order of importance, they are: Is it a creative challenge? Do our partners share our values? Can we make a profit? Are our partners socially engaged? In our most successful shows, the answer to each question has been a resounding “Yes!” These rules can apply to any company, in any industry…” “This lesson can be applied to any industry. If you are running a French restaurant, your customers will be very confused if you start serving burritos and tacos. A wellness company should stay away from controversial remedies that may be bad for your health. No matter how profitable such deviations may seem, it’s usually best to avoid the risk of harming the company’s image…” “If your customers are unhappy with the changes, cut your losses as soon as possible. Yes, we lost a lot of money on Banana Shpeel when we shut it down, but stubbornly continuing could have done extensive damage to our brand. That’s not a risk worth taking.“
• Listening to your employees can save you from disaster – “I’ve noticed many examples of that in the business world. Take Sam-sung. Some of its employees warned that the design of its Galaxy Note 7 was very risky. The company ignored their pleas and released the smartphone anyway in August of 2016. Within weeks, the devices started exploding and catching fire, causing Samsung to recall and finally discontinue the line. All it took to prevent billions in losses and serious damage to the company’s brand was to pay attention to the workers who knew the product best.“
• How best to approach the delicate task of finding the right talent? “My advice is this: don’t hire; cast.Think of the movie business and how important it is to find just the right actor to play a part. Without Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca is just not the same film. The reverse is true when it comes to bad casting: if there is no chemistry between the leads in a romantic comedy, the film will be a disaster. Every company should look at hiring the same way—as casting decisions that can make or break your business…” “When we cast, our goal is the same as yours should be—to recruit the best in the world. We want the top acrobats, jugglers, contortionists, aerialists, roller skaters, clowns, dancers, musi-cians, and more. But to succeed at Cirque—or at any company— the candidate must have more than just raw talent. He or she must also be a good fit with the company culture. For us, that means casting athletes who have an artistic streak and vice versa: artists who have the discipline of athletes.”
• Create innovation cells and invest in R&D – “Companies our size often pass up the chance to develop smaller products and services, feeling that they are not worth the time.But Joyà taught us that going small can pay off in many ways-not only in profitability, but also in developing creative talent.Until our foray into Mexico, our “special events” division stuck mostly to one-off shows for sponsors looking to make a splash with a single event featuring Cirque du Soleil acts. Joyà made us realize that our special-events directors were well suited for this new category of smaller shows. While better-known directors might have turned their noses up at doing a dinner show or a Cirque du Soleil at Sea production, our younger directors saw them as an exciting promotion that offered them a chance to show what they could do. Our special-events division is just one example of what I call “innovation cells” that companies can establish to nurture creativity within their organization. Forget the traditional pyramid structure-that tends to stifle experimentation. Employees need smaller, more intimate groups to express themselves and play around with new ideas in a supportive environment…” Invest in R&D – “To maintain our hard-won place on the cutting edge of live entertainment, we have established several cells devoted exclusively to R and D. One is our Trends Group, a team of three full-time employees who search the world for new ideas and talents in all cultural sectors: music, fashion, architecture, theater, film, games, and more. Every three or four months, they present our creative teams with the treasures they have discovered, and we begin exploring how they might be used in a show… Another program, the Creative Watch, encourages all our employees to bring to the Trends Group anything strikingly original or intriguing they have come across that we might feature in a production. That’s become a great way to make every member of our team —from accountants to custodians- feel part of the creative process, and it helps to keep them more fully engaged in their jobs.”
• About failure and cheering your passionate employees – “For any innovative company, failure can often be harder for the business side to accept than it is for the creative team. Artists learn to live daily with mistakes and disappointment as an inevitable part of the process. Shareholders and company executives, on the other hand, can become deeply rattled by a financial loss, vowing to never let it happen again. Leaving the creative side alone is easy when everything is going well, but failure has a way of chipping away at even the most sincere commitments to artistic freedom… Because what, really, does Cirque du Soleil own? We have no physical products (aside from some merchandising). No factories. No valuable inventory or expensive real estate. We do, however, have a secret ingredient worth more than any of those things combined, a special sauce that made us a hugely attractive investment even in the worst of times: the creativity of our artists. Harnessing that magic has produced an immensely valuable asset, our intellectual property, and a beloved brand name instantly recognized the world over…” Cherish your passionate employees – “without them, your company cannot survive during a pandemic or otherwise. With them, you have a limitless reservoir of creativity that can power your organization to new heights. How that plays out differs for each person and each company, of course. For us, it means developing spectacular shows that leave audiences gasping in wonder, inspired to expand their own boundaries, chase their dreams, and believe that anything is possible.”