Poetry and the Entrepreneur

What are the commonalities between poetry and the entrepreneur? No doubt, the initial response to this question may well be that if there are any, the commonalities are not worth mentioning. Such a nonchalant reaction could be the result of a conditioned mind set into thinking that business is about the profit motive and the myriads of ways to do so. Whereas, poetry is an emotional avalanche and more than not, creates the abstract side of the world. In saying this, think of the many emerging poets who say that they write from the heart thus giving credence to the aforementioned statement. Some folks are also led falsely into thinking that poetry deals strictly with emotions whether real or surreal and not the bottom line in business.

However, I share a different perspective on the issue at hand as you continue to stay with me on this matter. As a person engrossed deeply in the poetic world, it is with surety to say that there is a fair amount of poetry-driven businesses around. Poems range from the whimsical about business and an explosion of poems found in advertisements. During my career life in academia, poetry became part of the learning tool in the interdisciplinary teaching lessons. Such great blessings flowed from students to students and from students to teacher and vice versa. Now that I have become an educator emeritus, poetry both structured and unstructured remains my passion. The added pleasure is the ability to write in many forms and styles. The entire environment is my daily muse and not once has there been a writer’s block that many poets of the day seem to be experiencing. The commonalities between the entrepreneurial spirit and poetry are there, weilding much importance. Essentially they are creators.The entrepreneurs, like poets invent new ways to connect people, ideas and organizations. Entrepreneurs and poets make great strides on intuitive behaviour. They create meaning where it didn’t seem to exist, with their head, heart and hands to the plough, as it were. They communicate this to their audience. They make the vision real, so to speak. No apologies required therefore, in saying that starting up a business equates with writing a poem. Poetry is like NISE (National Initiative on Service Excellence) for improving business writing. The rules for good poetry writing are applicable to good business prose as verse. These two communication devices must rely on good content, be concise, be organized and must have style. Go into any established business entity and tour the various offices and you are bound to come across types of poems hanging from the walls or being perched on the work station serving as motivators for those who read them.

Poetry is invigorating in so many ways. Perhaps because of this, it is not unusual to find a significant portion of business persons delving into poetry either as readers, writers or reviewers. No doubt, they will say that poetry helps them to maintain equilibrium as they sort through challenges which come with the daily activities of business. The paradigm shift that is sweeping the 21st Century commercial world at unprecedented haste is engendering greater creativity in the life of the working masses. The organizational structures are increasingly relying on the input not only from management but from non-managerial employees to the lowest level. The organization is as strong as its weakest link so everybody’s input is a source of organizational strength, growth and wealth. Thus, the acknowledgement of input from all levels of the organization is a means of helping employees to overcome habitual fear and reticence of expressing themselves through nurturing the “soul” within the enterprise. This nurturing of the “soul” is developed through dramatic groups and poetry writing as a way to express deeper emotions.

The goal of contemporary business leaders worth their salt is not hooked solely on the profit motive (the bottom line) but as a matter of grave concern, the provision for new avenues to look at life in business whereby helping employees find greater satisfaction. In saying this, the collaboration is seen in the many poetic statements that have found their way into the organizations’ mottoes, slogans and mission statements. You can believe this as well, poetry has become the blood of any nation’s cultural milieu. Check out the national cultural foundations of your country and tell me this is not so, my challenge to you. The next point worth mentioning in this discourse is how businesses use poetry in advertising their products.

Advertising is a method whereby consumers are made aware of the various product lines on sale. Poetry and sound lyrics are increasingly being used to draw the public in with the goal of getting the public to see the goodness of their product lines and purchase them. If this were not the case, why do we see and hear advertisements laced with poetic utterances. The jingle is at best and example of this. So what is a jingle?

A jingle is usually an unbridled pleasant sounding verse flowing with catchy words and phrases with lots of rhymes and rhythm that somehow stay in the mind for a very long time. Its rhythm is captivating as a result of the alliterative nature of the sounds. Most people tend to label a jingle as nonsensical but it really does drive advertising in a sort of hypnotic way. Just think about the many jingles you hear, so there must be some profitable inducement worth pursuing.

If I may say so myself, I think that the poem, "The Nest" could very well serve as an advertisement for bloggers of poetry with google accounts. It has five stanzas with a rhyme scheme aabbb and each verse is made up of six syllables. A closer examination at the stanzaic lines reveals that they are Trimeter verses.

A trimeter is a line of verse consisting of three metrical feet or three Dipodies.

A Dipody is a double foot; a unit of two feet.

©Paterika Hengreaves
December 2008/Barbados