Italian firms embraces Bard

by Tamsin Smith
BBC News correspondent in Rome

Italian business leaders are receptive to drama in the workplace

Shakespeare is enjoying unprecedented popularity in Italy at the moment.

Theatregoers are flocking to a replica of Shakespeare's Globe which opened last month in the centre of Rome.

And now Italian business leaders are looking to Shakespeare to discover the key to sucessful management.

On Friday night, the Massimo Auditorium on the outskirts of Rome is full. There is applause for the minstrels and court jester, then hushed silence as the actors take the stage.

But this is not a regular performance, it is a workshop organised by the Shenker Institutes of English to teach 400 Italian business leaders good management skills.

Incompetent leaders

The spotlight falls on a bearded actor who reads a speech from Richard II: 'Not all the water from the rough rude sea can wash the balm off from an annointed King' (Richard II) .

Paul Corrigan, author of a book on Shakespeare and management, takes to the stage to explain that good leaders should not copy Richard II, who thought his title was enough to give him power.

"And of course we've all worked with people like that," says Mr Corrigan. "Just because someone has the title of director of marketing, they think they direct all marketing and have the last say in everything."

Readings from other incompetent leaders like King Lear and Macbeth follow, along with lessons about how to use power and ambition more positively.

It's great how he managed to communicate his vision and then persuaded others to follow his drive Barbara Santoro

The audience of elegant Italian businessmen and women seem mesmerised. Paul Corrigan says it is typical to see them so engaged.

"The Italians have a capacity to deal with drama and emotion as a part of working life," he explains.

"It takes a lot of effort to describe to a British audience that drama has any link with management - here in Italy it's a natural and very fruitful connection."

Tragic ending

"It was tough being a great leader in Shakespeare's time. Failure often meant a tragic and bloody ending... as Julius Caesar found out."

"To be a successful leader, the message is that you need to follow Henry V, which basically means lots of time in the pub getting to know your staff."

The Italian business leaders are delighted. "I don't like the Italian style of business management, it's much too feudal," says Renato Vicchi from Anderson consulting.

"I think Shakespeare teaches us passion to create a vision, and I hope it will help improve our leadership," he adds.

"I would like to be like Henry V when I get back to the office" says Barbara Santoro, director of the Shenker Institute. "It's great how he managed to communicate his vision and then persuaded others to follow his drive."

You have to remember you're a man...you have to negotiate, you have to listen. You're not God Andrea Granelli

Anna Puccio, CEO of Sonera Zed Italia agrees, but wonders why there aren't many role models for female business leaders.

"It's a bit of a problem, especially as Shakespeare was writing at the time of Elizabeth I," says Ms Puccio.

As the audience file out of the auditorium, Andrea Granelli, director of TelecomLab, says everyone should remember Shakespeare's underlying theme about leadership.

"You have to remember you're a man...you have to negotiate, you have to listen. You're not God."

With a thumbs up from the modern business community, perhaps Shakespeare could also help solve the leadership problems facing today's politicans.