18th International CREANDO Symposium, Creativity in Economics, Arts and Science, Interlaken / Berne, Switzerland, 2004

Topic
The Interplay of Structures and Functions in Creative Leadership

Chairman: Gottlieb GUNTERN

Speakers

Shigeru BAN
architect, professor at Keio University, best Young Architect of the Year 1997, World Architecture Award for Best Building in Europe, Japanese Pavilion, Japan

Pierre BOULEZ
composer, conductor, thinker, writer, France. Boulez is one of the foremost classical composers whose work has earned him an important place in the history of 20th- century music.

Frank O. GEHRY
architect, winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize 1989, USA. Gehry is considered by many as the greatest living architect. His work — for instance the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain — is admired as "an architectural epiphany", a revelatory manifestation of an extraordinary being.

Murray GELL-MANN
quantum physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1969, USA. Murray GELL-MANN's scientific investigations have led to the discovery of the quark, the basic building block of all atomic nuclei throughout the universe. He has been called "the greatest living theoretical physicist."

Richard A. LERNER
President of the Scripps Research Institute, Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Member of the National Academy of Science USA, USA. Richard A. Lerner directs the world's largest private non-profit biomedical research facility boasting a staff of some 2'800 collaborators and a board of scientific governors with no less than 9 Nobel laureates.

Sam PITRODA
CEO of WorldTel, inventor with numerous patents, visionary thinker, Special Adviser to the Central Government and the State Governments of India and to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. India/USA

Summary

An incessant interplay of structures and functions can be observed in every single domain of life. The more harmonious this interplay is, the more viable, successful and beautiful the form of life will be. The honeycomb is a case in point. In the course of millions of years bees have developed and optimized the utterly elegant structures of hexagonal cells in which to store honey and to rear larvae in a minimum of space. Thus they have guaranteed the survival of the species.

A Paradigm Illustrating the Absurdities of Life

All speakers were confirmed and CREANDO was more than happy and proud of having such a distinguished cast that promised to attract a large and distinguished audience.

Yet in 2004 the world of business was once more struggling with major challenges. Managers and their teams, usually constituting the major part of our audience, were no longer allowed to participate in symposia lasting more than one day - even less so if the event didn’t promise a significant increase of the next quarterly profits.

The whole world of economy was in trouble due to a conspicuous lack of creative leadership. Yet those responsible for that mess continued blundering, using the very same methods that had caused the problems in the first place.

Consequently and to our greatest regret, CREANDO had to cancel the Symposium on very short notice.