 On March 9 and 10, Loren G. Carlson, Chairman of CEO
Roundtable, LLC, hosted 50 CEOs at Babson College’s Executive
Education Center to explore "Will" with Tina Packer,
president and creative director of Shakespeare & Company in
Lenox, Massachusetts, using the great bard’s "Hamlet" as a
touchstone for insight and self-discovery.
The play begins…
Barnardo asks: Who’s there?
Francisco challenges: Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold
yourself.
And so Carlson and Packer directed the CEOs to "unfold
themselves," step outside their normal conversations, and
explore what it means to have the will to be a leader, the will
to do what must be done, the very will to live.
 Professional actors Jason Asprey and Kevin Coleman
with direction from Packer presented an abbreviated version of
the play to refresh the participants’ memory of the Danish
prince who’s suspicions of his father’s murder and overthrow are
confirmed by a visit from his father’s ghost who makes Hamlet
swear to avenge him.
Hamlet struggles with the question…
"To be or not to be – that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them."
(Act 3, Sc. 1)
…a struggle not unlike a CEO’s typical decision process. It is,
in essence, rhetoric.
Packer explained that Hamlet is a play about rhetoric, a
discipline and method that – by empowering individuals to
question and argue – forged a way of thinking and
problem-solving that opened the way for international trade,
commerce, democracy and even corporations.
And so, the CEOs were asked to seriously explore how they each
face and resolve the tough issues, the "ghosts" that encumber
them with demands, the unfinished business that haunts them, the
old models that no longer work, and the "Polonius dilemma"– not
heeding their own advice – that may be inevitable. In essence
they explored what it is to be the principle actor in their own
business dramas.
As the CEOs pursued their discussions, they did indeed unfold
themselves. And the conversations delved squarely into their own
individual humanity.
 They spoke of having to act in ways to get things done on the
corporate stage; taking action when the kingdom is under attack,
but knowing when to pull out the sword; dealing with the karma
and dharma of situations and acknowledging that if nothing is
done, the unfinished business will ultimately blurt itself out.
They spoke about the ghosts and legacies that can get in the way
of a company needing to follow its own destiny; the risk that
the business may die or that the CEO may fail and the need to
act before more damage is done.
There was the recognition that in a crisis, the rules change:
Hamlet did not kill Claudius when he was in prayer, yet Claudius
and Laertes used poison against Hamlet. There are environments
where the players cannot be true to themselves. There is a
difference between alignment and consensus, and there are people
who will hide behind curtains.
Packer said, "The horrid stuff will happen, but your humanity
will serve you, your relationships will serve you."
As they grappled with their own corporate issues in the CEO
Roundtable environment of strict confidentiality and mutual
respect, Packer then asked them to turn with her again to
rhetoric as a tool for gaining insight and even answers to their
most challenging situations.
 Noting that rhetoric involves narration, argument, style,
delivery and memory, Packer asked the CEOs to make brief
statements about their own unique and individual situations.
Before the whole group, she worked with six CEOs, guiding them
to stand, breathe deeply, speak to the back row, feel the energy
coming up straight from the floor, and articulate the problem.
She prompted the CEOs to tighten, simplify and shorten their
messages. As they did, the messages became sharper, more
focused, better defined. And, interestingly, issues weighing
heavily on the CEOs ranging from irritating voices whispering
"not good enough" to preparing for new leadership and
determining the next course of action – once articulated and
firmly stated – became manageable. Within minutes, Packer helped
the participants transform their burdens into opportunities
through the power of rhetoric.
"Living is frightening," Packer said. It is what you do about it
that matters.
The participants applauded the two -day
event as one of their most extraordinary experiences, noting
their amazement that so much had been so effectively addressed
and explored in so short a time.
"This retreat clearly took us beyond our
normal conversations. It was rigorous, productive, invigorating,
and memorable," Carlson said.
Each participant can continue to draw
upon Packer’s insights as each CEO Roundtable member received a
copy of Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership &
Management, the book she co-authored with Columbia Business
School professor John O. Whitney in 2001.
And, in the final moments of the
seminar, there was a unanimous decision to have a "reunion" this
summer on August 12 in Lenox to see Asprey play the title role
in Shakespeare & Company’s production of Hamlet.
 About Tina Packer and Shakespeare & Company
Launching its 29th season, Shakespeare & Company aspires to
create a theatre of unprecedented excellence rooted in the
classical ideals of inquiry, balance, and harmony. Shakespeare &
Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer, its current Artistic
Director. Born in England, Tina journeyed to the U.S. in the
early 1970s with the idea of creating a theatre company that
merged the best aspects of British actors and American actors.
The Company is located in the culturally rich Berkshire Hills of
western Massachusetts in Lenox.
The Company is home to one of the largest theatre-in-education
programs in the northeast. The Education Program reaches nearly
50,000 students annually with innovative performances,
workshops, and residencies. Along with lecturing and directing
at Columbia, Harvard, and M.I.T., Tina continues to spearhead
the international effort to reconstruct a historically accurate
1587 Rose Playhouse, where Shakespeare’s plays were first
performed, in Lenox, MA. |
