Shifting Context - connect art & consulting

Entering the world of consultancy in the late 1980s I suddenly realized that my skills as an art historian were suitable for doing something completely different: I was able to structure, to find patterns, and to foster communication in corporate identity projects, trainings, and organizational development. A stranger in the corporate world, I could ask naive questions and supply uncommon suggestions. As a sudden insight I described this approach as SHIFTING CONTEXT.

Now, after 20 years of change projects and coaching work, I still use techniques to shift contexts:

For my personal development I continue to work in the field of experimental photography and conceptual art (see www.laboratorio-bb.de).

For the actual work with clients as their executive coach or process consultant I apply creative methods such as drawing and building (have you tried LEGO?) thus broadening the client's minds. 

If you watch the photo above you might get an idea of what SHIFTING CONTEXT can be: I was working with a client (a non profit organization based in Germany and Australia) and we were in a strategic workshop. I took the participants to the beach (near Red Rock, NSW, Australia) to practically work on their visions - we later continued drawing and planning on the basis of the first sketches into the sand.