Who are you?
My name is Ginger and I am an amalgam of my life experiences – so part strategist, part-storyteller, part-entrepreneur, part-writer, part-psychologist. My industry background is in competitive intelligence and due diligence, primarily in mergers and acquisitions. Then I had a mid-life crisis, which drove me back to school. I did a Masters and PhD at Pacifica Graduate Institute (Jungian based school co-founded by Joseph Campbell and Jungian analysts). I was then asked to join the teacher/trainer group in the Stanford “Creativity in Business” program. This program was founded by Michael Ray at the Stanford Graduate Business School in the late -70s to offset the heavy emphasis on numbers and to return to the ideology of design-driven creativity that sparks innovation. The program has been popularized by Jim Collins in “Good to Great” and our philosophy focuses on the questions: “Who is your Self?” (your deepest potential, what gives your life meaning) and “What is your Work?” (not job, not career, but life work in a world-class forum). When you harness the energy found in those two questions, that energy can become an economic driver. I was part of the innovation faculty at SFU, but my position was eliminated recently due to budget cuts so now back in my consulting role and loving it!
What is your favourite community and why?
My favourite community revolves around storytelling. It started with the Jungian community – the work of C.G. Jung. Only theorist whose work is cited by paragraph number. Difficult reading yes, but incredibly rich. I find that when my soul was starving, Jung always feeds me. It is a meaning-based community centered around creativity as a life-force. Currently playing in the realm of digital storytelling and memetics and their application in education and business, especially branding. Story is an incredibly powerful tool that is commonly used in PanPacific and Europe but only pockets in North America. I believe that story can change the world and is really the only thing that ever has. To drive transformation in whatever form, story is a powerful vehicle. For example, Tata uses hindu mythology to teach leadership – so what could we learn from this approach in North America?
What do you do for fun?
Hang out with people smarter than me, locally and through global relationships. I am and will always be a perpetual learner. I have a severe reading addiction and spend approximately 4 hours every day with head in a book. When I have time, I hit the dance floor (tango and latin primarily). One danger of academe is that you spend far too much time in your head. Passion is about using the entire body, not just the intellect.
What is your superpower?
Passion (obsession?) for story and its power to transform – revisioning the way we live and work. I am committed to living that passion every day as a spiritual discipline.
How do you use it to build community?
Finding people who share a common story and then linking them together to form an resource driver. When people come together over a common ideal, the power of that community to change our world or our planet is immense. Encouraging people to live their passion everyday – the foundational belief of “Creativity in Business” is to live your life as a work of art. How would that change your current circumstances? What would happen to you if you adopted that philosophy? An interesting question!
My three favourite things about Ginger Grant are…
1. Powerful Public Speaking. I first met Dr. Grant when she delivered a fantastic keynote address at the 2009 CACEE Conference in Vancouver. Her presentation about digital storytelling was brilliant, hilarious and moving. Ginger’s style made an incredibly meaningful impact on the people in the room, who undoubtedly have taken her message and applied it to their work in a myriad of thoughtful ways. Such is the impact of a powerful public speaker.
2. She’s a hugger. After delivering such a moving speech there was no better way to wrap it up that hug, well, everyone who was standing and applauding between the stage and her seat. I was lucky to be one of those people.
3. Innovative Solutions to Complex Problems. When I heard her say it, the idea was just so simple. Businesses can play a role in eliminating traffic snarls, thus helping the environment and improving productivity, and empowering employees by creating flexible work schedules. For example, Employee A might be at their most productive from 5am to 2pm, whereas Employee B works best from 10am to 6pm. And Employee C might like to telecommute three days a week. By combining flexible organizational behaviour that is employee-focused with emerging mobile technologies, well, we can make our workplaces more productive, stop traffic jams and help the environment. It’s a no brainer, and it was one of the best digital stories I heard Dr. Grant deliver.