Robert Redford on creativity
Film icon to describe his vision for innovation in the
business world

Actor, director, producer and businessman, Robert Redford, will be the featured speaker at Cultivating A Creative Workforce, June 24, The Philadelphia Theatre Company.

“Innovation at most companies is pursued with desperate, random acts or unevolved strategies; or it is so incremental and predictable that it isn't really innovation at all. Sundance, by contrast, doesn't just encourage innovation -- it ensures that it happens by process and design. Most companies won't find it a stretch to imitate at least some of Redford's tactics.”

- Stephen H. Zades, contributing writer, Inc. Magazine

What's critical in developing a competitive edge today? In today’s world, the best response is innovation to meet the present challenges, and creativity as the core competency. No one knows this better than Robert Redford, an artist and a visionary businessman who is a staunch supporter of uncompromised creative expression.

Redford's passion is to make films of substance and social/cultural relevance, as well as to encourage others to express themselves through the arts. He founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, which is dedicated to the support and development of emerging screenwriters and directors of vision, and to the national and international exhibition of new independent cinema. Sundance Inc. is now a widely recognized brand that manages six distinct companies. Although Redford is most often associated with Hollywood and celebrity, equally as important is his accomplishment as a highly successful businessman.

At the June 24 forum, Redford will engage in a dialogue with Robert Lynch, president & CEO of Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading organization for advancing the arts in America. Redford and Lynch are co-conveners of the National Arts Policy Roundtable, a think tank of national leaders who serve at the highest levels of business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts, and who share a common interest in exploring and recommending policies critical to the advancement of American culture. The Roundtable was established in 2006 on the premise that the arts are critical to how a society functions—and that every American should have an opportunity to participate in all forms of the arts.

Companies are competing in a world of economic and technological change that is moving faster than ever. The ability to adapt, to make decisions quickly in situations of high uncertainty and to steer through change is critical. Both Redford and Lynch believe that companies that foster employee skills and techniques intrinsic to the arts sector, such as flexibility, imagination and risk-taking, will ultimately drive business growth and attract top talent. According to Redford, companies should be recruiting for more right-brain thinking employees and then nurturing their creativity to energize the whole organization. Without an entrepreneurial spirit and a continual flow of new ideas to address a changing economy and customer demands, businesses will not survive. The transference of these capabilities from the art world to business results in future success for the community as a whole.

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to hear Redford share best practices around how to unlock your employees' creative abilities by encouraging collaboration, allowing for experimentation and mistakes and providing the freedom necessary for them to reach their true potential.

Register or call 215-790-3620.