Zenobia
The Curious Book of Business
By: Beth Kephart, Matthew Emmens, Arbinger Institute, William Sulit
Published: Jan 1, 2008
ISBN: 9781576754788
Format: Hardcover, 144pp
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Pub
The heroine's adventure becomes a pathway to success for others, write co-authors Matthew Emmens and Beth Kephart, in their imaginative business fable Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business. In a surrealistic dreamlike world worthy of Franz Kafka or Lewis Carroll, job applicant Moira's journey to the mythical Room 133A, is an inspiration to the power of imagination in business.
Matthew Emmens and Beth Kephart (photo left) take the reader into a their business allegory where the characters are symbols and their actions are metaphors. Young job applicant Moira represents change and new ideas, as well as a vibrant creativity missing from the staid and declining Zenobia Corporation. Once an industry leader, the moribund company clings to past glories through suffocating rules, malignant office politics, and outright hostility to creative thinking or ideas.
Moira, in her symbolically outside the rule book red shoes, defies and overcomes that that institutionalized lack of imagination as she seeks her goal. Seizing a kite, as a metaphor for an idea, she literally climbs the treacherous corporate ladder. With unexpected help from unlikely sources within the company, walks a symbolic tightrope to achieve her dreams. In the process, others in Zenobia follow their dreams, and revitalize the hidebound company. Long stifled employees reach for the stars along with Moira, and dare to imagine what could be for the organization and for their own careers.
Matthew Emmens (photo left) and Beth Kephart take the reader on a voyage of possibility and of imagination. With their symbolic characters, aided by the delightful James Thurber-like illustrations of William Sulit, an alternative through the looking glass world is the creative result. Indeed, the entire book is a tribute to creative thinking, and of seeking new ideas for solving seemingly impossible problems.
The book is about dreams and imagination, and the importance of people within an organization. Moira needs help in her quest, and she receives it when it's needed most. By accepting help, she inspires greatness in others within Zenobia, as they reach goals they never imagined possible. At the same time, the Zenobians step out of their darkness, and help others to find the light of their dreams and ideas, as they too reach for the long dormant kite of imagination.
For me, the power of the book is its faith in the power of imagination and ideas, and how one person can act as a catalyst for change. Moira wasn't a high profile CEO parachuted into the company, and within the story, those closed minded applicants fail to reach Room 133A. They lack the imagination to expand their thinking beyond conventional wisdom. As a result, they are unable to revitalize the floundering Zenobia Corporation. Instead, a seemingly ordinary person, with her unconventional ways of thinking, applied imagination and creativity to the organization, and found the latent greatness within.
I highly recommend the business fable Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business by Matthew Emmens and Beth Kephart for anyone who seeks to follow their dreams to greatness, and to awakening their imaginations to new and wonderful possibilities.
Read Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business by Matthew Emmens and Beth Kephart and wear those non-dress code red shoes, grab hold of that kite of ideas with both hands, and let your imagination soar. Reach for the stars, and you can light up the sky.
