étude thousands of lines

leading very large numbers of employees

empty your agenda for the day

start early

take a high quality sheet of paper (56x76 cm)

and a black fine liner (0,3 mm)

make sure that you know the exact number of people

in the organisation you lead

start at the upper left corner to draw a small vertical dash

continue from left to right and from top to bottom

leaving a small trace for every person in your organisation

use a new sheet when necessary

upon completion ask yourself the question:

‘how do i speak to each individual who sees me as the boss?’

write down the answer

hang the sheet(s) of paper in the board room

for the next executive committee meeting

étude 59plus1

for teams of 4 to 12 people

spend 59 minutes with the team in the anne imhof exhibition at stedelijk museum in amsterdam (until 29-2-2023)

(or any large, very immersive exhibition of contemporary art for that matter)

while looking, investigating, listening, watching, walking, standing, sitting,

each team member takes the first 29 minutes and 30 seconds

to answer the question:

‘when do i find the time to find what i am looking for?’

for the following 29 minutes and 30 seconds

continue but now in duo’s

replace the ‘i’ in the question with the ‘we’

take one minute to make a short selfie video

commenting on the two questions

share the results broadly

étude crafting a memory

a format to conclude a meeting

hold a regular meeting

but reserve a quarter of the time scheduled for this intervention

announce up front what will be done

upon finishing the regular part of the meeting move to another room

stand up in silence

everybody takes some time to think about the most remarkable moment of the meeting

share these moments and choose the most remarkable

agree that this is the common memory of the meeting

find a token to remember it by

these three études are experimental interventions to practice in a context of organisations provoking attention through unconventional means.

they carry an artistic element in the sense that they allow room for interpretation and a variation of outcomes.

they fit in stordes work to help sculpt tissues of attention in organisations.

illustrations:

hein duijnstee,

the attention multiplier: 1, 240, 2375, 48790 (2019)

the 48790 sheet, fine liner on paper

anne imhof,

youth, (2022)

at stedelijk museum, amsterdam

navid nuur,

the possibilities of purple, (2013)

at bonnefanten museum, maastricht