Introduction Verrocchio

When people talk about creativity and innovation today, terms such as Design Thinking, Disruption and Open Innovation are often mentioned. The idea behind them is that all it takes is the right method to produce innovations on the assembly line.

In practice, things often look different. Innovation methods are a building block for the development of new ideas, but just as crucial is the question of the inner attitude towards creativity and change. This inner attitude runs like a red thread through the success stories of great inventors of the past and is particularly evident in the example of Leonardo da Vinci. Not only as an artist was da Vinci one of the most important pioneers of the Renaissance, but also his abilities as a scientist and inventor are still regarded as exceptional today. To this day we marvel at his inventions, some of which were hundreds of years ahead of their time (such as helicopters and robots).

For many years, Leonardo’s 7 principles of life have also been an important part of our training as Innovation Coach, because they show in a fascinating way which attitude is decisive for innovative creativity.

So it was only natural that we moved one of our meetings to Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, where Leonardo da Vinci spent much of his creative period. During research into the genius’s career, one name kept coming up: Andrea del Verrocchio.

Verrocchio was not only an important artist of this time, he was above all regarded as a great teacher and recognised the talents of the young Leonardo da Vinci at an early age. Da Vinci spent 7 years as a young artist in Verrocchio’s workshop, alongside other famous “apprentices” such as Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi. Verrocchio’s workshop was not an artist’s studio as we imagine it today, but rather a large hall, almost a factory, where a multitude of artists with different focuses and styles learned from and inspired each other. Today, by the way, bringing together different creative skills is a basic principle of successful innovation teams.

Similar to the times of Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, society (especially the culture of work and innovation) is now undergoing a reorientation. One more reason to call our institute Verrocchio Institute for Innovation Competence. Because: It is time for a new renaissance!

With inspiring greetings,
Christian Buchholz