My current project is researching the commonalities between magic tricks and managing a business. This relationship can be viewed from two sides: the magic tricks of business and the business of magic tricks.
The magic tricks of business
Many marketing gurus promise to teach magic.
How do the principles of the psychology of magic apply to the workplace and in marketing? Many management gurus promise people to give them magical powers. There are several interface points between magic tricks and everyday business problems. I wrote some short reflections on this topic for the Lucid Manager website:
- Five points of public speaking—What can business presenters learn from magician using Tamariz’s Five Points in Magic?
- Trademarking Magic—Why are so many products branded with the word magic?
- The Manager and the Magician—A managers is just like magician: constructing a reality by using management tools as a magic wand.
- The Myth of Multitasking—Multitasking is a popular buzzword among managers. Magicians and cognitive scientists know that multitasking is a myth.
- The Magic of Marketing—What do marketing and magic have in common?
- Misdirection in Presentations—How to use misdirection to improve business presentations.
- Predicting Behaviour in Recruitment—Using a magic trick, Teller illustrates how past behaviour is not a good predictor for future behaviour.
- Generation Y Does not Exist—A children’s magician’s view of why there are no difference between the generations.
These thoughts are all expressed through the Half Hour MBA, a satirical magic show a magic show about business.
The Business of Magic Tricks
Business magic does not only apply to organisations, but also magicians. Most performers are independent entrepreneurs that spend a lot of time on marketing and selling. Magic is show business, which is both an art and a way to make a living.
Magicians generally have three types of customers: their audiences, the people that pay their fees and other magicians.
My current interest is developing a theoretical model for measuring the quality of a magic show.