Michelangelo’s David

Michelangelo is now synonymous with “masterpiece,” but in the late 15th century he was just another upstart on the Italian Renaissance scene. That is, until his work began speaking for itself.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Michelangelo’s sculptures were enlivened by his knowledge of anatomy. Not only did he study anatomy, he used live models and, in a stunning show of courage, he asked for – and received – special permission from the Church of Rome to actually dissect dead bodies.

What does this have to do with learning and development?

At a recent team meeting we discussed outstanding project proposals and entered into a rather freewheeling discussion on how to build them. How much information is too much for the prospective client vs. how much is enough for the proposal crafter?

This is what led me to Michelangelo.

In any form of presentation or training – written, online, or face-to-face – there has to be enough depth of information to sculpt the final product, whether that product is a proposal or a leadership program or simply an engaged employee.

Michelangelo spent hours bent over putrid corpses, studying the intricacies and interaction of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. And that began to inform his sculpting. His larger-than-life David stands there with the original six-pack abdomen, coiled and ready to fight Goliath. From a huge block of smooth marble Michelangelo took three years to fashion what looks like a living, breathing human being.

All of Michelangelo’s sculptures seem to be in the middle of or on the verge of actually moving. An astonishing feat when you consider they’re made of inanimate material. An impossible feat if he hadn’t had all that background information on which to build.

We can’t take three years to prepare a proposal or even sculpt a leadership program. And, fortunately, we don’t need no stinking corpses to develop an excellent product. But we do need to do the work – all the work – to get there.