Arts and humanities for executives’ development: aphorisms as a new tool in the management toolbox

Purpose This paper aims to answer the call for greater humanization of the corporation, introducing aphorisms as a new tool for developing management awareness, creativity, and multiple-perspective mind-set. Design/methodology/approach The paper elaborates on a theoretical base to suggest a new tool for management development. Findings A firm is not only a technical system but rather a community of people, and due to increasing environmental complexity, humanities can provide managers with great help. In this line of thought, aphorisms are an under-considered literary genre that can prove helpful in humanizing the corporation. Practical implications Aphorisms can assist management in several ways: they help to understand what the organization stands for and to focus organizational values; they contribute to define corporate identity to people inside and outside the organization; they favor open-minded examination of problems from multiple perspectives, giving way to unexpected possibilities; and they generate critical dialogue within the management team about strategic decisions. Originality/value Although several arts and disciplines have already been considered in management literature, as far as the authors know, this is the first paper attempting to introduce aphorisms in the management toolbox.