In this pamphlet, we attempt to revitalise an old tradition, from the bygone days of thin
paper and smudgy ink. Those days may be gone but the need to campaign and improve the world of work
is pressing. So here we offer a point of view that is both partial and possibly unpopular. It may run against
the grain of the times. But we feel it needs to be said. We think there is a danger that something is being
lost in organisations; something about learning, about creativity, about life, humanity and expression.
We see a close link between learning and creativity, what we call here ‘practice-based learning’ and ‘artful’
ways of being and doing.

We don’t intend to spark riots in the streets. We are more likely to ask politely for a pot of tea than to
incite a call to the barricades. But we do intend to encourage an expression of human-scale learning and
messy artful inquiry. In that sense, we hope to serve people and their workplaces by reminding them of a
vast untapped resource of potential that they may be overlooking in their attempt to control the future.
As academic practitioners, both scholarship and practice are important to us. That said, we are acutely
aware of the chasm between the two. Just as scholars should not be let off the hook about making their
work accessible and relevant, likewise practitioners should be ready to embrace scholarship. The space
connecting these two is the ground that we tread.