A 2012 news article from The Globe and Mail reveals the beginning of an astounding trend. The article, by James Martin, is titled "Maria Montessori: guru for a new generation of business innovators." The writer cites not only the usually mentioned Montessori-trained celebrities, but goes farther afield to note other entrepreneurs who are equally successful but not in the public eye.
In addition to Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Bill Gates (Microsoft); gorgeous George Clooney and lovely Helen Hunt (see more in footnote), we are informed about Canadian Doug Hrvoic, president and tech director of Marine Magnetic Corp., which designs and builds sensitive magnetic sensors for resource exploration and other underwater activities.
We also learn about computer scientist Carlo Consoli. He was a Montessori student in Rome and is today a senior consultant at IBM Global Business Services in Rome where he has won many awards for his innovative work.
The astounding trend, however, is that Montessori methods, principles and results are being noticed by non-Montessori people who are beginning to apply Montessori teaching methods to other innovative businesses.
One such is Vancouver entrepreneur Michael Gokturk, whose company provides payment processing services for e-businesses. He learned about Montessori by talking with colleagues who had children in Montessori schools. He was impressed by the children's independence and creative thinking, and was intrigued by how they became that way. He began to study if Montessori methods could be applied to the workplace. Now in his company, all new employees, from sales to tech support, forego formal training process and are free to play with their systems and discover things on their own through intuitive use.
As Carlo Consoli says, "Being a Montessori child is a gift for life. It pays back a lot in terms of job quality."
Note: Some others are Anne Frank; Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian architect; Wioll Wright, designer of The Sims; Katherine Graham, publisher, The Washington Post; Sean Combs, rapper; Julia Child; Prince William and Prince Harry; Gabriel Garcia Marquez, novelist and Nobel Laureate; Joshua Bell, violinist; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; T. Berry Brazelton, pediatrician/author; Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer; Hugh Grant, actor; Peter Drucker, business writer; Queen Noor of Jordan; Taylor Swift, singer; Dakota Fanning, actress; David Blaine, magician; Erik Erickson, psychologist; Beyonce Knowles, singer; Mathew Bronsil, comedian; Chelsea Clinton; Princess Eugenie of York.
