"Orchestrating Possibility"

Conductor Benjamin Zander was in the news recently, though not for the usual reasons (Grammy nomination, North Korean tour, etc.). Instead, Zander made the papers for giving the closing address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Though it may seem initially odd to contemplate a conductor addressing a roomful of executives, economists and politicians, the connection becomes immediately obvious, particularly when he delves into a revelation he had several decades ago about his position as a conductor:

"I had this amazing breakthrough, this realization that the conductor doesn't make a sound. So he depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful."

He espouses a plural approach to leadership that has really resonated with the global business community. A good segment of his speech is available here; it's worth watching to the end, if just to catch his audience being turned into a motley international chorus singing "Ode to Joy". Alle Menschen werden Brüder, indeed.

Zander is clearly of the glass-half-full school of thought, which is a comfort in these dark times. But it made me wonder, instead of contemplating a dour fiscal outlook by battening down the hatches, circling the wagons, and otherwise just trying to go about business as usual, just with even greater conservatism, why not look at adversity as an opportunity for innovation and thinking outside the box?

I'm no Pollyanna - Sam, back me up, aren't I as cynical as any musician (and we are a cynical bunch)? But I always feel that this cynicism prevents all of us from doing our very best thinking - or as Zander puts it, we're going into a "downward spiral versus radiating possibility."

Look, I know I've been railing against doom and gloom a lot lately, but it's because all the glum news, particularly in our industry, is not solution-based. It makes me wonder if there's a business guru out there who might give a motivational speech to a bunch of musicians and orchestra managers; if the response is akin to what Zander received in Davos, maybe THAT would finally get us into a more productive train of thought.