I’ve spent most of my life in and out of various orchestras and businesses professionally throughout my career.
During this time, I discovered many subtle similarities between these two careers and what makes them successful or not.
In comparison, we look to understand the harmony of teamwork and leadership within the different “branches” of an orchestra and business through the eyes of a musician.
The Conducting CEO
I am sure there’s been a time in all our lives when we’ve thought,
“ Wow, the CEO is so lazy and does nothing but make the profit from all the hard work of his employees.”
Or while watching an orchestra perform we think,
“That guy up there is just flailing his arms all over the place and acting like a clown.”
While this may seem the case, the conductor and CEO play enormous roles when it comes to running the show. They are responsible for the overall strategic focus on success.
Side-by-side, both the role of the CEO and conductor is responsible for unifying their “performers,” to listen critically, communicate expertly, and is without a doubt, the public face of the company. Both being a Conductor or CEO are anticipatory arts. Whatever they do, takes place in their minds before the music or action of the business happens.
The mission of the conductor is to keep the orchestra on the same page rhythmically, emotionally, and to control the shape of the sound. For example, if the music is sad, the conductors face may seem sad while using somber-like gestures with his left hand portraying this emotion. If the music is intense, the conductor may use abrupt and wide gestures with an intense face to portray intensity.
Side-by-side, both the role of the CEO and conductor is responsible for unifying their “performers,” to listen critically, communicate expertly, and is without a doubt, the public face of the company. Both being a Conductor or CEO are anticipatory arts. Whatever they do, takes place in their minds before the music or action of the business happens.
The mission of the conductor is to keep the orchestra on the same page rhythmically, emotionally, and to control the shape of the sound. For example, if the music is sad, the conductors face may seem sad while using somber-like gestures with his left hand portraying this emotion. If the music is intense, the conductor may use abrupt and wide gestures with an intense face to portray intensity.
The main goal of the CEO is to make positive impacts on stock prices while managing overall resources and operations. This takes an expert communicator and immense knowledge on what it takes to shape the business for success.
More information here on the role of the CEO:
Musical Principals on Business Management
As we make our way down the line for the orchestra and corporate business functions, we find our principal players and business administration/management. For comparison's sake, their roles are to basically oversee and supervise the “performers.” They act as a conduit, if you will, between the performers and the CEO or Conductor.
Principal players in the orchestra are found sitting first in their sections be it for the violins, cellos, flutes, trombones, what have you. Every section of the orchestra will contain a principle.
In the violin section, for instance, the job of the principal violinist is to make sure all of the violinists are using the most effective and efficient bowing for their parts, leads the orchestra in tuning before the concert, and plays most of the violin solos within the music.
Business administration/management is surprisingly quite similar in its functions within the business. This role is found within all major fields of a business such as finance, accounting, marketing, project management, etc. They are the principals of their sections.
While business administration and business management are actually subtly different, their roles as planners and organizers are crucial to the success of the business.
The Hospitality in Strings
Next, we look into a similarity I find between the strings sections and the hospitality sector of business. These similarities may seem a bit of a stretch, but I believe you will see where I’m coming from.
Business hospitality is more or less, in charge of making sure that people feel homey. These are the ones responsible for good food, comfortable lodging, as well as treat guests in a warm and friendly way with emotion and generosity.
I find these characteristics similar in the strings section of an orchestra. String players tend to be much more emotional as performers. They are very physical in the sense that they react to what they see from the conductor.
This goes for the same in those responsible in the hospitality field of business as they react to the needs of a customer and other employees. See the resemblance?
Marketing as Woodwinds
Marketing is absolutely crucial as far as the profit sector goes towards a successful business. Business marketing’s main role is to “sell products or services to other companies or organizations that resell them, use them in their products or services or use them to support their works.”
As I look back at my time in various orchestras, business marketing reminds me of the woodwinds section.
The woodwinds section in an orchestra contains a minimum of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, and two bassoons. These instruments usually play the part in gathering the main idea of the “product,” or music. The woodwinds are incredibly dynamic when played well. For me, this section was always the selling point in major pieces.
Woodwind parts of the music are always the most catchy for the listeners. Which is why creating a catchy selling point through your business gains new customers.
The “Brass” Tacks on Finance
The finance sector of business is basically the management of assets and money within a company. The main focus here is to minimize financial risks while increasing profits at the same time. A small financial mistake could cost the company a lot.
In order for the business to be profitable, those in charge of finance need to perform at a caliber where confidence is key. The involvement of procuring and utilizing funds so that business operations can function efficiently is what makes a company grow drastically.
I would compare these characteristics to the brass section of an orchestra. The brass section includes instruments such as the horns, trumpets, tenor trombones, bass trombones, and the tuba.
Amazing brass sections cause for an immensely intense and fulfilling experience for the listener. I daresay, that without a phenomenal brass section, the essence of the music could fall apart quickly for all the musicians involved. Not only is this section quite rhythmic at times, but one small mistake from a trumpet could result in quite an embarrassingly loud hiccup within the orchestra.
Take this clip for instance.
Although what you heard is from what it seems like a high school wind ensemble, respectfully, I wouldn’t pay a dime to watch an orchestra that sounded like this. Would you?
The Percussive Consultants
So far, we’ve covered comparisons between major sectors of business and the roles throughout a full orchestra. Lastly, but certainly not the least, we have the problems solvers that are the percussion section and the consultants of a business.
The main role of a business consultant is to provide advice in order to solve problems and attain goals for the company. For instance; there are many types of consultants from strategic focus to IT, operations, human resources, etc.
I see here a resemblance to the percussion section of the orchestra. The role of percussion varies depending on the music chosen by the conductor. Sometimes their job is to provide a steady rhythmic pace to the music, while other times, it is used to reach a certain musical goal in terms of a combination of melodies, dynamics, timbre, color, and tone.
If performed well, percussion, for the most part, keeps all the instrumental sections together. Sometimes their job is to assist the strings section while other times, they may be assisting the woodwinds. All of this could occur in just one piece of music.
Encore
I think the best way to sum up this article is by showing you one of my favorite orchestral pieces performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by the amazing, Valery Gergiev.
As you watch this outstanding performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” take note of everything we covered from the role of the conductor to the connections between the different instruments, the principal players and their conversational solos, the intensity of the horns, the driving percussion, and so on.
While listening, imagine looking down at a business artistically and understanding the teamwork and harmony each sector needs to obtain success. Relate their conversations to the conversations occurring within the music. Imagine the CEO standing before them as their leader.
The relation here is actually quite beautiful.
Enjoy Rimsky-Korsakov’s, “Scheherazade,” from the Vienna Philharmonic.
All images come from pixabay.com and are free to use for commercial use.