Do, Reh, Me, So, La, Fa, Tee, Do… or at least that’s how I remember it.  3rd grade music class with Mrs. Peterson.  The first time I was ever introduced to formalized music and singing different parts.  I spent plenty of time in church and understood the concept of “making a joyful noise” with the congregation, but my music teacher was showing me something different.

I grew older and left music classes in middle school  and then came back to them in high school.   Once I was in varsity choir, I learned something incredible.  I learned that when everyone sings their part at the right time and on key, a beautiful cacophony of sound is created. A wall of  emotion in different layers that allows the listener to close their eyes and experience depth and elegance.

What most people understand,  but sometimes forget is the rehearsal and preparation needed in order to create this experience.  It is important to understand how much goes into finding harmony because the same structure can be used to build a world class company.

Harmony is defined by Princeton as:  congruity of parts with one another and with the whole.  Harmony in music allows for there to be multiple people singing different notes at the same time as part of  a greater sound.  Sometime people can be singing different words at the same time, too.  The purpose of a composer is to tie all of it together to create a focused experience for the listener.  In order to tie everything together, a well written plan must be created in the form of sheet music.

Leaders should provide the same type of written plan for their team.  Here is  a quick guide for creating harmony in your team:

• Identify the theme of your piece: What is the goal of your team? What are your values? Write them down.
• Who sings what part: Talk to your team.  See who is a bass or soprano.  Don’t make a tenor into a alto. Put the write singer in the  right place.
• Rehearse!:  Meet with each team member to discuss the plan.  Meet one on one and in groups.  Individual training and rehearsal as well as group training is critical to the success of a team.
• Give everyone their part in writing:  Provide written direction and updates to your team regularly.

Leadership Manifesto-  Lesson 2…   Balance

I have yet to just talk in my blog….  rarely have I taken the time to just open up my thoughts and let the world know what I am doing or thinking.  I have used my blog as a base of operations.  I venture into subjects and connect with people from a familiar spot-  just close enough to who I am to be safe and far enough out to learn…. a leadership guerrilla- if you will.  There has actually been something bubbling……

I quit my job . A job I had for almost 6 years.  Not the same job I had when I started,  but MY job none the less.

Made a Fortune Off Being Happy

We all consider what will happen when we finally make a life changing decision.  Most of us think the change will be GREAT and that we will be free and happy.  Others may feel changes are like train wrecks… difficult and mangled with fault in all manner of people and circumstance.

The truth is that change can be more like a grey cloud.  A strange place where you are not sure what is coming, just that something is different.  Maybe I am different….maybe I worry too much….

The truth is-  I do worry.  I worry that the challenges I leave behind are my doing.  I worry that the people I am moving away from may need me.  I have concern that what I helped build may only be sustainable with my help. These are all DARK ideas and suspicions.   These suspicions are probably not entirely wrong but more than likely they are not entirely right.  They are the wrong focus.  They are not what I should be coming to terms with.  The reasons I am making a change….

What I am coming to terms with is that I am making a change  for my family and me.  The ideas of being a corporate baron have been replaced with a desire to smile and listen to my wife and not be secretly considering the changes I need to make with a business process.  I would rather get home to play light-sabers than stay late for an accounting meeting.  I want to go to soccer games and not be on my cell phone.  I am finding that life is forcing a balance in me.

I am coming to terms with the idea that a leader should be the  same person at home as he is at work. The foundation stems from a leader identifying himself through his values before placing his worth in his career or his ambition. Something I have recently discovered…

This is what my decision to change jobs has boiled down to for me personally:  I had to build a new career level where I could start over and be me (balanced me).  2 weeks in Mexico would not have allowed me the rebirth I needed to change my path and stay at the same company.   I had gotten obsessed with making things work…  This job, this firm and this position were all too personal and it was time to make a break.

So-  I want to thank those who have followed and argued and considered.  I want to thank the people that have told me their story and asked for my help.  I am grateful to those who believed in what we were doing and truly thought they could be better people. Everything that we ever did was because you all DID IT.  All I ever did was ask you all to live up to your potential….  and you have…..

To those I am about to meet…  I am creative.  I freak out if I cannot do something creative and artistic.  Building a company, a department or a process gives me an outlet for creativity.  Be prepared to be asked ‘why’ 5 different times and 4 different ways.  Are you accountable?   Are you ready to push others to be their best for no other reason than you know it is how you get results? Are you ready to give without expecting to get something back?  Do you understand balance?

As for my parting thoughts….  Jimmy Buffett said it best,

“Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder, So I can’t look back for too long. There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can’t go wrong.

If it suddenly ended tomorrow, I could somehow adjust to the fall. Good times and riches and son of a bitches, I’ve seen more than I can recall.”