TAG: arts leaders,

So Percussion: The Entrepreneurial Ensemble Shares Its Model of Success

The Yale School of Music community recently had the pleasure of welcoming Adam Sliwinski and Josh Quillen, two members of the red-hot percussion quartet, So Percussion, who talked about the entrepreneurial model of creating and running a successful ensemble.  Here is their take on collaboration, blending art and commerce and expanding the audience for classical music. To get in the …

Music Entrepreneurship: Out with the Perfect, In with The Impossible

Recently, marketing guru Seth Godin wrote an explosive blog post entitled “Perfect and Impossible” wherein he takes on the digital revolution in music and examines how a once “perfect” business

“Radio, record chains, Rolling Stone magazine, the senior prom, limited access to recording studios, the replaceable nature of the LP, the baby boomers”

has now died. And for him, that’s a good thing because it’s a revolution that “destroys the perfect and enables the impossible.”

I immediately thought of my class and what we are teaching:  to help musicians think and act like entrepreneurs so that they can create their own version of success.

Looking for Career Inspiration: How Music Entrepreneurs Find Their Vision

One of the hallmarks of a music entrepreneur is having a vision and taking action to make that vision happen.  In my role as Coordinator of Career Strategies at the Yale School of Music, I have the privilege of working with an extraordinarily talented group of musicians, all of whom have worked hard to get to where they are.  Yet many of these students do not have a vision for where they want to take their careers.  Since having a vision is a powerful motivator for creating career success, how do you create such a vision for yourself?

In my experience, many successful musicians got their career inspiration from listening to other people and paying attention when they got excited about something that someone else was doing.   In other words, they met someone and realize, “That’s what I want to do.”  Then, they put their personal spin on the idea and that became their vision.

How to Spot Your Strengths: A Music Entrepreneur’s First Step in Identifying What Makes You Unique

The start of the academic year is a great time to reflect on strengths since it is my belief that knowing and developing your strengths is one of the basic elements of creating success.

Moreover, for musicians, knowing your strengths is key to creating your brand—the message that sets you apart from others—as well as a beacon of light when your confidence is flagging and you need a boost to remember what your talents really are.

How do you spot strengths?

Networking for Musicians: How to Get Started

So now you get it:  networking is the way to go if you want to expand your reach and create opportunities that can lead you to career success based on a mutual exchange of information, resources and contacts. You understand that networking is about connecting with, sharing and being relevant to others.  You have your Elevator Speech.  You are eager …

Input: When does it all come together so that you can figure out your career path?

There is a strength called Input.  It comes from the Gallup Strengths Assessment called StrengthsFinder 2.0.

Input is the way someone learns and uses knowledge and information. People who are strong in input collect information and call it up when they need it.  Input people enjoy learning in order to use the information.  They will read enough to get the idea and store it away, as opposed to learners who are fascinated with the process of learning and will delve into things deeply.

Input is a strength because input people tend to make interesting and novel connections between seemingly disparate pieces of information.

I know this strength well because it is one of my top strengths.   I find that a lot of my clients have this strength as well.

Personal Board of Directors

What is a personal board of directors?

A personal board of directors is comprised of the people in your life who support your vision and to whom you turn when you want honest and trustworthy advice and/or when you are looking for help in figuring out solutions to your challenges. 

Play to Your Strengths–Literally–to Feel Self-Mastery and Fulfillment

I advocate playing to your strengths instead of compensating for weaknesses as a way of creating self-mastery and empowerment in your life.  Helping my clients to recognize and use their strengths is one of the hallmarks of my coaching and my teaching. Recently, I had this very experience in a domain that is near and dear to my heart-my piano playing.  See how I learned the different between playing to my strengths and struggling to overcome my weaknesses.

Hope Springs Eternal: How to Change Your Perspective of Your Difficult Situation

Last week, I had the privilege of conducting a class on life balance for the medical residents at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  The class is part of a wonderful program that the medical school runs called “Advancing Idealism in Medicine”.  The goal of the class is to prevent residents from “burning out” on the job.  I was asked to …

Know Your Values: The Key to Great Decisions and Positive Motivation

I am a big believer in the importance of knowing your values and aligning your life in order to honor those values. 

What are values?  Quite simply, the principles by which you live your life: authenticity, courage, fun, relationships, personal growth, service or spirituality.   Each person has a unique set of these principles that define you and tell you what is truly important to you. In effect, values are the essence of who you really are: i.e., the core to your authenticity.