I guess, as far as I know, I’m one of the few people in the world who have each of their feet stepping in two separate worlds. I’ve spent half of my life studying music as a hobby. I started my musical course since I was in elementary school. Fast forward 15 years, I haven’t stop ever since. While doing so, I (successfully) finished my university, and started my professional career in a real corporate world. As hardly believable as it may seem, I had been able to manage two separate psyches in each world, by working in a market research company and being a bandplayer at the same time.
There are some things that are worth mentioning about the things I learned about being in those two worlds. Who says rock stars can’t have a white-collar personality? In fact, it was being a musician that helped me throughout my professional career.
1. Details matter
Every time I have to get up on a stage, anxiety strikes. How’s the kit provided? How’s the condition of the speaker cables? How’s the monitor going to work? Did I need to put on my custom drum throne? Did I need to re-tune my floor toms? Having to accustom myself to various gig and show conditions require me to put a little more attention to those things. It could be a thin line between a pleased crowd and a disaster.
I got accustomed to those kind of (seemingly) trivial details. And it helped me a lot in my projects. It’s pretty much natural for me, before a project start, to ask myself: Is the objective right? Am I seeing this from the correct perspective? Are my teammates worrying about the same thing that I do? Do I need to get these concept printed or just digitally displayed? Is the font on my concept board is right? Is it readable for elderly consumers?
In real work life, those kinds of concerns could mean your life and death in your career. If you could imagine how stupid it was if a project of yours get all in the wrong places just because of those small details, then you could appreciate more of those things. In the end, a little bit of over-worrying doesn’t really hurt at all. It could save your life (and job) sometimes…
2. There’s value in repetition
I remember when I started playing the drums in high school. It was basic rudiments 2 hours a day, 4 times a week. No, I didn’t get to study the cool drum grooves I listened to in MTV, it was a straight hand rudimentary practice at 60 BPM, and it goes slowly to 140 BPM in 6 months. I hated it… But fast forward 5 years after that, I could not be any more thankful that I’ve spent my practicing time that way.
Preparing for your next big company projects usually is dull and boring. You’ll do the same routines, go to meetings, read the same project brief over and over again, and so on. But there’s always value in repetition. Doing the same thing over and over again gets you into the process I use to call subconscious habituation. Each paperwork done is a rudimentary practice. Each e-mail replied is an improvement of your personal communication style. And by the end if the day, you see your reflexes improved, and you’ll see you handle task swiftly and more confidently. Repetition could be mundane, but it benefits in the long run. Have a little faith in the most tedious task.
3. Efficiency IS part innovation
Having been involved in various band and music groups, there’s always one complaint that I found myself familiar with. After a while, it’s natural for bands to feel stuck, or maybe to face the songwriter’s block. It’s very easy for musicians & bandplayers to feel like they can’t create the next big hit, or simply the mood just don’t kick in easily anymore. It was one most loathed phase that any band experience. Suddenly, creativity doesn’t strikes as naturally as we’ve known it, and seeing everybody around us making their greatest hits, struck as an annoyance.
But I’ve managed to see the silver linings in it. While we can’t really do much in creating new stuff or greatest-hits material, it can always be an opportunity to grow. At least, we’ve been able to practice our own songs a little efficiently. The way we handled live shows and gig actually improved. In the end, sometimes it was not really about being able to make the greatest hits ever. Sometimes, it’s more about improving your current repertoire to be better, bolder, and more natural.
In work life, the same goes for ideas. Sometimes it’s not all about being able to create big ideas, but improving your current state to be more efficient. Efficiency is part of the innovation, and efficiency is a goal worth chasing. When big ideas can’t happen, doing your current task better, bolder, and faster often is a huge innovation you can do.
4. Teamwork should be like flowing dialogues
When I stepped into collective class. I am required to do impromptu jam sessions with other players. And this is where I learned the most valuable thing: Jamming is like having a dialogue with your fellow bandplayers. You exchange notes and melodies like you exchangeideas and opinions, you respond to syncopation just like you respond to other people’s arguments, and you are also required to put yourself in the rhythm -immerse yourself fully in the conversation.
Teamwork is like playing music. Exchange, respond, and be in the flow. Take away any of those three things, and you can imagine what kind of worthless dialogue you get yourself into. Well, that goes the same for your teamwork. If it’s not effortless, then perhaps there’s something wrong with the way you communicate… Maybe your team wasn’t being in the same “tune”.
5. Timekeeping – Know when to stop
The last time I went to some jazz showcase in town, featuring new musicians from various background. They managed to put up 3 random players on stage, and they’re required to do their improv for opening.
It was awful… Unbearable… and just plain stupid to watch…
No, I don’t have anything against jazz music. I love it. What’s unbearable for me is having to watch 3 people playing the same chords and improvising endlessly in forms of long solos and improvisations, while actually getting off, – very off-, their initial song. They are required to play 3 songs, and they spent more than 30 minutes on stage with pointless notes and skill-boasting slurs not worth remembering.
That is just a big disgrace to the discipline of music. If there’s one thing I learnt that is the most important discipline of improvisations: Know when to stop. Timekeeping is just as essential as knowing your basic major chords.
That applies to work. Timekeeping is one of the most fundamental aspect of keeping your working habit healthy. And at times, you just have to know when to stop, grab a beer, celebrate, and just not talk about work. Even musicians could get tired of hearing notes…