by Rosemund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
Reviewed by Troy Downing,
Through out my life I have always admired people who were so passionate about something that others viewed them as strange or abnormal. This has been especially true about the most creative scientists I have known in my career. I have often asked myself how they find the energy and creativity to ask questions and design experiments that others have not asked. What drives them to see the world differently than the average person?
When I evaluate leaders in society or even at the university I often find myself stereotyping them into one of two categories, either the "bean counter" category or the "visionary" category. Keep in mind these are things I have made up. But what I am really asking is are these people truly passionate and creative about leading a particular enterprise and motivating their people to greatness or are they trapped in an man made bureaucracy that limits their ability to see possibilities and motivate their employees toward success? This book is one that forces the reader to see the barriers in our own life that keep us from seeing all the possibilities. It has helped me identify some of my "bean counter" tendencies and motivated me to be more creative with my leadership style.
The authors are Ben and Rosemund Zander. Ben is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a professor at the New England Conservatory of Music. His wife Rosemund, is a family therapist and a painter. At first I questioned how relevant "an artist's" ideas might be to someone who considers himself as being more interested in science and biology. But this book is written with so much enthusiasm, passion for life and full of ideas to increase your creativity that my stereotyping and misguided assumptions couldn't be further from the truth. Obviously, I was impressed with their collection of ideas that they have collectively called their list of practices. They argue they are all really simple concepts, but are not easy to adopt. They also clearly explain that almost everything you think, feel, and see around you will argue against them. We are sort of trapped in a rut that limits what we consider doable. So it takes dedication, a leap of faith, and practice to make this list of practices part of who you are. I think I would like to list the names of the chapters to give you a sense of the practices they advocate, and I plan on reviewing only a few practices to give you a taste of their book.
1) Its all invented
2) Stepping into a Universe of Possibility
3) Giving an A
4) Being a Contribution
5) Leading from Any Chair
6) Rule Number 6
7) The Way Things Are
8) Giving Way to Passion
9) Lighting a Spark
10) Being the Board
11) Creating Frameworks for Possibility
12) Telling the WE Story
It's all invented
Its all invented is the first chapter that really sets the stage for the whole book. They argue that our own minds create frames or boundaries that create, define, and confine what we perceive to be possible. We have all heard this argument made one way or another, but in this chapter they have many examples that help motivate the reader to practice changing the way we approach a problem. For example, they argue we should ask ourselves: What assumption am I making, that I'm not aware I'm making, that gives me what I see? Ask yourself that again. And when you have an answer to that question, ask your self: What might I now invent, that I haven't yet invented, and that would give me more choices?
They are not saying you can just make anything up and have it magically appear, but they really push the reader to explore the preconceived assumptions we have and how they limit our ability to look at the possibilities. These boundaries are greater than we can imagine. We have built them with a lifetime of experiences and they will take a lot of practice to be able to routinely look beyond them.
Giving an A
This practice was one of the hardest to fully understand and yet it might be their most important contribution. The chapter starts talking about a leadership class at the
One year at the New England Conservatory, the author Ben Zander, decided to try something new. He taught a graduate class including instrumentalists and singers for a two-semester class that was intended to look into the art of musical performance, including the psychological and emotional factors that can stand in the way of great music playing. After 25 years of teaching the course he noticed that he still came up against the same obstacle. Class after class, the students would be in such a chronic state of anxiety over the measurement of their performance that they would be reluctant to take risks with their playing. He contemplated this concern with his wife many times and one night in particular they focused on ideas that would dispel their anticipation of failure. Ben asked his wife, "What would happen if I were to hand everyone an A from the start on the class?" His wife predicted that would only make matters worse, even if he could get the school to go along with the idea. She thought the students would feel cheated of their chance for stardom and would still be focused on their place in the line up. After careful deliberation, he decided to take the risk and give them all an A at the beginning of the course. The only requirement was the students need to write a letter to the instructor. The first line in the letter had to read, "Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because..... They were instructed to place themselves in the future, looking back, and they were to report on the insights they acquired and the milestones they attained during the year as if those accomplishments were already in the past. In the book, he illustrated a number of letters he received and it was amazing the creativity, vision and accomplishments outlined from his students. He claims the class was no longer inhibited by the fear of failure and out performed all others.
One student he describes was from
The authors are aware that many people are uncomfortable with the idea of granting the unearned A. They argue we cannot be blind to people's accomplishments. Nobody wants to hear a violist that cannot play or go to a doctor that has not passed a certain level of accomplishments. But they also argue giving an A is a concept that needs to be practiced in all walks of life. Give your co-workers an A, your employees, your boss, your spouse, children or friends.
In the book, they say "When we give an A we can be open to a perspective different from our own. For after all, it is only to a person to whom you have granted an A that you will really listen, and it is in that rare instance when you have ears for another person that you truly appreciate a fresh point of view."
"In the measured context of our everyday lives, the grades we hand out often rise and fall with our moods and opinions. We may disagree with someone on one issue, lower their grade, and never quite hear what they say again. Each time the grade is altered, the new assessment, like a box, defines the limits of what is possible between us."
I think the comment that we may not really listen to someone that we have not given an A is a fascinating theory. As managers in extension, do we listen and intact different with those in our organization that we classify as high achievers? Are the ones we rank as average or lower achievers really treated different? What would happen if next year you ranked all the people who you supervise with an A, and then had them write a plan of work describing why they are earning it? Do you think this could change the way we operate?
This book is full of ideas like the "give an A" theory. I obviously enjoyed it and felt like it has changed the way I approach my job. I highly recommend this book and believe at some point I will end up re-reading it.