This newsletter was formerly known as "Rollin Home," but we faced our own music and are excited about our new context: "Your Work is Your Song." We're about people bringing their passion, values, and intention into what they do on the job, and make great music. See the lead article for more...
What we do, it is our song – our actions, emotions, the way we create our desired results – or not, how we speak, move, breathe, solve problems, celebrate success, deal with disappointment – you get it. We’re all playing our songs: alone; in duets, trios, quartets; and sometimes in choirs & choruses. Let’s look at our work through the metaphor of music.
In one sense, there are two types of music we play: 1) The music the players wish to play/dream of playing/intend to play—the vision, and 2) Their default music—the stuff that can be generated without thought or intention—the themes and modes that have been programmed into our very selves since we were born, and that we can call up with one click of our remote control. The music produced at work is some combination of these.
The vision music is the creative, cutting edge, fun, productive work. The default setting is that same madness of trying to get a different result by doing more and more of the same thing. The theme could be: “It’s like trying to climb a muddy hill to get all the departments to cooperate and to get anything done around here.” It’s been played over and over, and when the next project is approached from the same place, the song will be played again.
The best work, which produces innovation, breakthroughs, and extraordinary results, comes from players that are composing and performing their dream music; they’re going for their vision. And though the song doesn’t always sound like the dream they had in their head, it’s music resonates with originality and insight.
Mediocre results come from players imitating and regurgitating the same-old same-old, like the over-worn jingle put out when under pressure and they feel there’s no time to produce something interesting and innovative, or a re-run of the dissonant team theme, sung for years, that no one has stopped to rewrite the harmonies.
For us at Face The Music, in conjunction with our interactive songwriting programs, we offer programs called Beyond The Blues to help people identify the music they want to make, personally, as a team, and as an organization, and we can help you develop the tools and systems to create and produce that music.
Lets look at some business terms and transpose them into the music metaphor:
Vision–The music/songs/themes we wish to create and live
Mission–The impact we would like our songs to have
Teamwork–Playing as a tight band rather than a group of talented, but unaligned noodlers
Culture–The genre of your music, it’s history, values, norms, traditions; are you hip/classic, innovative/derivative, risk taking/conservative...
Strategies–Responding from within an innovative structure to the music of the culture and our band mates to manifest the vision
Innovation–Not playing the same old tune in the same old way
Leadership–Conveying a compelling vision to the band and responding appropriately to the needs of the band members and the listeners to make the vision happen
Time management–Keeping time and playing together in complimentary rhythms
Clients–The listeners and consumers of the music; you’re playing for them
This metaphor is brought to the employees of an organization, and applied in a down-home let’s-get-real way that opens the door to real change.
What song is playing at your place of work? What would you like it to transition into? You call the tune.
Some clients that have explored the songs they are singing through Beyond The Blues programs: Panasonic, JPMorgan Asset Management, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Moen, Federal Signal, Daimler, Sanofi-Aventis.
Yes, I know, everything great is worth the wait, and it’s finished and ready for the public…you.
It’s the long-awaited, highly-anticipated, sure to change the world as we know it…
Face The Music DVD!!!!!! Your Work is Your Song!
There’s nothing better than experiencing a Face The Music program to recognize the value, power, and energy that the participants get, so we have the next best thing--a virtual tour that takes you through the music, the experience, the clamor, and the fun. “Let’s SHOW the people what it looks and feels like!!!”
You will not only see and hear FTM President For Life, Paul Kwiecinski, and other sundry notorious characters, on your computers and televisions, but also have the opportunity to see what the Face The Music experience looks like from the client introduction to final thunderous applause.
You will see satisfied clients intone rapturously as to how Face The Music can change your life, save your job, wash your car, locate your missing unpaired socks, and change the washer in the bathroom faucet that’s going “drip, drip, drip” like some kind of audio Chinese water torture and keeping you awake at night!
You will see (and hear) the Face The Music band rocking out on blues standards and our own original business blues!
And, best of all, you will see Face The Music participants writing, singing, dancing, and, well, …participating…in the Face The Music experience! And you will realize, for possibly the first time in your life, that these happy, energized, thoroughly engaged people, experiencing real teamwork and tapping into their own individual creativity and genius, could be YOUR people! Which is the point of the entire exercise.
To help us accomplish this feat of audio-visual technological brilliance, Face The Music was fortunate indeed to enlist the services of two talented and accomplished visual artists; film director/producer Sophia Rabb Downs and film editor Anne Barliant.
Sophia’s film production company, Watershed Works, has recently produced “Racing Daylight,” starring Melissa Leo, David Straitharn, and Giancarlo Esposito.
Anne Barliant, our brilliant film editor, charged with the task of marrying Sophia’s fantastic new footage with years of FTM video shot by, well, blues musicians, is a pro’s pro as well. Anne has edited many film documentaries, including “Five Days” and “Murderers” by noted photographer/director Danny Lyons.
So, our new DVD is going to be educational AND entertaining. A feast for the eyes AND ears. A shining, life-saving oasis in the desert of corporate teambuilding, marketing materials. All it needs is an audience.
If you want to experience the Face The Music DVD for yourself (and you had better well by now, dagnabbit!), all you have to do is contact us here (info@facethemusicblues.com) and Kool Kiwi Kat (aka, Kathy Riggins, FTM Office Manager extraordinaire) will see to it that you get one hot off the presses when you tell us where to send it. Can’t wait? Don’t want another plastic disc floating around your office? Go to facethemusicblues.com/promo-dvd.shtml to view it online!
![[FTM LOGO]](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/584df7a3e58c627c3b020d88/5a7b83fbd63352fd4eae933f/5a7b8409d63352fd4eae9435/1518044169314/ftm_logo.gif?format=original){kind=logo}
The vision music is the creative, cutting edge, fun, productive work. The default setting is that same madness of trying to get a different result by doing more and more of the same thing. The theme could be: “It’s like trying to climb a muddy hill to get all the departments to cooperate and to get anything done around here.” It’s been played over and over, and when the next project is approached from the same place, the song will be played again.
There’s nothing better than experiencing a Face The Music program to recognize the value, power, and energy that the participants get, so we have the next best thing--a virtual tour that takes you through the music, the experience, the clamor, and the fun. “Let’s SHOW the people what it looks and feels like!!!”