In this category you find texts that help artists to take the lead. “Artists lead, they don’t follow. They’re not beholden to their audience, IT’S THE OTHER WAY AROUND!” (Bob Lefsetz)
I work in the live music business, and the cliche of sex, drugs and rock’n roll is still very common. At music conferences/festivals I hear many people bragging about the little amount of sleep they had last night. While I know for myself that I need a lot of sleep. How cool is that – NOT! So I was very interested when I saw a Dutch article about sleep. People who don’t sleep enough, are grumpy, and also too optimistic […]
Yesterday night I met a friend at the bar. He’s a very idealistic and active guy in his 50’s. When I asked him how he’s doing, he told me that his health is fine, but that he doesn’t now what he’s here for. And he talked about (inter-)national politics, and about all that goes wrong there. So I’m writing about meaning again. Finding your meaning in life doesn’t mean, that you need to have a top position in international politics […]
I just read about a Dutch research. Managers at the top are less in demand of power than high educated people in lower positions. This is remarkable, for all other researches show that power is addicting: the more you have, the more you want/need. Below I have a link to the article. All the respondents of this research are under 45 years old. Is there a new generation coming, who is dealing with power in a different, less addicting way? […]
In the previous five posts I described the five aspects of centred leadership, as described by Joanna Barsh in “When remarkable women lead”. The great thing about these five aspects is, that there is no extra task for you, there is no pressure. It’s just a way you become more conscious of what you are doing already, and let one action support the next one. The only think you have to do, is keep these five aspects in mind, one […]
Energy is important for everything you do. When someone gets a burnout, we think that he/she spent too much energy. On the other hand, we all know people who seem to have endless energy, without getting burned out. How do they manage? In the music business, everyone I know more personally who is working there for more than 10 years, has had a period of being over-worked, or burn-out. To start with, it’s important to know what activities give you […]
This is another one of the five aspects of centered leadership, according to Joanna Barsh. And the first choice you have to make to lead your own life, is the choice for yourself. Look at yourself, seriously. How do you treat yourself? Do you know what is right for you, from within, like you would know for a loved one? Can you be kind to yourself, even if you didn’t match your own expectations? Difficult questions, I know. If you […]
What a great topic for Valentine’s day! After having looked into meaning and (re)framing, we are now ‘connecting’. Social media are all about connecting, with Blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter … Please don’t underestimate the importance; you feel so much stronger if you know that you are not alone. Reading the chapter about connecting in “How remarkable women lead” from Joanna Barsh, I was traveling to a meeting of an association. On the agenda were some points that could lead to […]
The predictions for 2012 are not very positive: the economic crisis will continue, and all measures will increase the gap between rich and poor. Last year we’ve seen the first signs of social uprising in London. And the music industry will suffer now too. Even if this might be a realistic view into the future, it’s also a pessimistic one, and it doesn’t help you a bit on how to act. It makes you a victim of what’s happening around […]
In her book “When remarkable women lead”, Joanna Barsh did research with women in the Fortune-500 to discover their secrets. She found five aspects that reinforce each other. They can be placed in any possible order. One of the five aspects is meaning. It’s about knowing or discovering what your meaning is, what the meaning is of your work, your carreer. Women more than men look for meaning in their work. And I think that this is also true for […]
It all starts with your choice to ‘lead’ your life. When successful, we often chose others to lead us, and loose control. Leading is a way of life, a way to be conscious about yourself. Look at Nelson Mandela. Even isolated in prison he was a leader, preparing for the time after his release. He was a victim, but he didn’t accept this role for himself. He even choose to stay in prison, then they offered him freedom if he […]
Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT famous. But you might be, or you might want to be. I’ve seen the change in many artists I’ve worked with, once they got success. Often it is like moving on ice for the first time. They don’t know how to deal with all the expectations: from the audience, fans, promoters, agents, managers, label managers, publishers on one side, and family, friends, neighbors on the other side. “Control your own destiny or someone else […]