col·lab·o·ra·tion/kəˌlabəˈrāSHən/
Noun: |
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What I thought about while I was watching this was Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind. I kept thinking that the two of these women, sharing and performing music together, is part of the essence of his book. Together they are enhancing the Meaning of their own work while telling the listeners a Story (I particularly loved one of Sabe’s songs dedicated to her father). Their personal connection is probably largely based in Empathy, and it takes a creative Design effort to coordinate the technicalities of their respective musical styles and how they will weave in and out of each other’s songs. Talk about working out the right brain.
Right now I am collaborating on a new project with a friend I met doing Crossfit down in San Jose. I am also collaborating with one of my best friends from college — we are planning the 25th Anniversary celebration of our college a cappella group. I would consider participating in any team sport a constant collaborative effort, which for me right now is curling. My relationship with my husband is a lifelong collaboration, one in which we are constantly trying to blend our abilities and personalities in order to enhance the other person’s strengths and prop up their weaknesses. We are trying to make the sum of our respective parts greater than each of us as individuals… even while the parts themselves are wonderfully unique and important. Isn’t that the whole point of collaborating in the first place? And if I wasn’t collaborating with somebody on something, that would be an awfully lonely road to travel. As usual, I just need to stay tuned into all the ways I am already collaborating and keep my eyes peeled for other collaborative opportunities that may arise. And yes, at my meeting this morning we talked about building a more collaborative staff culture…
In closing for today, I truly want to thank Lenka and Sabe (whom I have never met before, not even that night after the show) for reminding me of how much I do value collaboration and consider it (in the spirit of all my musings of late) a high art to be able to do it well.