Were you ever in band?
(or choir, or orchestra, or a theater production)
What if the best practices in band program administration converge with the best practices in managing and developing employees?
Why should we bother asking this question?
Because the world of a volunteer-based, high achieving organization has to motivate, empower, and retain people who can walk away at any time, while holding those same people to a high standard.
What if business leaders approached their businesses, and especially their people, as though they were volunteers (like band students) who could – and would – walk away from things if they didn’t think their time and energy were well-spent?
It is striking how the franchise prototype model outlined in “The E‑Myth” (a brilliant book about business organization by Michael E. Gerber) coincides with an effective, student-leader-empowered, music program:
- Must provide consistent value to customers (students), employees (staff and student leaders), suppliers (parents), and lenders (school district curriculum and administration).
- Results must be attainable by people with the skill level they already have.
- Must stand out as a place of impeccable order and structure.
- All work must be defined in operations manuals. (Clear standards of “how we do things around here”)
- Events must unfold in a predictable, orderly, way.
- Must utilize a uniform color, dress, and facilities code.
Another huge part of the E‑Myth system is a commitment to continuous improvement and development; never resting on past success. Author Jeremy Rifkin (among others) has said “everything decays.” A simple thought, but one that every band director, business owner, and leader ought to keep in mind. For more, read The E‑Myth.
Parallels in Best Practices
There is no profit motive in public schools. Teachers and coaches are driven to do great work for many reasons, but certainly not so that the entity can deliver to the shareholders.
But what if teachers in general (and band/choir/orchestra directors specifically) studied best practices in business – both management from an organizational standpoint, and from a team-building/customer service/human relations standpoint?
And what if business leaders approached their businesses, and especially their people, as though they were volunteers (like band students) who could – and would – walk away from things if they didn’t think their time and energy were well-spent?
Author and consultant Ken Blanchard (best known for “The One-Minute Manager”) espouses basic three tenets of a great business (or co-curricular activity) that make so much sense:
- Be the employer of choice (do people want to work here and/or be a part of the way we do things?)
- Be the provider of choice (is this where people “shop”, i.e. is the activity worth all the time and effort?)
- Be the investment of choice (are you making a profit, i.e. does the administration believe that the activity deserves support and funding?)
When you feel as though your team or business is struggling somewhere, you will likely find an answer by taking a hard look at those three bullet-point considerations.
- Secrets for Conducting Business… — May 13, 2014
- Leaders Model Desired Behavior — April 21, 2014
