Business Seminars

Presented by David Murphy, these highly entertaining and fascinating seminars provide insight into the group dynamics of an orchestra. Using music as a metaphor, they throw a dramatically clear perspective on leadership and teamwork within an organisation.

The training sessions involve hands-on experience of music as a metaphor for business issues, and leave participants viewing leadership and teamwork with renewed clarity.

Depending on client aims, objectives and budget, training can take place with symphony orchestra (50+ musicians) chamber orchestra (30+ musicians) compact chamber orchestra (16 musicians).

An alternative version is also available where the topics are explored without a live orchestra.

The training generally takes place on one day, involving either one or two sessions of up to two and a half hours each.

Topics Explored:

  • Music as a metaphor for life
  • The anatomy of the orchestra-The anatomy of a company
  • The conductor-The CEO
  • The flow of information/energy within the organisation
  • The quest for the ideal performance/product: creating a vision.
  • Enabling the entire company/orchestra to truly comprehend the vision
  • Feedback: is the vision being fulfilled?
  • Testing the vision: is the performance/product making a dynamic connection with the audience/customers?
  • Maximum Performance: Performing “in the zone” strategies musicians use to achieve this and their application to business life.

Optional Topics

  • Accessing personal inspiration/creativity
  • Listening with attention
  • The Conductor/CEO/team leader as inspirer/enabler
  • The inspired team

During the presentation with orchestra, participants experience a brief performance, a short discussion follows about parallels initially observable between the orchestral and business performance. Participants are invited to sit within the orchestra to observe the flow of information from musician to musician, section leader to section leader, and the role the conductor has in this process.

As the training progresses, (with or without orchestra) participants are given increasingly practical experience of the role of the conductor, the role of section leader, deputy section leader and team member within the orchestra. This is made possible for people with no musical experience whatsoever, by the use of simple percussion instruments: full training is given by a very supportive conductor and orchestra!

Practical examples of business issues explored by this process:

  1. Pre-Training: Organisation seeks to improve the way it communicates its core values to the public
  2. During Training: Core values undergo sonic brainstorm: sonic representation of core values created by participants
  3. Post Training: Core values experienced on a visceral level imbuing them with a new potency
  4. Pre-Training: Organisation seeks to improve its creativity
  5. During Training: Participants explore creativity and inspiration. Music enables them to look inside themselves for their creative spark. A musical metaphor is used for developing this spark to its full potential, both individually and collectively.
  6. Post Training:Participants have been enabled to create within a framework which is poles apart from their working life. This has thrown light on the essence of creativity itself. This indelible musical experience creates a powerful image which resonates through their role in the company.