Leadership and Collaboration with a Symphony Orchestra

ArjoHuntleigh is a global medical technology company serving the needs of acute and long-term care.

In 2015 they invited Music & Management to present The Orchestra Experience for their top 100 senior executives at their annual conference in Vienna. Dominic Alldis conducted the Reconsil Sinfonietta in a performance of Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony. This was followed by a discussion about leadership, teamwork and innovation within music and business.

It was such a pleasure to work with you on the Leadership Forum. The reaction was that you and the orchestra piece were absolutely exceptional. Congratulations. I look forward to the next opportunity to work together…

John Gregory

Marketing Communications Director

ArjoHuntleigh

orchestra metaphor leadership teamwork communication

Music & Management has collaborated with Columbia Business School since 2007, providing the Orchestra Experience for the Advanced Management Program (AMP).

Participants are drawn from a wide range of companies including Deutsche Bank, Boeing Corporation and Namura Bank. A classical piece is played by the Chelsea Symphony of New York followed by in an interactive discussion about leadership, teamwork and integrity in business today.

A large part of the beauty of the Orchestra Experience is that it allows participants to really feel the difference that leaders can make. It is one thing to tell executives that they have to be a step ahead of those they lead, or that micromanaging strangles motivation and creativity. But it is immensely more powerful to show them, and indeed allow them to hear, the disappointing product of the reactive leader or the micromanager. It also matters that the leadership lessons are offered in the context of the gorgeous music, and Dominic Alldis’s gracious facilitation. It is a session that brings out the best in everyone, as both leaders and learners…

Paul Ingram

Kravis Professor of Business

conductor leadership training communication collaboration

Credit Suisse engaged Music & Management in 2006 to present the Orchestra Experience to 100 senior managers from Mergers & Acquisitions at their headquarters in London.

The participants listened to an orchestra play excerpts from Mozart's 29th Symphony and then observed the impact of contrasting leadership styles, non-verbal communication and collaboration producing exceptional musical results.

The job of the conductor is to time the performance so that everyone is at their peak...

David Atherton

Conductor

Deutsche Bank employs more than 70,000 people worldwide and is one of the largest investment banks in the world.

Since 2007, Columbia Business School have engaged Music & Management to provide the orchestra experiences for Deutsche Bank’s newly appointed managers. Participants listen to excerpts of a classical symphony played by the Chelsea Symphony of New York and engage in an interactive discussion about leadership, teamwork and integrity in the workplace.

A large part of the beauty of the Orchestra Experience is that it allows participants to really feel the difference that leaders can make. It is one thing to tell executives that they have to be a step ahead of those they lead, or that micromanaging strangles motivation and creativity. But it is immensely more powerful to show them, and indeed allow them to hear, the disappointing product of the reactive leader or the micromanager. It also matters that the leadership lessons are offered in the context of the gorgeous music, and Dominic Alldis’s gracious facilitation. It is a session that brings out the best in everyone, as both leaders and learners…

Paul Ingram

Kravis Professor of Business

music leadership development collaboration teamwork

Ebay is a multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. It is multibillion-dollar business with operations in over 30 countries.

Leadership eBay was set up in 2005 to provide leadership, teambuilding and creativity programs for senior management at eBay, Paypal and Skype. Music & Management was a key element of their overall leadership development strategy and engaged to provide the Orchestra Experience from 2005 and 2013.

Time and time again, an absolute highlight of our leadership development program is the interlude session with you, Dominic. The chance to sit among an orchestra, to experience the interplay, the connection, the artistry of the musicians is an inspiring and unforgettable experience. Even more powerful are the business insights our leaders gather during the session. Through your delicate facilitation and wonderfully eloquent commentary as maestro, our leaders gain new insights into the power of the podium, the impact of their leadership and importance of truly listening. Quite literally Dominic, you are helping us transform leadership here at eBay...

Beth Axelrod

Senior Vice President, Head of Global HR

eBay

Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare and open science for the benefit of humanity. Their products and services includes software and data-management, instruction and assessment tools.

For their 2018 Leadership Conference in Berlin, they invited Music & Management to present the Orchestra Experience to 200 of their senior leaders. They heard Berlin's finest orchestral musicians perform Schubert’s Fifth Symphony, interspersed with an interactive discussion about leadership, agility and trust within music and business.

We included the Orchestra Experience in our senior management conference and received overwhelmingly positive feedback. The impact on our most senior leadership was profound, and sitting within the orchestra allowed our leaders to truly experience the impact of effective management. Many participants stated that they will remember this experience vividly for years…

Amanda Kunevich

Global Talent VP

Elsevier

leadership collaboration music orchestra metaphor

Google is the second most valuable brand in the world with a mission statement "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful".

In 2011, Google invited Music & Management to provide the Orchestra Experience for 250 creators as part of their Annual Learning & Development Summit.

I want to thank you immensely for delivering such a remarkable and beautiful experience to the learning & development team at Google during our annual summit. Over the past 24 hours I have been approached by many of my colleagues telling me of how inspired, thrilled and just plain joyful they were in having experienced the music metaphor. Some have also said that it was the best learning experience they had ever had at Google or anywhere, period. That is high praise from a high performing teaming of learning professionals at one of the worlds most successful and admired companies! You have our deep appreciation for creating such a moving and enriching experience for us. May you continue to make beautiful music and share it with the world!...

Richard Fernandez

Director of Senior Executive Development

Google

orchestra leadership communication creativity

Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy is one of the world's largest luxury conglomerates comprising brands such as Givenchy, Veuve Clicquot, Tag Heuer and DFS.

In 2011, Music & Management was asked to provide the orchestral experience for worldwide HR Directors of LVMH at The Pavillon Royale in Paris. Dominic Alldis conducted Paris Virtuosi in excerpts of Beethoven's 1st Symphony and discussed leadership, communication and creativity in music and business.

Let me tell you that you and your musicians had a terrific impact on our audience and they were more than inspired, also re-energised by your performance

Stephane Voyer

Groupe HR Development Director

LVMH

Morgan Stanley is one of the world's leading investment banks.

In 2008, they asked Music & Management to deliver the Orchestra Experience to board members hosted by CEO John Mack. This was followed by an event in New York for 230 newly-appointed Managing Directors. They listened to a performance of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and an interactive discussion about effective teamwork, integrity and inspirational leadership.

Learning about leadership through music is one of the most creative learning experiences I have ever had. The combination of beautiful music and Dominic Alldis's excellent ability in translating the orchestra's experience into everyday business leadership experiences is a unique and powerful opportunity for anyone who participates. I have been privileged to be a past participant but I feel equally privileged to bring this to my colleagues at Morgan Stanley. It is a beautiful, moving and educational experience. Bravo!..."

Ellen Shedlarz

Managing Director, Talent Management Group

Morgan Stanley

NovoNordisk is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Denmark. Key products include diabetes care medication and hormone replacement therapy. In 2017 they invited Music & Management to provide the Orchestra Experience for their leadership conference in Copenhagen.

The event was a big success – thank you once again...

Mogens Maltby

Leadership Development Specialist

Novo Nordisk

The Vaillant Group is a global market and technology leader in the fields of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology. It employs over 12,000 people worldwide.

For their 2018 Leadership Conference in Berlin, they invited Dominic Alldis of Music & Management to present The Orchestra Experience to their top 200 leaders. A performance of Schubert’s 5th Symphony played by some of Berlin's finest orchestral musicians was combined with an interactive discussion about reliability and resilience within music and business. The engagement was arranged by Vorn Consulting (Hamburg).

Thank you very much for your impressive performance at our management meeting in Berlin. It was a pleasure to listen to you and the fantastic musicians performing classical music and jazz. Besides the excellent musical performance, you gave us a very lively example of the importance of the right attitude and management skills to deliver outstanding results in your professional area. And this is what we and our managers took home as a learning: a common, clearly defined attitude and excellent management skills are a key factor for success also in our business...

Dr Jens Wichtermann

Group Director of Corporate Communications

Vaillant

What If is an innovation consultancy, inventing new products, brands, and business models to help companies build their own innovation capabilities and cultures.

In 2010 they engaged Music & Management to present "The Orchestra Experience" for their client Pfizer. Dominic Alldis conducted the Chelsea Symphony of New York in Beethoven’s 1st Symphony and led an interactive discussion about collaboration and trust within orchestras.

Music & Management inspired us all with an experience that helped the whole organization think about leadership and collaboration in new ways and put us on the road to behavior change — which is always the hardest part of the equation...

Barrie Berg

CEO

What If