Supercharged CACM

Shifting to Priorities that Vitalize your Chapters

1,000 Little Steps and commentary

So this popped up in my email. It’s a very quick review of what it’s like being in a volunteer organization, wanting to move the needle forward a bit, or a lot.

BHS is 70 years old. Imagine the number of changes that have happened along the way, and yes, most have likely been faced with resistance.

And now, I am one of the change addicts, who want better, more relevant, improved and more loved. None of it is easy; all of it is necessary.

#everyoneinharmony says it all…

1,000 little steps

There’s nothing in the dentist’s office that was there fifty years ago. Every device, every compound, every technique has been changed.

Bit by bit. Involving thousands of people and organizations. Improvements large and small (mostly small), in every corner.

And every one of those improvements was met with resistance. Every change was fought, tooth (!) and nail. Every one had critics and skeptics and hold outs.

That’s how the world changes. By drips. Persistent, generous, tiny drips.

~Seth Godin

   ( Who inspires, frustrates, encourages and nudges me, and usually just gets it right.)

What Difference: Volunteer vs. Career?

Is there really a difference in thinking about engagement, satisfaction, effort, appreciation, and developing and retaining talent, between your vocation (job) and avocation (hobby)?

Perhaps, if you dislike your job, the difference is huge. But what if you have a considerable amount of job satisfaction?

Read below to discover some ideas from the corporate world, GM specifically, and think about [Read more…]

What Fuels Creativity?

You just might be the most creative person in your chorus. (At least that you know of.)

But remember the fun of sharing ideas and hearing more? Those proverbial “brainstorming” sessions that likely get out of control? The “I wish I’d thought of that sooner” moments? The value is immeasurable, when teamwork is involved.

“The important thing,” Ursula K. Le Guin wrote in contemplating the cultural role of speculative fiction and the task of its writer, “is not to offer any specific hope of betterment but, by offering an imagined but persuasive alternative reality, to dislodge my mind, and so the reader’s mind, from the lazy, timorous habit of thinking that the way we live now is the only way people can live.”

Let me replace just a few critical words, and read this again:

“The important thing…is not to offer any specific hope of betterment but, by offering imagined but persuasive alternative rehearsals,  dislodge all our minds from the lazy, skittish habit of thinking that the way we rehearse now is the only way choruses can rehearse.”

It CAN be different. And different is stimulating.

Different is sometimes a step into the unknown. It can also be the door to the next adventure, the next growth spurt, the next “ah ha!” moment.

So then, what fuels creativity? Freshness, adventure, challenge, effort, diversity, education, fun…the choices are anything but “the same old” as you did last week. Don’t pass the opportunity by!

What’s it like to be “At your best”?

So if I ask you,

When you are singing and rehearsing at your best, what’s that like?”

What is your answer?

Thumbs up | Supercharged CACMIs it hearing loud applause, ringing a perfect chord, being in a room full of singers proud of what they just sang? Must it include affirmation from others, or can you recognize it alone?

Are you a performer at heart, and your best is only as identified by your audience? Or are you satisfied with being your personal best in-the-moment?

And, does your chorus or organization define “best” differently than you do? [Read more…]