Life is like a song that never gets replayed…
Harmony is the soothing, inspiring, captivating, pleasurable feeling that happens from moment to moment when we live it in the right way.
Like a great musical piece (and I am NOT a musician so pardon the possible technical shortcomings to my metaphor)…
There are two different types of achieving harmony…
SUSTAINABLE harmony…
This is the type of harmony that you barely notice and sometimes take for granted. This is the harmony that comes from
a consistent kiss goodbye to your spouse…
a frequent “I love you”…
a firm handshake and a look in the eye…
a pleasant hello…
a warm embrace…
a quick response to your email…
an encouraging word…
a deep breath…
a great smile…
an honest response…
another deal closed…
a well executed assessment…
a well deserved “attaboy”…
You get the idea… It is the kind of harmony that simply keeps us going in the right direction…
It warms our heart.
It fuels our business.
It gives us confidence.
It reinforces our mutual respect.
It reminds us of our good intent.
It allows us to progress through life happily, smoothly and iteratively…
In a song, it’s the smooth rolling tunes of an Enya… or a Sting… or a great classical piece… it’s the part where you hum along and are swept away in a groove of pleasantness…
And, there is the OTHER kind of harmony…
This kind of harmony happens much less frequently, and you know when it does…
This is TRANSFORMATIONAL harmony…
In a song this is Bohemian Rhapsody… It’s the transition from Jay Z to Alicia Keys in the New York wrap… It’s when the brass kicks in full force behind the peaceful winds…
It is what jolts you awake… what springs you to life… what changes your path…
It is the drum solo that comes into Chris Botti’s soothing jazz…
In life… it is the moment where you see a new path, a bolder path, a harder path that makes all the sense in the world…
It’s the moment you decide to stay together,
Or break apart…
It’s the moment you decide to try something different…
It was the moment my sisters died, and I realized life goes on.
It was the moment I decided to propose, and the moment Susy said yes.
It was the moment we threw our names in the hat for international gigs.
It was the moment we said yes to China.
It was the day we said its time to come home.
It was the moment I decided to leave Procter & Gamble.
It was the moment I accepted that I could not lose weight on my own.
It was the moment that we decided to have our first child, and our second, and our third.
It was the moment I saw the two circles as the atom of the moment and of harmony.
It was the moment I decided that if EMG was to evolve and thrive, it was up to me, and I had to show up different as a leader.
It was the moment I decided to make a last minute trip to Peru.
It was the moment I decided to start a blog.
It is the moment you decide to give someone you love real constructive candor.
It is not always obvious…
It was also the moment that I was driving home from work 20 years ago, when I realized that my learning had not finished, but had just began. The moment I realized learning was a lifelong journey.
It was the moment I saw Julio Olalla for the first time, and heard that “Questions alone can be your guide…”
It was the moment I decided my goal is to run a company that I have no desire to sell.
It was the moment that I decided to put my name in the hat at Vistage to speak about harmony.
Many transformational moments are subtle, and happen often in the normal course of a day.
It was the day I was jogging along the ocean last month and decided that I WILL someday live by the ocean…
You get the picture…
Tranformational harmony doesn’t mean it always works out well. It doesn’t even always happen. But in a moment, you set a different course and start pushing in a new / different direction… embracing who you are, what you believe, and pushing with all that you have in a new way into who you want to be… into the life you want to live.
Tranformational harmony is
exciting…
exhilarating…
scary…
life altering…
proactive…
self directed… (ideally)
exponential…
Again, often the transformational moments may be the moment you decide to start exercising, to run a marathon, to join a club, to join a team, to get on stage, to make a bold statement…
To speak up on a controversial issue…
To speak your mind on a given topic…
To speak to a fear that you have never acknowledged out loud…
To speak to a desire that you have never chased…
To be fully yourself in a moment…
To expose your heart…
TO BE VULNERABLE!
Imagine… you have the power, the responsibility, the ABILITY to transform your life, and when you transform your life… you OWN it…
Why do I think this is important… in case its not obvious?
Harmony can happen in different ways…
It is smooth from a distance and over time – but note to note, moment to moment, it can be drastic and scary…
The greatest songs, like the greatest individuals and leaders typically surprise you…
They include soft moments and great bold transitions…
Look for the different types of harmony… be BOLD when its time to be BOLD…
It’s ok if it doesn’t fit exactly or at all with what was going on before…
Great art takes chances…
Great harmony takes risk and courage..
Nestor Benavides