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Leadership
by Zig Ziglar
A team of all-stars or an all-star team? When my wife and I were in Sydney, Australia, we had an opportunity to attend a performance of the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra at the famed Opera House. The seats were choice, our night was free, so we jumped at the opportunity. When we arrived 30 minutes early, the orchestra members were already warming up. The individuals came in all sizes, ages and colors, and were both male and female. Some of them, like the cymbals player, would perform five or six seconds during the entire evening, while the cellist had one part that would extend over 20 minutes. As they warmed up, the “music” sounded like noise to me.
At one minute before eight the conductor walked into the orchestra pit. Immediately, everybody sat up straight. As he stepped to the podium, everybody was at attention. At eight o’clock, he raised the baton and when his arms came down the music started. What had been “noise” a few seconds earlier became a beautiful melody.
The orchestra leader had converted a team of all-stars to an all-star team. While each instrument produced entirely different tones, they all blended together in harmony. No one instrument dominated any other, but rather harmonized with and became a part of the others. Can you imagine what the results would have been, had every artist made up his or her mind that their instrument should be the star of the performance?
This conductor had, for a number of years, been a musician in an orchestra. He had learned to be “obedient” and follow the orchestra conductor when he was a performer. In short, he had learned to obey in order that later he could command. I once saw a young man with a t-shirt emblem that said “I follow no one.” What a tragedy! Because, until he learns to follow, he will never be able to lead. Think about it and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
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