Benjamin Zander, a famous conductor, gave an inspiring TEDTalk about leadership, music and people. Much of what he says is the foundation
for a great leader, in any field, but since he is a musician and breathes
music, it fits perfectly for a leader in the music business.
“It’s one of the characteristics of a leader that he not
doubt for a moment the capacity of the people he’s leading to realize whatever
he’s dreaming”, Zander says. He speaks about how crucial it is to believe in
your team as much as you believe in your own talents and capacities. His
analogy with Chopin’s piece and how the composer struggles to go from B to E,
to finally “get home”, as Benjamin says, is magnificent.
It is the perfect analogy for an artist manager, who has to
believe in their artist and work with them, planning for the long run and never
losing sight of the goal desired: “getting home”. Benjamin mentions his
experience as a conductor and how the realization of what the job was finally
struck him when he was 45 years old (and how this moment affect him): “A
conductor depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful”.
How big is this? The realization of knowing that to be
powerful you have to empower others. Success is then measured by the “shiny
eyes” around you, how many successful people you have surrounding you, and not
by money or fame.
Jon Landau did this brilliantly with Bruce Springsteen.
Their relationship is known to be one of the best in the music business, so
that Springsteen, when inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thanked Landau for all his work. “I’ve seen the
future of rock and roll management and its name is Jon Landau. I’ve got to
return the favor there. That quote was … a mite burdensome for me, but as he
often said, ‘That’s your job.’ But Jon’s given me something beyond friendship,
beyond guidance — his intelligence, his sense of the truth, his recognition of
my intelligence. We were worlds colliding. His creative ability as a producer,
an editor, speechwriter earlier this evening, his ability to see through to the
heart of matters both professional and personal, and the love that he’s given
me has altered my life forever. What I hope to give to my fans with my music —
a greater sense of themselves, and greater freedom — he with his talents and
his abilities has done that for me. There’s no ‘thank you’ tonight that’s gonna
do the job, and it’s a debt that I can’t repay, and one that I treasure owing.”
