Imagine your organisation operating like:
* a symphony orchestra playing to a packed audience, enthralled by the gloriously harmonious , inspirational music
* or a choir, their voices rising to a magnificent crescendo in the finale of the Hallelujah Chorus
* or a rock group passionately and outrageously overwhelming thousands of their adoring fans
* or a top football team, thrashing their opposition mercilessly, scoring goals almost at will.

What might be some of the common characteristics of these analogies that can be applied to making your organisation outstandingly successful over many years? 

Existing features of all of the above groups include the following:
* Each person:
o is committed to working to achieve a clear, mutually-agreed, group goal
o joined the group for their own unique reasons and emotional goals
o loves what they do and what the group is doing
o feels they thrive and come alive while part of the group
o becomes outcome-oriented while participating
o enjoys what they are doing – even at rehearsals, training and practices
o feels a sense of personal accountability for the group’s outcomes
o often achieves the feeling of being in a state of flow during their work/performance, sometimes heightened by a group sense of flow; these feelings flow, like a ripple effect, across all areas of their life
o Finds their participation heightens their self esteem, self confidence, self awareness and self belief; further triggering a life-expanding ripple effect across all areas of their life.
* The group :
o comprises a  wide diversity of people, backgrounds and reasons for being there
o enjoys a commonality of interest and skills that encourage and enable them to develop their abilities together
o shares a passion for their industry
o thinking is unlimited, often sometimes even a bit crazy as they seek to constantly improve what they offer and often go outside the square

As a business manager, are you a good conductor/leader/captain?
Successful achievement of the all the group/team/business outcomes are not achieved by the participants alone, of course, or even by the manager.  They are backed by an organisation committed to a constantly evolving culture of:
* totally focusing on the desire to maximise the best possible outcomes of its participants/employees,
* willing their people to succeed, and
* looking to provide every available resource needed by the group, including a readiness to think and act outside the square where necessary.

These outcomes are not achievable unilaterally. They have to be shared by all concerned – individuals, teams/team leaders and especially senior managers.

The driving force behind it all is mental and emotional energy, constantly flowing in and through everyone involved in the organisation,  in the same way as happens in any of the example groups  like the music of a passionate choir or orchestra (pardon my bias). This emphasises a sensitive mix and blending of sound, emotions, skills, experience and wisdom, nourished by a touch of flair, creativity and colour.

The recipe for sustained business success, stability and profitability has always depended on having the right mix of the four p’s – price, product, place and promotion.  Now that knowledge management is the key to 21st century business success, the fifth p – people – becomes the most important ingredient.  Choirs, orchestras, rock groups, sporting teams and businesses of all kinds now have a common objective – creating products of the mind that satisfy the emotional desires of the people they seek to serve.

How’s your organisation shaping up?