Do We Have A BHAG?
Hello everyone,
I was in the metro [MRT is a very Singaporean term] when I was talking to a band member whom I had lost contact with for a very long time. And when he heard that I was in Moulmein Wind Symphony, he commented [inexact quote], "What? I can't believe you guys are still in the band scene after so many years!"
Yes, this band has struggled against all the odds to survive, thanks to a lot of people who have persevered before I joined in 2006, and it is thanks to a lot of the same people who still continue to give their all for the band.
Plenty of members in our band have been in the music scene for years, and have aspirations to take the band to a higher level than it is today. It is my pleasure to be able to obtain the opportunity to serve the band in the capacity of an exco member. I know many of you have closet dreams and aspirations which you have always wanted to achieve as a musician. I have some of those too.
While flipping through one of my numerous books, I came across a book which describes how organisations succeed. One of the key tenets of these organisations' successes is for the leadership of the organisation to set up a vision known as a BHAG.
BHAG stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal, and it is
Examples of what a BHAG (personally, I feel the Wikipedia entry shows not-very-good examples of BHAGs) which I can come up with are
- To come away with the highest award for the best band during WMC 2008
- To cut our very own first wind band album before 2020
- To have an around-the-world concert tour before 2020
- To become a professional wind band which offers scholarships to promising players who are unable to find the means to study music
- ...
It may seem like wishful thinking now, and probably some of you are laughing at me for dreaming. Yes, perhaps I may be dreaming. Yet, I hold the hope that plenty of you hold dreams of yourself which you do not dare say out loud, for fear of being mocked by people older than you.
In his stirring commencement speech, Steve Jobs mentioned how his friend and himself managed to turn a humble startup in a garage into a US$2bn business. Fred Smith's lecturers did not think much of his Yale term paper, but he persevered with his own convictions and set up the wildly successful Federal Express. Closer to home, Sim Wong Hoo's business started from a computer repair shop in Pearl Centre. As can be shown, dreams do come true - given the courage to reach for them.
I would like to think that there are plenty of people in the band who are far younger than I am, and harbour big dreams for themselves as band musicians.
Basically, we can continue to be where we are now - and as I face you every week, I know that plenty of you have the hunger to want to take the band forward to greater heights. I know that many of you have had the privilege of playing in bands which have had a fantastic reputation and background. I know that many of you want to play a lot of classic wind band pieces which even professional bands have trouble perfecting - the tagboard shows disappointment galore when fantastically-scored band pieces were taken out.
To play those pieces, it takes a lot of discipline in terms of individual practice, getting to know one another as fellow band players, knowing when to give way to other sections and soloists, and even knowing how to stick together no matter how good [or bad!] the conductor is. Thanks, sTuPiD =). I am still striving to make myself a better baton-wielder, and I am sure that you are striving to make yourself a better player as I type.
Similarly, while is admirable that we have survived in a place in Singapore, where many people eschew participation in the performing arts after leaving school, here are some questions for thought.
1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to move on from here?
And...
3. What will your BHAG for Moulmein Wind Symphony be, everyone? Or is it time to slap me awake from the dream I have for our band? =)
Over to you... :-) SS
I was in the metro [MRT is a very Singaporean term] when I was talking to a band member whom I had lost contact with for a very long time. And when he heard that I was in Moulmein Wind Symphony, he commented [inexact quote], "What? I can't believe you guys are still in the band scene after so many years!"
Yes, this band has struggled against all the odds to survive, thanks to a lot of people who have persevered before I joined in 2006, and it is thanks to a lot of the same people who still continue to give their all for the band.
Plenty of members in our band have been in the music scene for years, and have aspirations to take the band to a higher level than it is today. It is my pleasure to be able to obtain the opportunity to serve the band in the capacity of an exco member. I know many of you have closet dreams and aspirations which you have always wanted to achieve as a musician. I have some of those too.
While flipping through one of my numerous books, I came across a book which describes how organisations succeed. One of the key tenets of these organisations' successes is for the leadership of the organisation to set up a vision known as a BHAG.
BHAG stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal, and it is
clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines." (Collins and Porras, 1996).
Examples of what a BHAG (personally, I feel the Wikipedia entry shows not-very-good examples of BHAGs) which I can come up with are
- To come away with the highest award for the best band during WMC 2008
- To cut our very own first wind band album before 2020
- To have an around-the-world concert tour before 2020
- To become a professional wind band which offers scholarships to promising players who are unable to find the means to study music
- ...
It may seem like wishful thinking now, and probably some of you are laughing at me for dreaming. Yes, perhaps I may be dreaming. Yet, I hold the hope that plenty of you hold dreams of yourself which you do not dare say out loud, for fear of being mocked by people older than you.
In his stirring commencement speech, Steve Jobs mentioned how his friend and himself managed to turn a humble startup in a garage into a US$2bn business. Fred Smith's lecturers did not think much of his Yale term paper, but he persevered with his own convictions and set up the wildly successful Federal Express. Closer to home, Sim Wong Hoo's business started from a computer repair shop in Pearl Centre. As can be shown, dreams do come true - given the courage to reach for them.
I would like to think that there are plenty of people in the band who are far younger than I am, and harbour big dreams for themselves as band musicians.
Basically, we can continue to be where we are now - and as I face you every week, I know that plenty of you have the hunger to want to take the band forward to greater heights. I know that many of you have had the privilege of playing in bands which have had a fantastic reputation and background. I know that many of you want to play a lot of classic wind band pieces which even professional bands have trouble perfecting - the tagboard shows disappointment galore when fantastically-scored band pieces were taken out.
To play those pieces, it takes a lot of discipline in terms of individual practice, getting to know one another as fellow band players, knowing when to give way to other sections and soloists, and even knowing how to stick together no matter how good [or bad!] the conductor is. Thanks, sTuPiD =). I am still striving to make myself a better baton-wielder, and I am sure that you are striving to make yourself a better player as I type.
Similarly, while is admirable that we have survived in a place in Singapore, where many people eschew participation in the performing arts after leaving school, here are some questions for thought.
1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to move on from here?
And...
3. What will your BHAG for Moulmein Wind Symphony be, everyone? Or is it time to slap me awake from the dream I have for our band? =)
Over to you... :-) SS
posted by Mirificus at 8:19 PM
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