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Meet Paul
Paul is an expert at showing corporate teams how to be more unified and more collaborative. His proven team building program is guaranteed to bust through the silos as he shows your team how to be as unified as the players in a great orchestra.
A-list corporations have been using Paul’s team building program for almost two decades, his audiences include Microsoft, RBC, Goodyear, ING, Heineken, FedEx, PwC and P&G.
Why you need to create more moments.
It was many years ago, a night like so many others.
I was on stage playing a concert with a local symphony orchestra being led by a guest conductor.
I was dressed in my usual orchestra concert attire, a black tuxedo, complete with black cummerbund and bow tie (à la James Bond, I like to think). The strange thing about this time was that I was seated behind a drum set.
I say strange because when you study to be a drummer, you don’t necessarily see yourself wearing a tuxedo while you play. You also don’t imagine yourself playing behind a 60-piece orchestra at the back of a large concert hall filled with people.
I was playing the same drum set that I had played many times while dressed in jeans and t-shirt, the same set that I would “rock out on” in jam sessions with friends.
But this night was different. This night I was playing in an orchestral pops concert and it was the first time I was hired not as a percussionist but as the “drummer” for such a thing.
I had done my practicing, been to rehearsals, but I was nervous. There’s just something different about show time. On top of that, it was a big program. But I have to tell you that I don’t remember one single tune I played that night.
I remember one moment only, and how it felt. The moment I remember was near the end of the night, in the last tune. It was a fast up-tempo number and I was busily keeping time when the conductor looked up from his score and looked me straight in the eye. Then with a broad smile, he raised his hand and gave me a big thumbs-up.
I am going to guess that that particular moment was about 20 years ago now. Yet I remember it as if it were yesterday. I remember how great it felt, how happy I was.
I’m not sure if the conductor meant to make me feel as good as he did, but in that one moment, he validated my hard work, my years of practice, my musicianship and how I played that night.
And the thing is, he didn’t have to do it. There’s no rule about that. I have played many concerts where it seems the conductors don’t even know you’re there. So for one to make an effort, that really stood out for me, and his timing was right on.
That was a great moment! That’s the thing about special moments. They can have a profound impact on people.
My 10 best articles of 2017
Happy New Year!
When I started writing a blog about a year-and-a-half ago, I have to admit I was scared…
Scared to put myself out there.
But, through gentle prodding from my coach, I got into a new early morning routine and after these many months, I have to admit it’s been fun and rewarding.
One of the best parts of that quiet early morning hour I take each day is that it has really made me think - think about what I can write that might help someone.
So today, I want to share (for the very first time – Woo-hoo! - Drum roll please) my 10 best articles, based on their popularity.
From their humble beginnings as posts on my website, these articles have been shared on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google + and more. People have tweeted about them and shared them.
And then there are the comments. Thanks to all of you who take a moment to say something. I really appreciate that.
While no one tends to make critical comments, I want you to know I’d be ok with those too.
Because those are the ones that help me get better.
In 2018, I’ll continue to write about teamwork, collaboration and leadership because I am curious about those things and am always looking for the magic that happens when those things are working at their best.
So here we go with My 10 Best Articles of 2017.
Final Post 2017: How to have better success at reaching your goals
Well, that’s it.
My final post of 2017.
I can’t believe I am saying such a thing.
Two years ago, I didn’t even have one post, and when the idea was suggested to me that I start blogging, I found the thought over-whelming.
I remember thinking to myself back then, “I’m a musician, not a writer”. I can’t write a weekly blog. Now it has become a regular part of my business, a regular part of my routine.
I’d be lying if told you I just sit down and pour out reams of excellent thoughts and ideas. It still takes work and lots of thinking. That’s because this blog is not just for me, it’s also for you. I really want it to help you in some way.
So in today’s post, I want to encourage you to do something you haven’t done before, something you might think is beyond you, something you’d like to reach for.
It’s at this time of year that we think about such things. It’s the time of year when we take stock and make plans.
Making plans is not always easy. There’s a lot that can get in the way but it’s usually one big obstacle - ourselves!
But there’s a way to use ourselves to overcome ourselves and here’s how…
What I learned about mistakes that you need to know.
It started when you were really young.
That fear of admitting you did something wrong.
It was always tempting to cover it up because you learned quickly that doing something wrong usually came with consequences. Most likely, you got a talking to at the very least.
Then there was school. You occasionally did things that were wrong at school, and now they were on paper.
They were called mistakes, and they were often circled in the dreaded red pen.
It makes sense that a test would sit in your bag for a few days waiting for just the right moment to be shown to your parents - when they were too busy to really look at it.
There’s never been anything fun about admitting your mistakes.
But making mistakes just might be the most valuable thing that we can do for ourselves.
6 things you need to combat chaos at work
I have spent a lifetime on teams --except I never called them teams.
The word “team” has a bit of a sports feel to it, and I was in the music world. So the “teams” I worked with were bands, ensembles, orchestras, theatre companies, quartets, and quintets.
Same idea though - they were groups – groups of people working towards a common goal.
Bosses, coaches, managers go to great lengths to assemble “teams” of people that they think will win, i.e. bring in the most profits, make sales, solve a problem, help them reach a goal.
But we know that despite the best efforts of those folks, not all teams are created equal.
So whenever I come across one that is working really well, I like to explore how they do it.
Recently I came across a team that did do what they were supposed to do in a very unlikely part of the world and in a very challenging situation.