It's all your business: in search of excellence.

It's all your business: in search of excellence. How do we define excellence in our profession? Certainly highquality teaching and performing are major components. So isprofessionalism, which was discussed in a previous column("It's All Your Business: Towards a Higher Definition ofProfessionalism," August/September 2007 AMT See vPro. ). I would also includehigh levels of quality in the business aspects of our profession in thisdefinition. With the season of resolutions upon us, I challenge us toseek a higher level of excellence in the business areas of ourprofession during the coming year. What is excellence in business? Partially, it's theutilization of a studio policy and procedures, a statement of teachingphilosophy, professional forms and documents, marketing brochures andwebpage, documentation, assessment and recordkeeping. However, I believethat studios with the highest levels of excellence in business go beyondthese concrete elements. In 1982, Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr., completedthe bestseller In Search of Excellence, a resource still cited today forits findings and unprecedented research in the business field. In Searchof Excellence extensively interviewed and studied 21 U.S. companies todetermine if there were common characteristics or "bestpractices" that helped define their excellence. The companies wereselected based on long-term financial performance, high esteem withintheir industry and a reputation for innovation; the study includedcompanies such as 3M, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) and Procter & Gamble. The result of thisresearch was an eight-point model of basic practices andcharacteristics. Today, this research remains a benchmark against whichbusinesses (including music studios and local/state associations) canevaluate themselves. Let's consider the relevance of these eightpoints to our profession. 1. A Bias for Action The companies all considered analysis to be important, but theyalso had a penchant for "getting on with it." They exhibited awillingness to experiment and a high tolerance for mistakes. Are we willing to experiment with new repertoire Repertoire may mean Repertory but may also refer to: Repertoire (theatre), a system of theatrical production and performance scheduling Repertoire Records, a German record label specialising in 1960s and 1970s pop and rock reissues , types of teachingor new technology? Are we willing to fail? Are we willing to explore newlocal or state association projects with colleagues? Have you beenthinking about attending your first national conference or purchasing acomputer See how to select a computer. lab for your studio? If you've done the analysis (forexample, how many additional hours of teaching will it require to beable to afford the trip or the lab?), and you can envision the actionneeded (for example, teach two additional students for six months), thenmake this the year that you step forward and take action. As a profession that largely consists of independent, smallbusinesses (many with one owner/employee), the mechanism for"getting on with it" may often be membership in anassociation. A local, state or national association can provide theresources, structure or critical mass needed for effective action. 2. Close to the Customer The companies were all obsessed ob��sess?v. ob��sessed, ob��sess��ing, ob��sess��esv.tr.To preoccupy the mind of excessively.v.intr. by quality, service andreliability. Whether their basic business was metal bending orhamburgers, they defined themselves as service businesses. They got someof their best product ideas from their customers. They were betterlisteners and did so intently and regularly. Our students are our customers; do we consistently listen to whatthey are interested in? Goal setting in the initial lessons is notenough; children go through many growth phases: intellectual, emotional,spiritual, physical. We must be responsive to each phase and take thetime in every lesson to listen to their concerns and interests. As alocal or state association, do we ask for and then listen carefully toideas and suggestions from our members, advertisers, and communities? 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship The companies were all risk-takers and encouraged all employees totake risks. "Champions" were present and highlyvisible--individuals within the corporation who enthusiastically andpersistently followed a product idea through to market, without gettingmired mire?n.1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog.2. Deep slimy soil or mud.3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty.v. in the corporate bureaucracy. Champions find a way aroundroadblocks and follow every route that works, whether an"accepted" route or not. In our teaching, we are the champions for every new concept. If thepresentation of a concept or the illustrative il��lus��tra��tive?adj.Acting or serving as an illustration.il��lustra��tive��ly adv.Adj. 1. repertoire in a particularmethod isn't working, then we take a different route through othermethods or approaches; and we do so enthusiastically, making it anadventure for the student. In our associations, we cherish and embracemembers who are champions for a project or program; we seek more ofthese kinds of members to join and accept positions of leadership. Inour communities, we champion and advocate the value of music education. 4. Productivity Through People None of the companies considered capital investment to be theprimary source of efficiency improvement. Their employees were trustedto innovate in��no��vate?v. in��no��vat��ed, in��no��vat��ing, in��no��vatesv.tr.To begin or introduce (something new) for or as if for the first time.v.intr.To begin or introduce something new. , to find a way; they viewed employees and customers as anextended family. Training at all levels of the company was intense andongoing. No amount of technology or expensive equipment can surpass thevalue of an empathetic em��pa��thet��ic?adj.Empathic.empa��theti��cal��ly adv. , intuitive, highly trained teacher. Howfrequently do we work on increasing our current skills or acquiring newskills? We are our own greatest resource and should seek lifelongopportunities for enrichment enrichmentFood industry The addition of vitamins or minerals to a food–eg, wheat, which may have been lost during processing. See White flour; Cf Whole grains. and growth, for ourselves as well as forour students. 5. Hands-on, Value Driven Each company had certain dominant beliefs or philosophies thatinfluenced its achievements more than technology or economic resources,and each company persistently demonstrated those beliefs. The researchfound four specific beliefs that were basic to all of the companiesstudied: * A belief in being the best. * A belief in the importance of the details of the execution. * A belief in the importance of people as individuals. * A belief in superior quality and service. Sound familiar? I suspect that many of us would readily includethese statements in our studio philosophy. We must be persistent indemonstrating these beliefs to our customers and communities. Has yourlocal/state association articulated its basic beliefs clearly to allmembers? Has it communicated its mission to the community? 6. Stick to the Knitting knitting,construction of a fabric made of interlocking loops of yarn by means of needles. Knitting, allied in origin to weaving and to the netting and knotting of fishnets and snares, was apparently unknown in Europe before the 15th cent. Never acquire a business you do not know how to run. All of thecompanies were very particular about how and when they expanded oracquired new products. Very few of us are qualified to teach all areas and genres ofmusic. Know your limitations, but if there's an area you would liketo be able to teach (for example, jazz or early childhood), then seekthe training to do so (principle 4 above). As a local/state association,evaluate whether new products or processes, like an online newsletter,are best accomplished in-house or subcontracted sub��con��tract?n.A contract that assigns some of the obligations of a prior contract to another party.intr. & tr.v. sub��con��tract��ed, sub��con��tract��ing, sub��con��tracts to an outside expert. 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff None of the companies adhered to a formal, traditional matrixstructure. They exhibited a willingness to reorganize re��or��gan��ize?v. re��or��gan��ized, re��or��gan��iz��ing, re��or��gan��iz��esv.tr.To organize again or anew.v.intr.To undergo or effect changes in organization. regularly and toreorganize on a temporary basis to attack a specific thrust specific thrustn.See specific impulse. . How flexible are we in our teaching formats? How often do wereorganize within our local or state associations to deal with specificprojects or programs? Not all decisions need to be evaluated by theentire board; consider more ad hoc committees ad hoc committeeA committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished or task force models. 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties Certain properties or values were adhered to rigidly, while otherswere not. Basic beliefs were tightly held, but how to achieve thosebeliefs was given freer rein. Choice and flexibility were keyingredients. I suspect that this characteristic already surfaces frequently inour teaching; for example, we may insist that a student perform on arecital Recital - dBASE-like language and DBMS from Recital Corporation. Versions include Vax VMS. or jury, but provide a choice of which pieces to prepare. Alocal/state association may place a high value on providing studentperformance opportunities, but seek different types of opportunitieseach year. In addition to these eight points, there were several otherattributes that permeated all eight areas. All activities wereundertaken with intensity and energy. There was nothing slow-paced aboutthe work environments. Managers did not spend much time in offices; theyutilized "MBWA MBWA Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (IEEE 802.20)MBWA Management By Walking Around " (Management by Wandering WanderingSee also Adventurousness, Bohemianism, Journey, Quest.AhasuerusGerman name for the Wandering Jew. [Ger. Lit. Around). How often dowe get out of the studio-to network, to be actively involved in a localor state association, to attend a workshop or conference? "Shared values" was a frequent phrase and the key wordhere is shared. Everyone, from employees to managers to customers,shared a few basic beliefs, and all felt a part of a whole. It is ourobligation to find ways that our students and colleagues feel a part ofa whole--part of a studio group with the shared value of music making orlove of music, or part of a larger teaching community, such as MTNA MTNA Music Teachers National AssociationMTNA Middle Tennessee Nursery Association (McMinnville, Tennessee),with the shared value of "working toward a more musicaltomorrow." We can be proud of our profession, which embodies the same (if nothigher?) level of excellence as some of the best-run companies inAmerica? As you begin the new calendar year, resolve to seek higher andhigher levels of excellence in your teaching, your performing--and yourbusiness. Karen Thickstun is adjunct adjunct (aj´ungkt),n a drug or other substance that serves a supplemental purpose in therapy.adjunctfaculty at Butler University North Western Christian University was the name when the school opened on November 1, 1855, at what is now 13th and College, with no president, 2 professors, and 20 students. In 1875, the university moved to a 25-acre campus in Irvington. anddirector of the Butler Community Arts School and maintains anindependent studio in Nashville, Indiana Nashville is a town in Brown County, Indiana, United States. The population was 826 at the 2000 census. The town is the county seat of Brown CountyGR6. The town is best known as the center of the Brown County Art Colony with a variety of specialty shops. . In addition to music degrees,she has degrees in economics and business.