What can music teach us? How does music effect our brain? This was how Professor Stefan Kölsch, a world renown scientist researching the effect music has on the brain, opened his speech introducing a concert with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He asked the question: “Why are musical surprises pleasant for us?” and explained that the reason is based on the fine balance between predictability and surprise. Maybe that is why the beautiful, predictable and simple 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony resonates with us so well today – in our unpredictable world.
How about musicality in the Board Room? Do we manage to establish an optimal balance between predictability and surprise? How can we handle surprises in a constructive manner? Is predictability as a starting point one way to handle this? The element of predictability in the Board Room setting is built on trust and stability. Perhaps we should strive for a steady flow of new impulses, combined with a solid layer of continuity and predictability, to ensure we are embracing and utilising the new impulses?
Read more about parallels between music and working life: The Art of Simplifying Complexity, Focus for Excellence.