I wandered into a colleague’s office today and after a little Friday afternoon banter she pulled out an unopened box of magnetic poetry. You’ve seen this, right? Lots of words on magnetic backing that you can separate and rearrange into whatever playful, mischievous, mysterious, meaningful or nonsense order you want. So we started messing with it and she told me I had to take some with me. So, I decided to put a quote together that I could put on my office cabinet. I came up with this:
“incubate a symphony of delicate power”
Now, perhaps I am guilty of always looking for ways to express what’s most prevalent on my mind (as opposed to something more nonsensical and silly) and in this case it just felt right to grab a few words that speak to what we are trying achieve in our organization. A little magnetic reminder of our aspiration.
To incubate is to get ready and prepare. To cultivate with protective care the thing that you hope to birth into the world so that it will survive and thrive.
A symphony (literally, “sounding together”) is a collection of individual musicians who have an implicit contract with one another and their leader to play in concert with the whole. Their individual expertise is heightened through their commitment and connection to one another. The whole is the sum of the parts.
Delicate is gentle, thoughtful, careful and considerate. It is curious and imaginative, open and tentative. It is fragile and requires great care. It is refined and restrained.
Power is strength, focus and determination. It is commitment, resolve and belief. It is decisive, focused and clear. It is movement and energy.
We must “sound together,” from a powerful stance of belief and committed action, considering the delicate humanity of every individual, to bring to life an organization of meaning, learning and significant contribution.
All this from wandering the halls on a Friday afternoon.
Aimlessness certainly has its place.
