For my taste the Music Paradigm is too much of a stretch. Management is a lot simpler than symphonic music or jazz improv. In fact it’s so simple that smart people often think right past it and then think they need things like the music paradigm to bring them back to square one.

But I’m suspicious of anything that uses the word paradigm — always smells like a way to generate consulting dollars to me in my cynical old age.

I enjoyed both thoughts. Music as metaphor — conductor and orchestra — showed the commonsense we live with. It’s very similar to the machine metaphor that has ceased to help us improve project management. Improv jazz reminds me of the care required to build relatedness both in backgrounds (to recognize the historicity of the art form) and trust (to produce collaboration and innovation rather than competition).

The whole thing is only about exploration and understanding. I’m for more of that.

If jazz is a useful metaphor — and I think it is — Project managers are charged with managing the musicans, I think. Making sure they show up for the gig and have their instruments ready, for example.

How’s that for a paradigm?