The Real Power of Diversity

Greetings.  Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Winter Concert at Sligo Middle School in Silver Spring, Maryland.  In an auditorium packed with adoring fans (a.k.a., moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents and neighbors), several hundred young musicians from many different backgrounds took the stage to perform an inspiring program packed with songs of the season.  In total, two orchestras, two bands, and four choruses entertained the audience and their classmates for nearly two hours with a level of energy, enthusiasm, humor, and possibilities rarely found in adult performances.  And the simple fact that their experience and skill levels were also quite diverse didn't seem to matter.  Nor did some of the unusual notes struck by their instruments and voices.  They had come together bound by a love of music which, when combined with the amazing work of their teachers, made for a remarkable evening.

Their selections also showed a wealth of diversity and expression.  They included many Christmas and Chanukah classics, some American standards, songs from Disney's Fantasia, works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Modest Mussorgsky, Randy Newman's moving ballad "Louisiana 1927," and the always exciting "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler.  This last song, which topped the Billboard charts for three weeks in 1962, remains popular today and is an awesome challenge for the changing voices of middle school boys.  At several points during the performance, students in the audience rose to cheer for their classmates.  Cheering and even screaming with delight when they hit a perfect note or sang in perfect harmony. But also cheering with delight when friends tried their best to a hit a note beyond their reach or strike an illusive chord.   

And through it all I got to thinking about the power of music and the power of young people in bridging the gaps that divide us.  And helping us to unlock our collective genius.  The amazing ability of music to bring a remarkably diverse group of students and their families together and the amazing ability of their diversity to bring this music to life.  Because beneath all of their differences in background, experience, perspective, and a whole host of other things that are used to set us apart, is the simple fact that they are young people–far more similar than different–and the clear and compelling reality that there is a powerful song in every one of them (and every one of us).  A song that is eager to come out.

We win in business and in life by harnessing the remarkable power of diversity and similarity, and by transforming our individual songs into a chorus or symphony of possibilities.  Maybe its time for you and your colleagues to strike a new note together.

Cheers!