My daughter, Michelle, is currently studying abroad for a semester in Scotland (Stirling University). We took a trip in March to go visit her and do some touristy stuff. It was a great time. First of all, great to see her and secondly, good to be able to see Scotland.
One of the days, we were in St. Andrews. No, I’m not really a golfer, but we did stop by the “Old Course”, just to be able to say we had been there. One of the other places that we visited was the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral. Very cool. So why bring this up? On the grounds of St. Andrews Cathedral 
was a cemetery head stone that I found fascinating. It said “As measured notes of set music we pass in fast or slow marches to the grave.’
I think that it is very interesting to think of our lives as a musical piece being played note by note. Many times this musical piece is played in front of large audience. And who are we playing for or to?
I guess each of us makes a decision about what kind of music we play and what the audience is that it is intended for. But, alas, I am getting significantly off my intended track. I really wanted to comment on organizational music.
Think, a minute, about what kind of music your organization is playing. Do your customers enjoy the tune? I think that a simple melody is the best of all. My wife and myself had symphony tickets this past winter for the first time and we attended a number of performances. We found, however, that we just did not understand the music enough to appreciate or enjoy it. I think that an organization’s customer must be able to understand the melody of the song that we are playing.
That can be a lot easier when an organization is small with only a couple of people playing, but, how about a company of 100 or 100,000. The music gets a lot more complicated with that many people playing and that many parts to the music. Is complexity good or bad? It certainly makes it a lot more difficult to keep all the musicians together!! However, many people working / playing their parts in harmony with each other can create something of great beauty.
It’s enlightening to think of an organization as playing music to their customers. I know I’ve had situations where I or on of our associates were a little out of tune. As we grow, I know I need to work hard to make sure that we are all playing the same tune even though the number of different parts being played increases.
Hmm, food for thought. McDonald Containers as a musical piece. Some days it’s rock and roll, a little edgy and maybe rough around that edges, other days it’s hymns, comfortable and familiar.
I hope that the tune we are playing for you (our customer or potential customer) is one that you enjoy and if we start to get out of tune or someone has lost their place in the score, you will let us know. Drop us a note here, visit us at www.mcdonaldcontainers.com or give us a call at 800-888-0753.
Jim
