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Music Thinker and Creative Companion Christof Zürn takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most exciting people ‘AND Musicians’. Professionals that in some or other way use music, musical principles, instruments and techniques to work meaningful together. Or in short: the podcast for People with a musical heart and a wicked job.
Episodes
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
How do you bring humanity to work? How do you connect with your team on different levels?
Today, we are in New York, and we talk with Jim Kalbach. Jim is a noted author, speaker, musician, and instructor in design, customer experience, and strategy. He is currently Chief Evangelist at MURAL, the digital online whiteboard designed for remote collaboration and visual problem-solving.
Jim studied music theory and composition with 12-tone composer Charles Wuorinen, and that gives us a kick-start to discuss the differences between fixed instructions, lead sheets and free improvisation in music and our daily work. We talk about systems thinking in a 12-tone composition where every note is equal and how this connects to design thinking. And we chat about the difference between rhythm, beat and cadence in agile development.
Jim shares with us his CEO playing guitar and singing in a meeting and how this brought in playfulness, opened things up and made it meaningful.
Show notes
- Connect with Jim:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalbach/
- JTBD Tool Kit website: www.jtbdtoolkit.com
- Jim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JimKalbach
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
Learn more about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com or the Music Thinking LinkedIn page.
See the latest episode of The Power of Music Thinking
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
How do you design for inclusivity? How do you get the right people on the team? What would a studio look like for a service designer?
Today on the show we have Gerry Scullion. Gerry is the founder of This is HCD, the global human-centred design podcast and international design community of change-makers, and he is founder and CEO of This is Doing.com
In a ‘previous life’, he was a musician and songwriter who released two albums under the moniker: Minus Circus and worked with 13-time Grammy-winning producer Rafa Sardina.
A few months ago, I was a guest on his podcast, and we talked about the interrelationship of music and design and what design can learn from music.
So today, we talk about how the shared mindset comes back in the daily life of a facilitator, service designer and change maker.
Gerry gives us insights into how it was like working with a top-notch producer that had the experience, knowledge and ability to drill down and zoom in on a detail and then drill the whole way out to see the whole.
And we talk about bringing vulnerability and laughter to co-create innovation and engage people to be their very best.
(The instrument you hear in the beginning is the Theremin we talked about in our first conversation.)
Show notes
- Connect with Gerry:
- This is Doing: www.thisisDoing.com
- Twitter: @thisisdoing and @gerrycircus
- This is Human Centred Design: www.thisishcd.com
- Episode with Gerry and Christof on This is HCD: https://www.thisishcd.com/episode/christof-zurn-the-power-of-music-thinking
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
Learn more about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com or the Music Thinking LinkedIn page.
See the latest episode of The Power of Music Thinking
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Why do people tip up to six times more than they already have paid? How do people deal with adversity? What do Jazz and Business have in common?
Today we are in Canada talking to Adrian Cho, ex-IBM consultant, book author, wildlife photographer, artistic director of the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra, bass player and creative director of syncspace.
We talk about how a damaged muscle brought Adrian to the piano and later to software development and IT consulting. He shares with us how jazz thinking can influence innovation and help embrace the unknown so that exciting things can happen.
We discuss the essence of how people work meaningful together, how people deal with adversity in teams and what this means for team development. And we talk about his new endeavour, syncspace, and why audiences on this platform tip four to six times more than they already have paid.
Show notes
- Connect with Adrian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/2xbass/
- Website: https://www.adriancho.com/
- Syncspace: https://syncspace.live/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/syncspacelive
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
Learn more about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com or the Music Thinking LinkedIn page.
See the latest episode of The Power of Music Thinking
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
How can you tell a story through food and music? Are all chefs drummers? Should prominent leaders start a band together?
In this episode, Creative Companion meets the Creative Chef. We have a lively conversation with Jasper Udink ten Cate, artist, designer, futurist, keynote speaker, book author and drummer. He worked worldwide on exhibitions like London Design Week, Dubai Design, Metropolitan Museum New York and the World Expo in Milano and for companies like Nike, BASF and Google.
Jasper shares his approach to collective storytelling with food, music and design. And we talk about different tastes and diets and how to give goosebumps from natural vegan food to inspire people to create their own identity. He shares the story of the unripe peach and how reframing can be the start of new product innovation.
We chat about how you can listen to yourself to create your own beautiful story, shape your personality and make decisions in consuming music, books, food and life.
Show notes
- Connect with Jasper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasper-udink-ten-cate-19b85bb/
- Creative Chef website: https://creativechef.nl/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativechefnl/
- How to become a Creative Chef Book: https://www.bispublishers.com/creative-chef.html
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
Learn more about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com or the Music Thinking LinkedIn page.
See the latest episode of The Power of Music Thinking
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
What are the similarities between the technology and the record industry? And what is situational leadership?
In this episode, we connect with Padraic McMahon, Customer Success Manager at Hubspot, a software company that helps businesses grow. Padraic has worked in Management positions at Google and LinkedIn. Before that, he was the guitar player of The Thrills that had some major hits from 2003 on. Their first LP was going platinum in the UK and Ireland, and their top hit 'Big Sur' has more than 8 Mio plays on Spotify alone and is still growing.
We talk about the similarities in tech business and the record business and the situational leadership of the producer role that brings a group of people to their optimum performance regardless of the circumstances.
He shares with us what the Hubspot unplugged week means to the team and compares the studio analogy with the importance of the work-life balance in working for a technology company. And the insight that you need different leadership at different times. Like the difference of the first record, to the second and the third - or in my words from start-up to scale-up to selling the company.
Padraic gives us an example of 'the art of remixing' where visual and sonic cues help make the mix's best decision.
Quote: 'Where you invest, you need to divest!'
Show notes
- Connect with Padraic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/padraicmcmahon/
- Hubspot website: https://www.hubspot.com/
- The Thrills on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thrills
- Padraic explains Schumpeter’s Theory of Creative Destruction and MBWA - management by wandering around.
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
Learn more about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com or the Music Thinking LinkedIn page.
See the latest episode of The Power of Music Thinking
Tuesday Jul 27, 2021
Tuesday Jul 27, 2021
Can we be successful in more than one field? What about the multiple me’s we have developed in different areas?
Today we are in Finland, my guest is Ilkka Mäkitalo - musician, teacher, CEO, Co-Founder of Howspace and Conductor of Jyvaskyla Big Band.
We chat about instruments, jazz and how to inspire young talents to compose for a big band. And we talk about organisational memory, organisational learning, organisational dynamics and how to change the world with a digital platform for facilitating dialogue in different contexts, supported by AI.
And we are talking about different meanings for AI when engaging people like artificial intelligence, applied improvisation and appreciative inquiry.
Ilkka shares his vision on leadership in a digital and remote world and how to grow an organisation above 17 people and raise venture capital of about 12 Mio with strong cultural guiding principles.
Show notes
- Connect with Ilkka:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkkamakitalo/ - Howspace website
https://www.howspace.com/ - Jyvaskyla Big Band on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JyvaskylaBigBand
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
More about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com
Monday Jul 12, 2021
Monday Jul 12, 2021
Did you know that music can help you to rewire your brain? This episode is about the working of music on the brain and behaviour. My guest today is Artur Jaschke - neuromusicologist and professor for music-based therapies and interventions at the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Enschede and he also works at the neonatal intensive care at a hospital in Groningen, the Netherlands.
We talk about how you can use music and sound for the advantage of healthcare, wellbeing and brain stimulation. We elaborate on themes like empathy and listening to unknown music or music that you might not like in the first place and the effect on your thinking and the basics of innovation and improvisation that can also be applied in a business setting. And we also speak about the joy and benefit of learning a musical instrument and the impact it has on the wellbeing and self-therapy of everyone in a stressed-out busy workplace.
Show notes
- Connect with Artur:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/artur-c-jaschke-b87174106/ - Music Therapy at ArtEZ
https://professorshipmusictherapy.artez.nl/blog/ - Website
https://www.arturjaschke.nl/
More info
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
More about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
This episode is about listening - deep listening. My guest today is Sharon Stewart - creator of sound works, musician, poet, researcher, piano teacher and deep listener.
We learn about the Center for Deep Listening at Rensselaer and the retreats that were held by composer Pauline Oliveros and the many ways to listen, for example like listening in dreams, embodied listening and that deep listening is about doing, writing, practising and experiencing.
We talk about text scores, guiding principles, and using this in a non-musical context. We also chat about the listening presence of leadership and that we all might benefit when this would shift from just ‘listening to’ to ‘listening with’.
And Sharon shares with us her contribution to the ‘Listening guide for quarantine’ that was published at the beginning of the pandemic and an exercise of harmonious human interaction with sounding and listening that we also could do in a workshop situation.
- Connect with Sharon:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hopsharonstewart/ - Download Homing inside out: A listening guide for home quarantine (2020 Soundtrack City, The Mystifiers, STEIM) https://soundtrackcity.net/homing-inside-out/
- Upcoming Deep Listening® Retreats https://www.ministryofmaat.org/deep-listening-retreat.html
- The Center for Deep Listening® at RPI https://www.deeplistening.rpi.edu/
- Sonic works by Sharon Stewart https://soundcloud.com/sharonrstewart
- Podcast miniseries on Deep Listening® https://studiumgenerale.artez.nl/nl/studies/all/podcast/2+deep+listening+pauline+oliveros+and+the+sonosphere/
- Journal of Sonic Studies Article on Deep Listening® https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/261881/261882
- Sharon can be reached at s.stewart@artez.nl
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
More about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
This episode is about Innovation patterns and improvisation in organisations. Today, my guest is Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Stark - teacher and researcher specialised in organisational and community psychology and visiting fellow at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
With natural sounds, like birds and wind in the background, we talk about how to co-create the sound of a company based on the processes of the organisation and how a jazz band can bring organisational scores to life. We also talk about the reactable an electronic table that can be played by non-musicians like an instrument to learn co-creation.
We also chat about the difference between learning and organising and the meaning of improvisation in business and society. And we learn how patterns of success translated to a card deck can be used in co-creation, innovation and change. In the end, we hear about the innovative invention of ‘the music box on a garden fence’ that started in corona times.
- Connect with Wolfgang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfgang-stark-0786874/
- Contact via email: wolfgang.stark@stw.de
- Pattern Publishing: https://pattern-publishing.de/
- The New Bank for Community Ideas and Solutions: http://www.ecpa-online.com/new-bank/
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION
More about The Music Thinking Framework, the Jam Cards and the blog on musicthinking.com
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
We talk with Nifemi Aluko - Founder and CEO of kpakpakpa and author of the book Press Play, Music as a catalyst for change.
Nifemi is a traveller between California and Nigeria and - as he calls - a Youtube inspired bedroom producer. We talk about his journey from a chemical engineer to an advisor for companies that want to enter the African market.
We learn about the size and the diversity of Africa, the high energy of woman entrepreneurship and the many languages, dialects, and communication between people across the continent.
And we chat about the different pace in doing business and establishing relationships, and how the technique of sampling can bring new styles of music and nurtures the ability to collaborate with people from different places.
- Connect with Nifemi:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nifemi-aluko/ - Website kpakpakpa:
https://kpakpakpa.com/ - His book Press Play: https://www.amazon.com/Press-Play-Music-Catalyst-Change/dp/1641375531/
- Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/naporepublic
The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION