Like a lot of great books this didn’t make complete impact until its second reading – or perhaps that just says a lot about the way that I am wired.
The Art of Possibility is co-written by Rosamund Stone Zander and her husband Benjamin Zander. Rosamund is an executive coach and family systems therapist. Benjamin, who was conductor of the Boston Philharmonic when this was written, is a professional musician and teacher renowned for the passion he brings from his students and players.
Between them they have written a classic in which they describe 12 exercises in perspective shifting, leading to performance improvement. This definitely not just a same old, same old, set of exercises the authors dedication to their subjects and their supreme skills shine through each and every chapter. Here’s a couple of examples from the Amazon reviews:
…Third, if you assume that people will do well and help them see how they can, they will. Mr. Zander gives every student an A in his class, and simply requests that the student write a paper to tell what they will do to deserve the A. This gets the students focused on excellence, and takes away the tension that harms accomplishment….
…Fifth, lead from any chair. This is a reference to involving everyone. Mr. Zander asks his players to write down how he could improve practices and peformances, and pays attention to the suggestions….
Well worth the second (and third) read.
You can get it from my Amazon site here.
The Incisal Edge 