Companies are increasingly turning to music to inspire creativity and foster innovation with their workforces. With so many large corporates scheduling their annual 'kick off' meeting in Q1, the most common message leaders are sending to their senior teams this year is they want more innovation from their workforce. Most employees can't relate to the message until they've had an opportunity to personally feel what it is like to innovate. Writing and recording original music provides that opportunity by breaking people out of their mold to try something new and fun and experience a creative process in a safe environment.

With creativity being the backbone of innovation, we've built a fresh and enjoyable way to foster innovation at work. The process takes people out of their day-to-day operations and allows for new types of conversations to happen. Trust is built, creative expression is nurtured and innovation is the by-product.

Music Derives Unique Benefits

There are two unique benefits derived from the process of creating original music which differentiates it from traditional teambuilding experiences.
1. We restore people's faith in their ability to be creative. From an early age most people are unjustly categorized as either 'creative' or 'not creative,' and by helping people to write and record original songs the team members discover that they can be creative - both individually and collectively.

2. It takes people out of their day-to-day operations and allows for conversations that wouldn't normally exist. It mixes ages, genders, functions, and levels of employees in a fun, engaging and motivating way.

With the pace of change unfaltering, leaders and human resource professionals are seeking fresh ways to retain and motivate teams. Organizations are engaging us for such goals as integrating teams post merger, informing employees of new HR policies, communicating change, internalizing brands and corporate values, and rewarding top performers.


Music at Work

The process includes large groups being broken into smaller teams to work on lyrics and music with member's of the Song Division band. It's more than glorified karaoke. The participants don't sing covers. They actually write and record the original music themselves. After an hour of working in their team, the groups perform their song to a judging panel. The winning song is selected and everyone rehearses before heading into the studio to begin recording.

Here are a few examples of how clients are using the musical experience as a conduit for achieving business objectives:

o Case Study #1: Integrating a Multicultural Team
After forming a New York-based team consisting of specialists from all corners of the globe, this major accounting firm's manager needed her team to hit the ground running.

Outcome: The team visited one of Manhattan's premier recording studios, frequented by the likes of Madonna, Miles Davis and Eric Clapton. With the help of our amazing band (credits include Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow, Alice Cooper) they wrote and recorded a rocking track with each verse dedicated to members' experience of leaving home and coming to New York. This collaborative and unforgettable experience outside the work place resulted in cohesion and understanding between the new team that would normally take months, if not years, to cultivate.


o Case Study #2: Externalising a Work Issue Post Merger
A major multinational recently merged its distribution and production facilities. For the first time, management from both divisions attended the same annual planning session. Our services were called upon to help improve the relationships between the formerly disparate groups in order to maximize co-operation during the planning session.

Outcome: By combining our business knowledge and musicianship to identify and externalize the issue, the songwriters quickly discovered that the cause of icy relations between the two management teams was the forced merger of the production and distribution facilities. So the subject of the song became a Johnny Cash-styled tune about the 'arranged marriage' between the production facility and the distribution facility. The managers were taken out of their normal environment and into a creative place where they could talk openly about the issue. This happened in an exciting and fun environment that allowed them to get to know their new colleagues. The merged management team was now closer as a unit, had worked through an issue together, and as a result was much more upbeat and efficient in the planning session that followed.


o Case Study #3: Strengthening Mentoring Relationships
Executives from a global bank called upon us to inject creativity and fun into its mentoring program for kids with cerebral palsy. They wanted an activity that was not based on physical prowess, was gender neutral, and could bridge the gap between the executives and the younger boys and girls they were mentoring.

Outcome: We helped them write a 'rockabilly' song that listed the beautiful qualities of each of the kids as seen by their mentors. The generation gap was dissolved by music and the relationships were strengthened, allowing for a deeper mutual respect. This in turn magnified the benefits of future mentoring topics aimed to help people who live with a disability, from 'bullying in the schoolyard' to 'career guidance.'


o Case Study #4: Injecting Creativity into a Routine Planning Session
A senior executive at a large public company wanted a unique place to hold his quarterly planning session. After attending a Song Division session as a guest of one of his business partners, he knew that a state-of-the-art recording studio was the place to do it! The planning session was run in the morning followed by one of our sessions in the afternoon.

Outcome: The unique venue fuelled the creative juices of the team and made for a vibrant and constructive planning session. The Song Division session in the afternoon doubled as a 'thank you' from the executive to his team for a great year.


o Case Study #5: Improving Communication Between Business Units
The CEO of a prominent management consulting firm was concerned that communication amongst his executive team was too formal and infrequent. As a result, co-operation between the different business units was not as efficient as it could be. Consequently, multi-industry opportunities were not being identified and profits missed.

Outcome: The executive team visited a world-class recording studio where they were able to interact with their colleagues in an informal and creative way. They discovered colleagues' hidden talents and shared their love of music, resulting in closer relationships between the heads of the business units, and in turn greater effectiveness for their customers.


o Case Study #6: Rewarding Top Performers
A leading corporate events company was seeking an exciting and original reward for the top performers of a global financial institution.

Outcome: With groups of up to 150 people at a time and in four different cities, these corporate warriors turned into rock stars for a day. With the help of the Song Division band they were crowd surfing to the track they wrote and recorded together in only three hours! It was a truly memorable 'thank you' for these over-achievers.


Where Music Meets Management

Everyone loves music. Music inspires conversation. And conversation builds creativity. It doesn't matter if an individual is worried about being humiliated or singing off key. The point of the exercise is actually the creative process of building the song together; it's not about a perfect vocal recording. It's a unique experience that brings out the best in people and helps leaders and HR professionals to achieve their goals with a little bit of rock 'n' roll.