Making music is the new metaphor for knowledge work

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Few weeks back I had the opportunity to attend a musical concert. It  was a lovely evening and I was soaking in the divine music. As I was enjoying the music, my attention went to the percussion instrument (tabla) player.

He was creating beautiful music. His body language and face showed his involvement in the beautiful act of music making. He was making the music and enjoying it at the same time.

Right then a bizarre thought occurred to me. What if I  interrupt him right now to ask the details of his next concert?

It was jarring to even think the thought, let alone execute it. Interrupting him meant spoiling the beauty of the moment and something unjustifiable. Waiting for the concert to get over was the only sensible thing to do to talk to the players.

In the modern workplace, it is common to interrupt someone who is deeply immersed in solving a problem (design, coding, architecture, customer tickets...).

The reasons for interrupting could be many:

  • Get status; sometimes of the very problem the person is solving 
  •  Attend a meeting
  • Get help or an answer from the person
  • ...

Wasn't this person making music before someone decided to interrupt?

May be yes.

Only in this case, it takes some amount of sensitivity to hear or feel the music.

In today’s fast paced corporate world, people are not willing to wait for the concert to get over. To send a note or IM and wait for the response seems like an eternal wait. The way to get instant attention is: walk up to the desk, call on the phone or shout out from your place. People who do this are unaware that this spoils the concert.

This is not to say that direct modes of communication should be shunned altogether. The point is to be sensitive to the recipient's state before engaging. Before interrupting a coworker next time, we need to pause for a moment and ask ourselves:

Could (s)he be making some beautiful music at the moment?

And if the answers is:  May be yes, then wait for the concert to get over.

 

Street music, Udaipur

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