Perfect Fifth

The foundational cornerstone of musical harmony,  this strongest of intervals is often used for resolving harmonic tension in music. Whilst structurally it's said to represent the most pure combination of frequencies (sounds), IMO  it sounds a little exposed on its own, and so needs the colour of additional voices to create a complete sound. Highly flexible, it's perfectly positioned to embrace collaboration, harnessing its inherent core strength.

Building on the perfect fifth is akin to developing a well-crafted negotiation strategy in a dispute resolution situation, where there are many potential outcomes centred around counterparties' core shared values.

Counterpoint & Fugues

The interconnection or collision of ideas through many voices working together where each is valued highly - also referred to as polyphony.

The fugue (meaning 'flight') is a type of music that showcases counterpoint, and is often described as the pinnacle of musical compositional achievement, given its ability to transform the complexity of many melodies into a synchronised beautiful sound, being the ultimate musical juxtaposition of creative innovation and structure.

In business, many diverse voices are needed to solve complex strategic problems, and as a fugue builds on a core theme from many perspectives, sometimes the strategic business solution comes from looking at the same idea from a different viewpoint.

Ensemble

The power of voices and instruments working together in harmony, communicating closely, and listening to each other to ensure synchronisation. Musical ensembles epitomise high performing teams working  together in partnership, and often represent the solid support structure for soloists.  

Typically, they rely on absolute trust in the ensemble's leader or conductor to help them navigate the repertoire in perfect harmony, at the right tempo and dynamics, and to keep the required momentum.

This leadership, alignment and congruence (represented by the circles in the Colla Voce logo) are fundamental building blocks of any corporate strategy.

Melody, Tone & Harmony

Whilst the melody can be likened to a company's vision and how it is perceived in the market, it's the strength of its core harmonic structures, compositional form, and tone that shape the strategy to bring the company's vision to life.

One of the world's leading jazz musicians, James Morrison, shared a story at a concert of one of his mentors describing the distinction between technique and tone, noting that while strong musical ideas are important, the most memorable are those musicians with great tone i.e the way we turn up counts.

Decades of corporate development experience has taught me that forging trusted relationships, respecting stakeholders and investing time in understanding counterparties, is often more powerful than the technical analysis that underpins deals, as like music, a great tone is critical.

Cadenza & Improvisation

Cadenza: an improvisation section, with structural affinity to the core themes of the music - innovation with integrity. The great jazz musicians have the fundamental chord progressions so well ingrained that they can create amazing improvisations that complement the piece's core harmonic patterns. It seems like no matter how far the soloist stretches the elastic it always lands back in harmony with the ensemble. A great picture of structured risk-taking and innovation, pushing boundaries to expand impact and grow the core.

Often in jazz I hear 'a wrong note is more defined by the quality of the notes that follow it'. Dissonance can be valuable, so long as there is a pathway to resolution. 

It's also a great reminder to encourage our teams to innovate, give our teams a right to fail, and where needed provide the support structure to bring their efforts back in sync with the strategy.