Catalyst Strategic Consultants

At some point, the wick of a meaningful event, an era, a life starts to burn down. The fuel of the lantern is getting low.

Well, that’s as far as that metaphor will take us – maybe.

Endings are often allowed to pass without using them appropriately

• to signal the significance of our work together,
• to emphasize the value we place on our affiliation,
• to restate and affirm the WHY .

The coda is a evocative musical device that fulfills this need. What need? To complete the Gestalt – the full natural cycle of engagement with, well, anything that is significant.

The concerto is basically over, but the theme lingers. The composer has explored the variations that make sense and have interest to her. Now the composition closes in itself, slowly circling into the core. Our current generation may have limited experience with classical music. But this art form mirrors life – I like to think more resonantly [if that is a word] than pop music can express.

Back to the coda. What is it? A final lap around important territory.
The coda allows a slow denouement to a significant time, faintly echoing the force of the composition. It is a summation, bringing closure and satisfaction, giving everyone a great sense of value and completion as they exit.

This is a time to savor. There is nothing more to be done. The work is over. Now is the time to lean back, be grateful for what has been extended. And come to the close.

That doesn’t mean dead. Some spark at their greatest in the coda of their lives. Mahler wrote his extremely perceptive and probing 9th symphony gripped with the foreknowledge of his oncoming death.

I was recently at a conference of people who do what I do worldwide. The TEC/Vistage annual Chairworld Conference – 800 of us representing 22,000 members of the world’s largest CEO organization – held in San Diego.

The CEO delivered his sayonara from the stage – not particularly memorable or striking. Then, as most took this as their cue to stand, gathering their materials and making their exit, two microphones were hurried onto the stage and two young tyros followed them. Unfazed by the hubbub, they began to sing. As their voices carried, movement progressively stilled, eventually so captivating the hall that all else ceased.

The duet Con Te Partirá [Time to Say Goodbye] so purely rendered cast an immediate spell. In those few timeless and intoxicating moments the two voices – tenor and soprano – rang out as if there was nothing else in the world.

Time to say goodbye. In Italian. EnSnaring all, it said so much.
Ours is an organization centered on the bringing leaders the very best of learning and growth, both business and personal . This music echoed themes of humanity. It reinforced our highest purpose – for hope and purity of motivation. We stand defined in a golden esthetic that unites us. Readied to go forth into the world, the transfixed stood a moment, united and blessed by the best of who we are – together.

It ended, as all codas must end. But the faraway gazes of those now exiting to wend homeward said it all.

Here it is for you, sung by the incomparable Andrea Bocelli – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mot5usiXOg. The picture is not of the two who performed…..

 

Sincerely,
Doug Bouey
Catalyst Strategic Consultants Ltd.