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I have been asked to write key
speeches for executives and well-known personalities through the years. Though
I have used a couple samples here, I made sure to do so without revealing
identities. Especially called upon for
creative undertakings when an organization is trying to shake things up, I am
also often asked to elevate the tone to a sort of political, even spiritual
oratory when someone wishes to stir or confront their cohorts toward a change
or course correction.
For Ken Burns Premiere of “JAZZ” Part of a speech given by an executive hosting the event... After absorbing the incredible story of the greats and the remarkable genesis of the jazz art form, it’s hard not to see it as an evocation of our human need to create with others. The fact is, we can’t do without one another. What emanates from the collective creative process, no matter what the industry, discipline or art - as we improvise, feel our way, experiment, risk, call and respond - always becomes something greater, further than where we began. There are scales, standards, measures, conventions... but jazz, perhaps more than anything else, relies on free expression to stretch musical boundaries and continues to grow...as we all do. As tonight, one people joined by music, we have grown closer still. The Duke, The Count, The Empress, The Lion, Lady Day, Satch, Fats, Bird, Beans, Monk.. Jamming when they could find each other, joining, delighting in one another, playing what they wanted, the way they wanted, for the people who couldn’t normally hear them, on and on, into the wee hours... And now, every day jazz is front and center, not just music but a common language spoken by regular folk who transcended their conditions the only way any of us ever can: blending our joyful songs. Fusion is not just a style of jazz, it is the very point of participating. Just as jazz has defined a part of the American experience, John Conyers has been a seminal force every bit as powerful in permanently fixing jazz in the cultural and musical spectrum: in 1987, after some years of pushing, Congressman Conyers succeeded with an historic resolution designating jazz and its pervasive influence “as a rare and valuable national treasure...as an indigenous American music and art form...(created) through the African-American experience.” He called it a “unifying force” that fulfills the highest ideals of the republic by virtue of its “democratic cooperation within the creative process.” He intended to inspire formal documentation and archival record- keeping that any enduring cultural institution requires and deserves. That tonight we have witnessed a principal contribution in that cause owes a debt to Mr. Conyers’ fierce insistence which two years after the resolution brought funding for the Smithsonian to build an educational program beyond mere exhibits honoring jazz music. Today, the Smithsonian Jazz Master Works Orchestra performs around the country. As a direct effect of Mr. Conyers’ efforts, numerous American cities have followed suit, declaring jazz as our national treasure, commending its artists to the American musical pantheon. Major cultural arts and university programs now include jazz as part of their fine arts programs and curriculums. The Lincoln and Kennedy Centers now regularly feature jazz performances. In August, the Democratic Convention danced to the song stylings of Nancy Wilson, Kenny Burrel and Tommy Flannigan. The Lila Wallace Foundation, a major supporter, continues referring to jazz as “a national institution.” This is music to the ears of John Conyers: he loves the music, and this town loves John Conyers. Aside from a celebrated career as a leader and defender of legislative causes, he has for well over a decade included jazz concerts during each yearly Black Caucus session, helped Wynton Marcellas raise money for his “House of Swing” and continues to raise the nation’s consciousness of its jazz heritage wherever he goes, among many other initiatives he champions. Another from the same night... Like everyone else, I’ve been moved by what I’ve seen tonight and I’m excited about viewing the whole series. There are so many parallels to our daily lives in what these artists have captured and accomplished. And primarily because so many of them are attempting to capture just that: the beats and improvisational surprises and co-mingling of people from different experiences and pasts trying to communicate so that they can make something larger than themselves, something that will last. We began in almost the same year as the first jazz recordings were made, and ...(omitted) you can still hear today a seemingly discordant symphony of tapping, grinding, screeching and buzzing amidst the rhythm of jamming hammers, hums, wheezings and rumbles - the harmony of presses, stamping machines, cutters, hi-lo’s and hydraulic whatevers joining in the never-ending chorus of men and women calling to one another in the middle of making something from the raw material of life. Well over eighty years now and the song goes on, and life is better for what we have made, all of us, together. Jazz is the sound of people working, of transforming the discordant into something sensible and reassuring - that reminds us we are alive, that life is worth living, that something magical can evolve from our common enterprise. We’re all thankful to be in a place where freedom of expression is so critical to who we are as a people. We are able to envision, create and share our inventions. To celebrate jazz is to recognize how blessed we are. I am honored that I could be here with you to witness this grand achievement in film. CEO Speech at Conference... As I prepare to do that, I want you to consider something apropos to our occasion. As human beings, we tend to lump one another into groups – categorized by everything from earning potential and physical size to neighborhood, religious beliefs, skin color and choice of clothing. Shame on us, but we’re like that. We judge. Those most often singled out tend to be people in the public’s eye. We can comment openly on their questionable ethics and feel safe from challenge. We wish they would behave more honorably without having to be watched. As leaders, you and I can expect, and have sometimes known, the same sort of disapproval and resistance from others in the course of our jobs. And for occasionally unfair reasons. Which therefore makes today an extraordinary moment in the evolution of (omitted) partnership, but in the sixty and more years of our work on behalf of others. Because we are announcing not only a new way of doing business but a deeper, more personally committed beginning that will effectively erase the excuse to separate ourselves from others to criticize our peers, to create division, or to resign from participation. We will now expect leaders to remember, every day, that they are no different than the people they lead or the many strangers whose lives they impact every day. Leading by values is what you do when no one else is looking. It’s not a public posture; it’s a private matter that carries a considerable public impact. So when I say we want “results,” I don’t mean only results. In adhering to the Seven Key Leadership Behaviors, you will assure customers of care, and your cohorts a voice in how well we deliver our services and programs. I might play a different leadership role in this than you, but I have an identical responsibility. Though others may mentally assign me an arbitrary status in certain categories, for good or ill, my obligation - exactly like yours - is to lead by values if I expect you to do the same. Maybe you and I could have fudged a little and cut some corners at one time, even occasionally done half the job…that was then. This is now. I have to ask myself every day what must be done, discuss with you and others how to do it, communicate consistently, teach, coach, reinforce, monitor and followup. The objectives we have set out over the last couple years are not someone else’s problem or obligation, but one I share, as you must. We are doing it differently. We are doing it right. We don’t want the rules memorized and regurgitated but embraced and practiced. You must believe, we must all believe, that we are integral parts functioning within a noble mechanism, or else why come to work? You should examine today why are you here, in this business. Is it your vocation to serve by leading? Because the journey now crests a hill; there are new vistas to behold, but we are the same people with the same charge: to benevolently, ethically, and tirelessly help one another help others. Throughout the recent initiatives intended to help you achieve that, we have aimed for strong, creative, credible leadership. When I use the word “credible” I don’t mean to be just “believable.” By credible I mean, and this organization will ever more mean, ‘integrity.” No substitutes. We lead when we are trustworthy examples. We are consistent, and we are sensitive to our customers’ needs because we consider it a privilege. They rely on us, and we deliver. We are honorable - and therefore credible - because we have been creating and will continue to develop effective, cooperative strategies to be the best at serving. So pay close attention, because I am not asking but stating, unequivocally, that this is who we are: an organization of professionals who demonstrate exemplary behavior and open communication among themselves and on behalf of their clients. How great can you be? Ask yourself. Today. Because we have been talking about this change for a long time. Nothing about our words will seem new, but everything has changed. I know some came here today expecting mere fluff or political hokum, maybe consciousness-raising exercises or a version of a yearly company picnic. Don’t make that mistake. It’s “Show Time” folks - and that’s as true for me as it is for any of you. We don’t want merely to engage our leaders’ minds. We demand your hearts. Nothing less. Mind and heart. |
