World Economic Forum

Shining eyes, radiating possibilities

Alec Hogg witnesses a Davos rarity – a presentation where one man moves 300 leaders to tears.

The Congress Centre in Davos empties quickly. As the sprawling complex is hired by the day, it pays organisers to rapidly remove their structures. The disassembling started hours before Sunday's final gatherings at the annual World Economic Forum meetings. 

Aided by after -effects of Saturday night's gala soiree, most Weffers - as the locals call the World Economic Forum delegates - give this last morning a miss.  To have done so this year was a mistake.

The final session of Davos 2008 went by the innocuous title of Orchestrating Collaboration. It was presented by an unfamiliar name to most in business, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Benjamin Zander.

Yet well before hour-long had ended, this wild haired 68 year-old musical genius had a hard bitten audience crying a veritable river of tears.

Zander has long been a giant among those who are intimate with classical music. A composer since the age of nine, he plays brilliantly, is an extraordinary teacher and conducts even better. But for the 97% who live outside that rarefied group of classicos, Zander's is a name you might recognise, but can't always remember why. You may have heard someone talk about his brilliance. But as he's not called Gates, Welch or Buffett, for most occupants of the boardroom any mention has likely washed off five minutes later.

But for many of those 300 business and political leaders who went back to the Congress Centre for a last bite of Davos 2008, Zander's presentation was a highlight of the five days in this snow topped winter wonderland.  The conductor calls himself a teacher. He also believes classical music is for everyone, not just the 3%. And it's part of his life's work to prove his view that those who have not yet become entranced are that way simply because they have not been properly exposed to the beauty.

Zander promised to convert his audience in 11 minutes. And by tinkling the ivories to a piece by Chopin, triggering some emotions and providing enlightening commentary, the mission was accomplished well ahead of deadline. All around me eyes were shining, tears streaming down usually clenched faces. By the end of the session Zander had this unlikely choir bellowing out Beethoven's Ode to Joy - in German to boot.

Although there wasn't a single question or response, the way Zander achieved a closer engagement with his audience than anything I've seen in a quarter century of attending conferences, seminars and talks. He does it through a combination of fun, sharing and music. By the end of it you feel you know this man. And yourself better too.

Fathered by an Auschwitz survivor who was blind for the last 12 years of a long life, Zander says he was taught early to consider the alternative side of life. Despite a host of challenges thrown at him, his father never uttered a complaint: "For him there was no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing."

Perhaps because his own ambition lifted him to such exalted status at an early age, it took Zander the first 45 years of his life - and two failed marriages - to realise the seemingly obvious fact that the conductor of an orchestra doesn't make a sound. Only at this point in his life, he says, did he discover: "My job is to make members of the orchestra play as beautifully as they can. I asked myself:  Who am I being that my players' eyes were not shining?"

Zander the teacher soon kicks in. He explains to nodding heads why it is that we're entering a totally new world, one where "the next 30 years are going to be the most exciting time in history." He believes this will be an era when the inter-connectivity of mankind will challenge everything we've been taught.  And require some dramatic changes in thinking.

One of the best tools for those struggling to deal with such pressures is his regularly referred to Rule #6: Don't take yourself so goddam seriously! And then, perhaps because he was addressing so many left-brainers, he explained in simple terms how command and control words like should; ought; blame; threat; need and want; should be replaced by how about?;  what about?; requests and apologies.

It's a switch, Zander says, from the game of success or failure and the continuous downward spiral, to one of making a contribution and "radiating possibilities". That's the way, he reckons, to get employees to drop the empty look and reflect those "shining eyes". By the way, Rule #6 is the only one in Zander's book - numbers one to five, he says, don't exist.

Interestingly, the "shining eyes" description came up elsewhere in Davos this past week, in a different but not entirely unrelated context. In the session focusing on what were likely to be tomorrow's winning countries, Sberbank CEO Herman Graf related to a recent trip to Vietnam where he did his usual practice of walking through the streets to get a better feel.

Says Gref, who served as Russian trade and economic minister from 2000 to 2007 before taking the reins at what is now a leading global bank: "There are so many young people in Vietnam. I saw these young people with shining eyes. That's where you should invest. Where people's eyes are shining, it's because they want to be leaders. And they will be."

It's impossible to do justice to Zander in a few hundred words. But if you're sufficiently intrigued and don't have a concert in Boston on your next year's schedule, next best could be to read the book he co-authored with wife Roz called The Art of Possibility. After seeing him in action, it's certainly on my must-have list.

Something else which will resonate deeply with South Africans is Zander's huge admiration for the nation's greatest son, Nelson Mandela, whom he regularly referred to in Davos. Particularly when it came to vision using the example of how Madiba stayed true to his dream of a liberated, inclusive South Africa by refusing the offer to walk free after 15 years (which meant 12 more behind bars).

Zander is a fairly frequent visitor to South Africa. Apart from an obvious affinity for the Rainbow Nation, he has also been "discovered" by corporates who bring him over to help articulate visions and share ideas on the New Age manager. Occasionally outsiders are invited. Should you happen upon the opportunity, grab it. After putting his ideas to the test, who knows how many shining eyes might soon greet you at the office?

* Alec Hogg is Moneyweb's editor-in-chief. He hosts the Moneyweb Power Hour on Radio 2000 weeknights between 6pm and 7pm (rebroadcast in Johannesburg on Radio Today 1485AM between 7pm and 8pm); and Power Lunch with Moneyweb on CNBC Africa TV between 12:30pm and 1pm weekdays. To have Boardroom Talk sent weekly to your inbox, subscribe at /mw/view/mw/en/page97

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