The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Where different people – often from different backgrounds and disciplines – just know how to work together.

I don’t mean in terms of their craft. Or understanding the process as to how things work. But in terms of being on the same wavelength of the people around them and respecting what each other does and what they need to do to help them be as good as they can be.

I don’t mean some corporate ‘kum-ba-ya’… where everyone is superficially polite to each other so as not to offend. I mean a group of talented people coming together with the same values and vision. Who know the importance everyone brings to the party. Who have such regard for the abilities of each individual, they are equally as comfortable pushing, provoking as they are listening and encouraging. Where everyone is given the space to experiment and explore … because everyone respects who they are, what they do and how they do it.

It’s also worth pointing out that there tends to be one person who ignites it all.

Someone who you all respect that little bit more.

Not for what they’ve done, but for how they think.

So they act as some catalyst to make everyone come together.
To be better together.
To want to be better for each other.
Elevating standards, ambitions and possibilities simply because of their presence.

It’s rare.

Very rare.

That’s not to say every time in-between is bad or fractious … far from it … it’s just that sometimes, a certain combination of people just click in a way where the capabilities of what can happen and be achieved are greater than when you’re apart.

In my professional life, I’ve had 4 occasions where this has happened … though I didn’t really realise it with 2 of them, until they had ended.

And it tends to end … because life has plans for each and everyone of us, so you accept it, enjoy it and hope something like it will happen again.

In the main, if it does happen again, it’s rarely with the same people.

I’m not sure why …

Changing times.
A change of personal circumstances.
A pressure to make it happen rather than it just happening.

Not always, but often.

I say all this because I recently watched an interview with ‘The Revolution’ … the backing band for Prince from ’79 to ’86.

Though ‘backing’ isn’t the right term … because even though they played Prince’s songs, Prince valued what they all brought to them.

But that said, they haven’t played together in decades.

They are all at different points and places in their life.

But there is a bond. Bound by history, experience and the realisation that what they did together – albeit with ‘the master chef’, Prince – became immortal.

Not in an egotistical way.
Not even in a sales of record way.
But in terms of the intensity of what they created as individuals, to elevate the whole.

Different people.
Different backgrounds.
Same chemistry, values and vision.

If you are lucky to find this, hold on for as long as you can.