Jim Greiner's Corporate, Conference
& Community Drumming Blog

Rhythm: The Universal Language

The young software designer from India looked across our circle of drummers at his colleague from northern Europe, grinned broadly and exclaimed, “I loved the part you were playing, so I copied it. It was so very easy for me to play!”

The other fellow looked surprised, laughed and said, “I thought I copied it from you!”

This exchange happend during my Comments & Observations session that was part of a drumming program I did in the 1980’s for a young software company... later to become one of the world’s largest. 

I had been brought in to do an icebreaking and teambuilding  program for a group of software engineers from Asia, Europe, India and North America who would be working on a project together. They all spoke fluent English, however the organizers knew that the different work styles and cultural expectations among team members might slow down their creative process.
 
My client's goal for me was to help the participants quickly create a unified group culture of communication and cooperation that transcended their deeply-ingrained cultural differences.

In addition to the instruments I always provide for these programs, I also brought in percussion instruments that were found in the home cultures of all the participants.  During my brief demonstration of these instruments, I pointed out that, even though they differed in details, they all shared very fundamental principles of design and playing techniques.  In this way I demonstrated, in an immediate, down-to-earth way, the universal, cross-cultual connections that already existed among the group members. 

I then facilitated the group's creation of their own unique rhythm.  As we played together, I helped them to learn how to recognize and support each other's talents, personalites and creativity.
 
Together, we built pattern upon pattern as we went on our rhythmic journey. By the end of the 90-minute session the participants had created their own unique culture, values, process and support system... their own Group Groove... while also releasing stress and having fun together!
 
Some of the other revelations that they shared during our C & O segments included:

-“When I stopped tryng too hard to make something up, and just listened to the rhythm, it was easy to find something to play!”
-“If I got off the rhythm, I was able to get back on when I listened to what others were playing!”
-“I would lose the rhythm when I played too many notes, but I would find it again when I kept my part simple and just played with everyone else!”
-"I always thought that I don't have any rhythm.  I wonder what else I can do that I just keep myself from doing."

Group drumming, when done in a focused and purposeful way, is a conversation.  It's such a great builder of communication skills because the same core principles and the same core skills apply to both drumming and to productive conversations.  These include:

-actively listening to other group members with open ears, open minds and open hearts
-expressing ourselves clearly with positive intentions
-responding to what other people contribute, not to our own inner conversations
-leaving space for other people to contribute
-willingly engaging together to share our ideas, our questions and our personalities

 Corporate Rhythms: Responding To Challenges

The following is an excerpt from an interview about my corporate drum programs that Making Music Magazine did with me for their feature In The Company Of Drums.

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"Greiner has had his fair share of challenges when organizing circles. ... the versatility of drums enables him to turn them into memorable teaching moments.

'The restaurant chain Chipotle once asked me to do a team-building, motivational program for 160 managers,' says Greiner. The program took place in a room above an upscale hotel restaurant that was serving a late lunch. The hotel Sales & Catering manager was concerned that we might disturb the restaurant patrons with our drumming.

'So Greiner turned to a low-volume version of his drum program, using 10-inch frame drums and maracas  (small shakers).

'I used the low-volume requirement as a practical way to show how the Chipotle managers could train their staffs to deal with fast-paced operations while maintaining an atmosphere of tranquility for their patrons.', stated Mr. Greiner."

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The fast-paced tempo of our contemporary professional lives often requires that we be able to quickly adapt to challenges, such as the understandable concern of this meeting planner. When we have solid group rhythms in place, fundamental principles and processes that we follow and reinforce on a daily basis, we are able to quickly and effectively respond to these challenges.

For example, the fundamental principles of my corporate drumming programs never change. They include the universal nature of creating and reinforcing productive group rhythms that are based on the real-world life skills of communicating, cooperating and celebrating. I then adapt these fundamentals to serve the goals and themes of each of the groups with which I work.

Successful sports teams are often described as being “in a groove” together. This Groove allows the team to instantly adapt to, and take advantage of, the fluid, quickly-changing nature of each game. This Groove does not come about by accident; it is the result of the consistent, purposeful repetition of the core principles, skills and values of the activity, and of the group, every day. This is true of any group, whether it be a corporate group any place worldwide, a village in Africa, or a family!

Leadership: Feeling The Pulse Of Your Group

The following is an excerpt from an interview with one of my clients, Robert Kramer, the President of Visionary Strategic Consulting. Judy Plummer, of Liquid Communications Group, did the interview:

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"I was a participant in one of Jim Greiner's programs at the Center for Creative Leadership - the premier institute for leadership. It was one of the most extradordinary experiences I've ever had!

I teach leaders, and I wanted to expose my clients to Jim. Leaders need to be in tune with the pulse beats of their people, bring them together and work with them to develop synchronization and a rhythm. 

Jim's program caused a transformation to take place. He imparts great wisdom to others, and provides an experience that has meaning and worth. Several years later, my clients are still talking about Jim's program. It had a searing impact on mind and spirit. After the first program, we flew Jim out to Denver (for a national conference of the group). I got accolades for recommending him! I haven't found anybody else who even comes close to Jim."

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Thank you Robert... I could not have described Leadership better myself!

The pulse of the group, it’s rhythm, is the fundamental way in which the group members perform their individual jobs, as well as the process in place that determines how they interact with each other on both a daily basis, and when responding to challenges.

Effective group leaders know the rhythms of their people and of the group... what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what to expect from them. With this knowledge, and with the realization of the importance of this knowledge, leaders are able to reinforce positive habits (productive rhythms) and help their group members to change bad habits into good habits. 

Group leaders are like orchestra conductors who bring all the individual musicians and their instruments together to make beautiful music!

Drumming And The Three Core Principles Of All Thriving Communities

During my four decades of worldwide drumming travels, including two years in Africa, I was again and again struck with the profoundly fundamental way in which group drumming reinforces community bonds and uplifts community members.

When I began conducting community drumming activities of my own in the early 80's, I examined more closely how and why group drumming is such an age-old, universally-practiced community-building activity. 

I realized that purpose-driven group drumming reinforced, in a lively and enduring way, the underlying principles that all thriving communities had in common.  I call these, the Three C's Of Community:

*Communicating *Cooperating *Celebrating

*Communicating: Focused group drumming builds listening and verbal skills. We can hear, and feel, the powerful group rhythm we create when we actively listen to each other with open ears, open minds and open hearts, and when we respond to each other (not at each other) in articulate, positive ways. This creates an active exchange of information and ideas.

*Cooperating: Effective collaboration requires committing ourselves to working together toward shared goals.  In drumming, we each play parts that fit together to create the group rhythm.  In life, we do this by creating ongoing patterns of action... life rhythms... that reinforce our willingness, and the skills we need, to engage together completely, without hesitation. The group rhythm then supports and encourages group members to take risks and to be creative.

*Celebrating: The best way to celebrate the blessing that is Life is to live Life completely, and to engage with others in a spirit of celebrating these blessings together.  Living Life with an upbeat, can-do attitude, as individuals and as groups, is a skill that is reinforced when we play together!