Cerebra

Recently (a fellow Cerebran) and myself visited the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra as a team building exercise. While listening to the music I started thinking how Cerebra is like an orchestra.

It all starts with the composer
What do Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss and have in common? A bunch of composers and then John, Cerebra’s strategist … I promise it isn’t a riddle.

These guys are in fact the visionaries, writing the sheet music, imagining what the instruments sound like and then putting pen to paper. They create the magic and vision for the rest of the team to follow. They lead our thinking and understanding of what is required, from which instruments are needed and what they need to do, when.

Let the performance start
Once the sheet music is done, the orchestra gets to do their bit; bring the piece of music to life. They are the performers, the ones who provide the music for the audience to appreciate and get lost in. In Cerebra’s world, these are our content and community co-ordinators and managers, the guys and girls who take the strategy and implement it. They are the ones who essentially connect with the audience, and create the story.

The conductor steps in
I imagine the account manager’s role is like that of the conductor in our story. Conductors make sure that the composer’s vision is still evident and that the orchestra stays true to it. They need to ensure that each instrument does its part and that the goal set by the composer isn’t lost, but giving the orchestra enough freedom in their performance. Throughout this, his or her most important task is to be able to single out each instrument, while listening to the collective play.

Although everyone in an orchestra has their own very specific role, everyone plays a very crucial part in the performance. If one element or instrument is missing or out of tune, then the performance is not up to standard. Even if the audience doesn’t realise this, when they finally do hear the perfect collaboration, they will never forget it.

I’m sure this is not the first time this analogy has been used, and it could easily explain any corporate or business structure, but at that moment, while listening to a piece by Mendelssohn it just made sense to me. How we all work and fit together.

How lucky am I? I get to work with and learn from composers, conductors and orchestra members on a daily basis. The content team, account managers, and strategists that I get to learn from add their very own unique story to what we do as a company, and that is phenomenal. Let the music begin.

(By the way, I suggest everyone support the JPO and attend. You will be blown away by their awesomeness.)