Being Rhythmic

Rhythm is important in life. In fact, rhythm is life itself. The heart pumps in rhythm. Blood flows in rhythm. Sinews move in rhythm. Love is made in rhythm. In my family, rhythm is important. We are in business, but we are also musical, even the littlest nephew. As most children, my nieces and nephews move instinctively, improvise spontaneously, sing innately, create automatically, innovate instantly, doodle naturally, and learn intuitively. Rhythm, which is aligned with passion and variance (our heart beat, for example, varies depending on our passion or lack thereof) can assist us at any age. Listen.


Rhythm is the stuff of life and music; it is also the stuff of business. In music, time signatures refer to the beats per measure in a composition; time signatures could be looked at as part of the overall architecture of the piece. As composers or arrangers look at the composition of a symphony or jazz piece, so might a consultant, for example, look at the overall architecture of a change management process. Timing factors in each significantly as does passion and variance.

The tempos of each phrase or riff are as equally important as time signatures. Whereas time signatures determine beats, tempos determine speed. In business, the question of both timing and speed is important. Consultants consider the time and speed when moving forward with a change management process and its multi-layered phases. Tempos decide pace. Should we speed up? Should we slow down? Should we swing it? Should we rock it?

How can we recapture the rhythm of our youth?