Benjamin Zander on Music and Passion

Benjamin Zander is the music director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the co-author of The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. He has an interesting perspective on leadership and success:

'The conductor of an orchestra doesn't make a sound. My picture appears on the front of the CD but the conductor doesn't make a sound. He depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful.

And that changed everything for me. It was totally life-changing. People in my orchestra came up to me and said, "Ben, what happened?" That's what happened. I realised my job was to awaken possibility in other people. And of course, I wanted to know whether I was doing that. And you know how you find out? You look at their eyes. If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it.

And, I have a definition of success. For me it's very simple. It's not about wealth and fame and power. It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.'