"West Side Story" - a real hit!

Of course, you would anticipate that I would resonate very strongly to the example of "West Side Story." Because of my musical interests, I've generally identified the success of "West Side Story" with Bernstein rather than with the virtuoso team described in the book. It was very fun to recognize "Lenny" as having a strong ego but recognizing that he had to combine with others to achieve the dream of a truly transformative musical. I was also fascinated by the authors' assertion that "West Side Story" changed the face of Broadway. I had not really recognized that pivotal role.

By the way, if you want to go to the library to pick up a very interesting piece of music, pick up Bernstein's "Mass." The "Mass" was written for the opening of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in D.C. and was obviously a reflection on the life of JFK. Since Bernstein was Jewish, writing a Catholic "Mass" for someone who he admired deeply was quite interesting. The "Mass" pushes all the buttons you can imagine and then some. Check it out to see what you think. I digress...

I agree with the analysis of the rest of you that Allerton was wonderful but doesn't really qualify for a full virtuoso team as defined in this book. One of the things I think we did very well was to experience the week all in our own ways. We gave each other the room to express, to agree or disagree, and to forge ahead the best way we knew how. We had to act in a number of instances and the action we took wasn't necessarily perfect but it was a response in the moment with every best idea and instinct we had available to us.

The question of how to handle strong egos and how to encourage everyone to give everything they have to the work is one of the most interesting to me. With the challenges we have in the world, we need everyone to come to the table to offer every idea they can imagine. Then we need to sort it all out to determine the course of action most likely to be effective. As Tom indicated, it's very hard just to assemble the best talent. Do we really have the option to wait for the high-performing team, can we really ask all to keep their egos in check, in order to achieve break-through goals?

I've begun the next chapter on the creation of the atom bomb. Are others of you ready to move on to a couple more examples?