A few years back, I began the process of collecting vinyl records. Initially, I was just interested in supporting a local business and hanging out in a pretty cool place listening to some awesome music, but as time went on, I really began to develop an affinity for music on records. I have a pretty eclectic taste and if you were to scroll through my Amazon Music account, you would notice that at any given time I am switching back and forth between modern, alternative, hip-hop, oldies, arena rock, country, and everything in between. While I enjoy the change up, trying to develop a digital playlist with someone else is exhausting because I am all over the spectrum in my music tastes. Records, however, are a different game. With records, there is work to be done and you are actively engaged in the process of listening to the music. You have to make sure they are clean, that the needle on your player is working, and you have to be ready to switch sides when the music is over. While you are doing this, you can actively engage in the process of looking at the artwork on the album itself and you can actually have the lyrics in your hand if the record company provided them for you. Overall, playing and listening to records is a visceral experience that consumes you and connects you to the music itself. It's an experience that forces you to slow down, focus, and engage. While it may seem like a lot of work, it's worth it.
Modern technology appeals to everyone because of the instant gratification that it provides. In the case of music, if you don't like what you are hearing, you can simply skip the song track and move on to the next one. You can create playlists that appeal to your specific tastes and stream songs nonstop that are sure to be music to your ears. That isn't the case with records. If you want to skip a song, you have to get up and physically engage with the record player. You have to eyeball and make sure the needle on the record player hits the right groove so you can go on to the next song. It may sound tedious, but it is the price you pay for wanting to hear the music that you like, but again, it's totally worth it.
One might wonder why anyone would want to go through the process of messing around with records in the first place since technology has made it so you don't have to put all the work into it, but the reality is that listening to records is very similar to our professional lives. Sure, technology has made it easier to do our work, but as my parents taught me, there is no substitute for a little hard work. Just because something is easier, doesn't make it better. It means it is different. Each of us has our own preferences for how we like to go about our work and we develop routines and procedures that work for us. Where we run into difficulties is when we impose our own methods on others and expect them to adapt to how we do it because it is our preference. While this may be our preference for doing things, it certainly is not universal because everyone has to figure out their own process and what works for them.
Great organizational cultures are built upon the foundation that we accept people for who they are and how they do their work. People in these cultures understand that others learn in their own way and time and are a unique part of the collective whole. In terms of vinyl records, the people in our cultures are the clicks, pops, and white noise that make up the beauty of the listening experience. While it is certainly not the same as digitally remastered music that is crisp and clean to the ear, it is nonetheless, a work of art that has its own unique sound and story. If we can take the time to invest in building cultures like these, we may just gain a better appreciation for the work it takes to create this beautiful symphony of music and engage in the process of maintaining it for long periods of time. At the end of the day, we just need to realize that the time and energy it takes is worth it.
#OwnYourEpic
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