The pianist and the little boy

 

There is a story told of the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski. It perfectly highlights the power of teamwork and our dependence on each other.

A mother, who wanted to encourage her young son to continue playing the piano, bought tickets and took her son to a performance of the great pianist Ignace Paderewski.

They took their seats near the front of the concert hall the evening of the performance and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage for the great pianist to begin.

Soon the mother found an old friend to talk to and didn’t notice that her boy had slipped away.

On the hour the lights in the hall began to dim and the spotlights came on. It was at that moment the little boy’s mother noticed him up on piano bench hammering out “Chopsticks.”

She was shocked and embarrassed, but it was too late to hurry up and get him as the Master of the night appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard where her little boy was focused in on his own masterpiece.

Paderewski gently whispered to the boy, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Leaning over, he reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the boy and improvised a delightful enhanced melody.

Together, the old master and the young beginning pianist mesmerized the audience with their blended and beautiful music.

Teams kind of work this way don’t they?

The novice to the expert on great teams work together to accomplish extraordinary things. There is little of what we do on teams that doesn’t require some type of help from someone. We can’t succeed without the help of others. Whether that is depending on someone to complete something for you, asking for a hand on something, asking a question, or simply working together – we need each other on teams!