Blog
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Rotation and the Taubman Approach to Piano Playing
I’ve recently read alot about Dorothy Taubman and her approach to piano playing. There is one often cited controversy, the topic of rotation. To make matters worse, they come in two flavours: single and double rotations, and there is an extensive debate on whether double rotations do even exist, or if all the approach is even snake oil. I’m convinced it is at the basis of good technique, but I want to take a different approach at illustrating some things. And use different terms that may be more familiar to somebody who feels uncomfortable with the terms used by the Golandsky Institute.
Posted , Author Dana Stoll
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Ghost Story
Thank you for writing me. No, seriously. All you ever want to do is read, read, read. I am not a story to be read, I am one you write. How that’s supposed to work? Easy. I will guide you through it. In the end, you will probably have problems to stop writing it. Please do take a pen and paper, then let’s proceed.
Disclaimer: If you have experienced trauma or are working with a psychologist, then please don’t. Trigger warning. To the rest, enjoy the ride.
Posted , Author Dana Stoll
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T'Mir's Green Blood
A sharp pain stung T’Mir’s hand. Her operating knife had accidentally pierced her latex glove and epidermis. Clenching a fist, she tried to hide the green blood that was oozing out of her wound. From the other side of the table in the 1965 Pennsylvanian operating room, the chief surgeon was sternly staring into her eyes.
Ten years after leaving her Vulcan crew member Mistral behind on Earth, …
Posted , Author Dana Stoll
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The two links between servant-leadership and agile mindset: agency and values
Many attempts at a definition of servant-leadership have been made. Whereas one big problem in organisations nowadays is the question whether leaders should be turned into servants, Greenleaf’s original work took the complementary perspective of the servant as a leader (1977). Although servant-leadership descriptions display typical transformational qualities, i.e., transforming the team into ever better versions of itself, it is sometimes separated in that it shifts attention from the organisational objectives and processes towards the people (Dutta & Khatri, 2017), or takes an indirect approach at achieving organisational objectives through development (and service to) the people (Hall, 1991, Northhouse, 2004, Stone et al., 2004). Servant-Leadership is frequently mentioned in the context of agile methodology and an agile mindset. The connection between the three terms deserves closer examination. Within the multitude of explanation approaches, two links emerge between servant-leadership and the agile mindset: the focus on individual agency and being based on principles, values, and beliefs.
Posted , Author Dana Stoll
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How Hierarchical Decisions Kill Initiative
Here’s a small situational analysis that came up in a game, but so reminded me of what is wrong with our businesses.
Assume you’re in a roleplay game. Assume you have an armada of spaceships. That armada flies in groups. One squad of destroyers, one squad of big tanky battleships, one squad of support ships. They fly missions. You join a couple of these missions in different squads and observe that there is one important ingredient missing: teamwork.
Posted , Author Dana Stoll