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Growth and collaboration in tech
The following questions are top of mind for contemporary musicians and composers, and resonate in the context of technology development. Each quote below was mentioned during a talk or conversation at the recent New Music Gathering in SF.

As you read the questions, think about these topics in the context of your own work in the technology industry, and share your thoughts based on personal experience. If there is a topic you’d like to discuss in depth, click the checkbox and I’ll reach out to you directly. Feel free to skip questions that are not interesting or relevant to you. You can also modify your answers once they have been submitted.

Your responses may be used in a series of articles I am writing for newmusicbox.org. You can set your anonymity below.

If you have questions about this survey, drop me a note at shaya@livemusicproject.org

Thank you!
Shaya
1. How do we grow?
Overheard: “The hardest thing for smart self-starters to do is to look for unknown things."
How do you get better at what you do? How do you put yourself in a position to discover and learn about new ideas, technologies, practices? How do you get outside your comfort zone? (For example, scheduling time to read or attending Meetups)
2. How do we collaborate?
Overheard: “We are not competing for audiences. We are creating audiences. It’s the same with grant money… we are breaking ground for others. The rising tide is lifting all boats."
Being open about new ideas and projects can lead to groundbreaking collaborations and speedier technological progress, but secrecy also plays a major role in the development of new technology. How do you successfully balance collaboration and privacy? Looking back, have you ever chosen the wrong route? Or the perfectly right one?
3. How do we use our brands/products to build community?
Overheard: “Community is the people you identify with.”
How do you encourage your users to engage each other (virtually or in person)? Tell of a time when you successfully built a cohesive community of like-minded people around your brand or product.
4. How do our organizations make decisions?
Overheard: “We didn't want an autocracy (artistic director telling everyone what to do). Not a democracy (hard to make quick decisions). Not a consensus (leads to mediocrity). We chose a 'strong executive' model. The 2 directors are empowered to make the decisions, entrusted with getting input from the others.”
What are some of the best ways in which your team or organization has made a decision that impacted the entire group?
5. How do we get things done when there aren’t enough people to do it all?
Overheard: “We empowered the musicians within our organization to take on responsibility for aspects of the business, rather than hire outside staff. It made us better than ever: productive, cohesive.”
When resources are low, how do you fill manpower gaps to get things done?
6. How do we wear our hats?
Overheard: "I’m a musician, but I learned PHP because that's what needed to get done."
In our world of many hats, what’s the strangest hat you’ve worn? What made it strange?
7. How do we build trust?
Overheard: “People don't need to know the name of who's playing; they trust the brand, the festival name, and they'll come to any concert we produce.”
Have you created a product, service or company that people trust without hesitation, return to again and again? What do you think led to that trust?
8. How do we choose our technologies?
Overheard: "Musical works can become obsolete when the notation software becomes obsolete." "There are often multiple ways to make the same digital sound. Some may be more intuitive than others."
What is the hardest thing about deciding which technologies will ultimately be used to build/support your product?
9. How do we get paid?
Overheard: "Day job..." "...day job..." "...day job."
 If you’ve started a company of your own, how did you support yourself at the beginning, and how did you decide on that financial strategy? (For example: day job, investors, savings, capital from a previous venture, grants, crowdfunding)
10. Anything else?
Add your own question(s) here!
11. Miscellany
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