Tim Sharp

In my October 18 ChoralBlog "Innovation is 'In'", one of the points I stressed was   *Innovators are connected–they know where to find and get help, and they flourish in cultures that encourage collaboration. In a recent Harvard Business Review "Management Tip of the Day", the editors do a little unpacking of the old adage, […]

The muscle of ACDA comes from our volunteer membership. Our success as an association depends on the voluntary acts of our membership. I am certain the same is true for the choirs and organizations of most of our professional membership–we succeed in our choral mission and work, based upon the efforts of volunteers.   However, […]

It is appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the state of our American Choral Directors Association as I begin my fourth year as ACDA’s third Executive Director. The following information goes so far beyond the definition of a "blog", all I can say is, pour yourself a cup of tea, coffee, or prepare […]

It seems it is once again cool to innovate, and I am pleased to see the trend. Perhaps it is because of the great hope that our current innovators are bringing to us that makes it such a hot topic, but whatever the reason, "thank you" to Steve Jobs and to all the other dreamers […]

This fall I have been particularly attentive to team-building. As I observe my daughter's varsity women's volleyball team move from a group of skilled players in their pre-season play, to becoming an actual functioning team in their current conference competitions, I have applied some of the concepts observed to my work at team building in […]

Two publications recently caught my attention related to the concept of learning from mistakes. In a September 14 New York Times article entitled “What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?”, Paul Tough references the work of David Levin, co-founder of the KIPP network of charter schools, who spent years investigating how to provide lessons […]