The Dictatorship...how to conquer...nicely.

While the word Dictatorship sounds harsh, the context in which I am presenting it is more on the level of an owner of a business, not a CEO type, but a true owner of a business. In most of the bands I have been in the most effective method was when the person with the passion behind the project, was the soel voice in final decisions. I have been both the leader and the follower, and as long as everyone knows their role going into it, there is often far less tension and creative differences than the Collective approach (more on that tomorrow).

Briefly some of the up sides

1. Things get done fast
2. Few hands in the creative cooking pot for final decisions
3. Allocating tasks is centralized

Some of the downsides

1. Over time the tendency to want input will arise from the unofficial collective
2. Burden of cost falls on the dictactor
3. A lazy dictactor means a waste of time for everybody

One thing I focus on as a dictator is to value the opinions of the musicians around me. Realizing peoples strengths and using those strengths, while muting the weaknesses by not calling on them, can really help guide a creative process. I have surrounded myself with people I trust to contribute things that I am unable to contribute, and thus my vision becomes stronger by managing the process and guiding the unofficial collective. On the flip side if someone brings their chaos into the mix, it is real easy as a dictator to remove the problem.

This concept really only seems to work when you as a musician really want to drive the project, and everyone else really wants to only be involved as a musician, not a band member.