Innovating Out of a Crisis feat. Professor Scott Sonenshein & John Mangum

Season 4, Episode 16
Eager to learn how organizations can innovate their way out of a crisis? You may be surprised that the key to this comes from an arts organization.
Tune into a special live recording of our podcast, with John Mangum, the executive director/CEO of the Houston Symphony, and Scott Sonenshein, the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management - Organizational Behavior at Rice Business.
During the pandemic, the performing arts faced an especially grave challenge beyond the shared difficulties with other industries: an existential crisis over the relevance of arts in times of extreme hardship.
Professor Scott Sonenshein, a New York Times bestselling author and expert on how employees can create organizational, social and personal change, led a multi-year study of two prominent orchestras (including the Houston Symphony), resulting in a surprising insight with far-reaching applications. Resourcefulness is not just helpful for surviving adversity. It’s a strategic framework that enables organizations to become better versions of themselves.
In this conversation, John and Scott reflect on how the Houston Symphony transformed their operations and performance delivery during the pandemic, and how business leaders facing disruptions can benefit from critical changes Scott’s research uncovered.
Following their conversation, musicians from the Houston Symphony perform Fanny Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E-flat major, illustrating the Symphony's commitment to diversity and exploration in music.
Thank you to our guests, Scott and John, our host, Maya Pomroy '22, Vicky Dominguez, Alex Soares, and the musicians. Special thanks to Dean Peter Rodriguez for his introduction and the Shepherd School of Music for sharing their beautiful space for this event.
Musicians:
MuChen Hsieh '17, violin
Amy Semes '19, violin
Wei Jiang, viola
Jeremy Kreutz '20, cello
Episode Guide:
00:36 Exploring resilience and innovation at the Houston Symphony
05:16 Deep dive into Scott Sonenshein's research on organizational change
10:42 The Houston Symphony's pandemic response and innovation
26:30 Leadership, trust, and the future of the Houston Symphony
37:26 Closing remarks
40:16 Fanny Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E-flat major
Show links:
Scott's study: business.rice.edu/wisdom/feat...
Houston Symphony: houstonsymphony.org/
Owl Have You Know: business.rice.edu/podcast
Guest Profiles:
Scott Sonenshein: business.rice.edu/person/scot...
John Mangum: business.rice.edu/person/john...
#RiceBusiness #HoustonSymphony #podcast #leadership #insights
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