You never know where you’ll get your next great management inspiration. Case in point:  A recent issue of Fortune magazine featured New York Philharmonic Conductor Alan Gilbert – not for his music, but for his effective leadership since taking the post in 2007.What could Alan Gilbert possibly have to offer on the topic of optimizing sales performance? Quite a lot, actually.

Gilbert manages a large group of highly talented, passionate performers (the NY Philharmonic and associated staff number over a hundred), in a demanding environment (“if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere”) and he’s following in the footsteps of some pretty big names (Leonard Bernstein, Gustav Mahler). He took over the orchestra at the relatively young age of 44 and faced a huge sales leadership challenge:  How to win over the musicians, as well as tough New York customers, without missing a beat?

As it happens, he did it with some smart sales management principles, many of which are staples of Carew leadership training programs. I was particularly satisfied by the role of communication in his leadership success. Read the entire Fortune article for insights on orchestrating the best performance from your team.