Host: Bernhard Kerres | Duration: ~12 minutes

Ta da da dum. That's Beethoven's 5th. Everyone knows it.

But have you ever conducted it?

THE WORKSHOP:

German bank. 10 executives. 4 musicians.

Each executive conducted the opening of Beethoven's 5th.

Far outside their comfort zone—standing in front of colleagues and strangers, doing something they'd never done.

Result: Every person did it. The musicians followed their conducting—whatever speed, loudness, details they gave.

"An amazing exercise in presence and encounter. Being present with yourself, grounded in yourself, and having that encounter with four musicians."

MARTIN BUBER: I-THOU vs. I-IT (1923)

Two ways we relate:

I-It: Treat the other as object—to be used, categorized, managed. "Most of what we do every day. Necessary, but not alive."

I-Thou: Encounter the other as whole being. Full presence. Mutuality. "You are changed by the encounter and so are they."

Buber's insight: "The self exists only in relationship. You become a self through encounter, not through thinking about yourself in isolation."

When conducting:

• I-It: "Tools to make the sound I want"
• I-Thou: "Whole beings. We're creating together. I am changed by this encounter"

"The musicians know which one you're doing really quickly. So do the people you lead."

IRVIN YALOM: BEING-WITH

Psychotherapist who built on Buber's work.

His novels: When Nietzsche Wept and Schopenhauer's Cure. "He has written novels like almost nobody else. Check them out. Beautiful descriptions of encounters."

Concept: "Being-with"

Not doing TO someone. Not analyzing. Not fixing. "Just being with them in the face of difficult truths, uncertainty."

His insight: "The relationship itself is the therapy. Not the techniques, not the frameworks—the encounter."

In coaching:

"The conversation that changes someone isn't because I say something brilliant. It's because I was fully present with them and they felt it. In that presence, they could encounter something in themselves they'd been avoiding."

Light bulb moments happen in presence.

THE AI REALITY:

"AI cannot conduct Beethoven's Fifth. There's no way it ever will."

AI can: Show patterns, analyze score, tell you what to do

AI cannot:

• Stand in front of musicians watching your hands
• Feel the terror of the unknown
• Experience the moment they play because of you
• Be present to yourself while encountering others

The principle:

"Content—what AI provides brilliantly—is a qualifier. Gets us in the room. But presence and encounter, that's what wins.

That's what makes conversation go deep. That's what makes music alive. That's what makes leadership real.

You can't outsource that to AI. You have to stand there. Be present. Have the encounter."

THE INVITATION:

You won't conduct musicians this week. But you'll have conversations.

Pick one that matters. Colleague, family member, difficult conversation you've been avoiding.

Practice both:

BEFORE:

• Take a moment
• Feel into yourself: What am I feeling? Where is my fear?
• What is my body telling me?
• Breathing exercises to be present

DURING:

• Stay connected to yourself
• Notice when you perform, disconnect, or when resonance comes
• Don't treat them as I-It (problem to solve)
• Encounter them as I-Thou (whole being, togetherness)

The truth:

"Be present to yourself, encounter the other. These are intertwined. You can't have one without the other.

When you bring both, the conversation will change. Deeper. Richer. You'll learn unexpected things about yourself."

This is what those executives discovered in two minutes.

You can discover it in conversations that matter.

THIS WEEK:

Be present. Encounter the I-Thou, not the I-It.

LINKS:www.bernhardkerres.com | www.roleplays.ai

#Presence #Encounter #Buber #Yalom #Leadership