Sona Hovhannisyan, a successful entrepreneur, draws a parallel between her professional evolution and the fundamental principles of management. In her talk “All I Know About Management Is Music”, she conceptualizes the law of communicating vessels as a business model, where investing in the development of one skill or competency creates a synergistic effect and raises the overall level of effectiveness across all areas of activity. Leadership is not about dominance, but about serving a common purpose, where the leader acts as a conduit, harmonizing the interests of all stakeholders. In her address, Sona deconstructs her many-year experience as a musician, extracting from it practical management tools: mastering multitasking under stress, systematically applying feedback for growth, and leveraging healthy competition as a driver of innovation.

Coherent exposition of the talk

1. Introduction and the Central Metaphor. The speech of Sona Hovhannisyan begins with a presentation of a personal transformation story, based on the idea of the physical law of communicating vessels. This law serves as the central metaphor, illustrating how effort in one sphere of life levels out and manifests in other interconnected areas.

2. The Law of Communicating Vessels. The essence of the law is explained as follows: if you pour liquid into one vessel in a system, it settles at the same level in all vessels, despite their different shapes and volumes. This happens because they are connected at the base, symbolizing the interconnection of various aspects of our lives.

3. Applying the Metaphor to Life. Sona Hovhannisyan proposes to use herself as an example of how this law works in everyday life. She invites the audience to adopt this idea and share it further if they find it valuable.

4. Irony in the Talk’s Title. The title of the talk — “All I Know About Management Is Music” — is presented as an example of a “sexappeal” title. It sets the tone for a narrative connecting seemingly distant spheres.

5. First Music Lesson: Multitasking and Stress Management. At her very first music lesson in childhood, contrary to expectations of learning notes, Sona was mastering multitasking and stress management. It required simultaneous control over posture, breathing, hand movement, and the production of correct notes and rhythm.

6. Second Lesson: Perseverance. Continuing lessons after a difficult first experience became a lesson in perseverance. This skill formed when childhood expectations of quick success collided with the reality of complex basic concepts requiring practice.

7. The Duality of Result. Achieving the first results through perseverance is often accompanied by fatigue, which hinders the enjoyment of success. It is at such a moment that the teacher applied a classic management technique of motivation.

8. Motivation Through Challenge. The teacher, seeing the risk of quitting lessons, manipulatively offered a “real challenge” instead of simple praise. This technique, familiar to many managers, provoked in the child a willingness to accept it.

9. The Trial of Public Performance. The new challenge became the first solo performance on stage at the age of 7 in front of more than a hundred people. This caused severe stress, similar to the anxiety of speaking on a conference stage.

10. Gaining Confidence Through Experience. The ability to perform in front of a large audience was formed thanks to the repeated experience of similar situations from the age of six. The speaker calls this the best public speaking training program in her life.

11. The Power of Feedback. After the performance, the teacher’s first reaction was not only congratulations but also constructive criticism about what could be played better. Initial offense and disappointment later gave way to an understanding of the value of such feedback for growth.

12. Encountering Competition. Upon hearing the brilliant performance of another young pianist, the speaker realized the existence of competition. This became an incentive for development, not a reason for dramatic actions.

13. Healthy Competition as an Engine of Uniqueness. Competition in art forces one to seek one’s own, unique way of interpreting even well-known works. This teaches that being different is not just permissible but necessary for survival and success.

14. Developing Empathy and Communication. Musical practice develops empathy and communication skills, for example, with neighbors. In a broader sense, the performer learns to feel and reconcile the interests of different “stakeholders”: the audience, the composer, and oneself.

15. The Role of Mediator and Unifier. The musician acts as a facilitator who must bring the audience, the composer, and themselves to a shared understanding and emotional state through music. This is a complex task of unifying different perspectives.

16. The Main Lesson: Letting Go of Ego and Serving. The culminating moment in a musician’s life is the ability to forget about their ego, fears, and achievements on stage. The focus shifts from oneself to serving the purpose and conveying the music, which is the true principle of leadership.

17. The Connection Between Music and Management. The experience gained over 20 years of practicing music (multitasking, perseverance, feedback, competition, empathy, service) became a direct and intensive preparation for the role of a manager and coach over the last seven years.

18. Transformation According to the Law of Communicating Vessels. The transformation from a musician to a manager happened thanks to the law of communicating vessels: the time and effort invested in one “vessel”-role (musician) raised the level in another interconnected “vessel”-role (manager).

19. A Call to Awareness of the Interconnection of Life’s Roles. Sona says that life is a system of interconnected roles. The speaker calls on the audience to become aware of this connection and how development in one area can unexpectedly manifest and help in another, which often goes unnoticed.

20. Finale: An Invitation to Self-Exploration. Sona‘s talk concludes with an invitation for each person to uncover their forgotten strengths, rooted in past experience, and connect them with their current roles. This is presented as a path to personal and professional growth and new discoveries.