Nobel laureate physicist G.P. Thomson points out that “In choosing a line of work many [people] are too modest. They are inclined to shrink from the really exciting things as too difficult. That is a fallacy. The difficulty of research has no relation to its interest or importance.”

As we’ve seen repeatedly [earlier in the chapter], mountains can often be reduced to molehills by asking the right question. Charles Richet agrees: “Truth to tell, this distinction, between easy unfruitful problems and hard problems rich in consequences, is theoretical rather than real. For if the experimenter has original ideas, he will always find some means of bringing them to light; he will be able to transform a subordinate question into a fundamental one...”

So find the easy, subordinate problem that provides the key to a system of difficult ones, and place your problem statement in the broadest possible context. The successful pioneer is often the first to try.

TEAM PRINCIPALS

Mike Dorau, Principal
mikedorau@innovationartistry.com

Don Sipe, Principal
donsipe@innovationartistry.com

414-332-7600 phone

Mike Dorau, principal and co-founder of Innovation Artistry, is an active performing artist, trainer, and performance coach.

Mike writes and speaks on the art of leveraging the creative process in everyday performance, experience derived from over twenty-five years as a professional musician, studio teacher, and performance coach.

He is co-winner of the 1979 International Trumpet Guild Concerto Competition in Tempe, Arizona and former Principal Trumpet with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed in the pit orchestras of Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Mame, Hello Dolly, Chorus Line, The Wiz, Carrousel and many other broadway shows. 

Mike was project manager of Edwards Trumpets, a division of the Getzen Company, where he worked as a trumpet design consultant, artist liaison, and clinician.

He has taught trumpet performance for ten years at Carroll College and Carthage College. Mike trained the 2000 National Trumpet Competition junior division champion and the 2003 Midwest MTNA junior division trumpet performance winner.

Don Sipe [co-founder] has been playing the trumpet for over 30 years. His career is many faceted as a performer, educator, arranger, and music entrepreneur.

Don is founder and president of Omicron Artist Management, Inc., an arts management company that represents classical and jazz artists and sonatabop.com, a record label.

He has performed throughout the United States, Europe and South America working with a wide range of luninaries including Leonard Bernstein, Doc Severisen, Aretha Franklin and Bob Newhart.

He teaches at Carroll University, is a regular coach of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and participates in the nationally lauded ACE (Arts in Community Education) program.

Don earned his Bachelor and Master's degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.