Up on the Big Think this week in its ideas section is an interesting interview with Joi Ito the director of MIT’s Media Lab. In this he campares the running of the lab to being a DJ

In it he says, “To me, being a DJ and being the Director of the Media Lab are essentially the same thing,” says Ito. A DJ surveys the scene of a party and makes snap judgements about what to play based on the context. How many people are at the bar drinking? How many people are on the floor?  What kind of people are in the room? What time of day is it? Success depends on whether you can correctly interpret individuals, anticipate their reactions, and ultimately bring a disparate group together as a cohesive whole.

“You’re kind of like a Shaman,” says Ito. “You’re influencing and supporting the energy and the activity in the room. A bad DJ will dissipate and destroy the energy; a good DJ will keep the energy going.”

It’s a very good overview of some of the things that go through your thought process as a DJ when it comes to selecting tunes and how this thought process crosses over into running a company

Check the full interview here – http://bigthink.com/ideas/41508