Programming your Clone
By Philip Johnston

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The following scenario is fictional…

…but if what I’m describing hasn’t happened to you yet, just wait.

The real question is going to be, when it does happen, how will you handle it?

It starts like this.

It’s the end of your lesson. Your teacher is packing away some books, when she makes a casual enquiry…

“How do you feel about a challenge this week?” she says, not even looking up from what she is doing.

“Sure” you might say. A challenge? Sounds like fun. The word makes you think of explorers climbing mountains and wrestling bears, subsequent movie deals, and then signing autographs for adoring fans…

“Terrific!” beams your teacher. “I’d like you to learn that new study I showed you today.”

“Um…ok…”. Not the kind of challenge you had in mind. That study was hard. In fact, the bears sound like a better option.

“….by next week…”

“Um…hang on…”

“Memorised too. Up to tempo”

“WHOA!…ok…you’re joking right…?”

Nope. She’s serious. And she’s not listening to your protests – she’s too busy writing the instructions down, and putting a bookmark your studies book.

“You’ll have lots of fun – it’s a great piece. There you go. See you next week.”

You throw a despairing look to your dad who is sitting in on the lesson. He looks as though he thinks the whole thing will be character building, and gives the teacher a smile.

“It’ll be ready.” He says to her. “Come on” he says as he grabs your books “the sooner we get home, the sooner you can start practising!”

You mumble something under your breath about how he will be getting a bag of roaches for Father’s Day this year…and follow him out the studio door into the week of misery that lies ahead.

What can you do? Seven days, an impossible job, a deluded music teacher and traitors in the family…

There’s only one thing you can do. And it’s what grownups all over the world do anyway.

Delegate.

Give the job to someone else.

Huh? How is that going to help?