The other night I saw an amazing concert. The artist has been around for a long time and has constantly re-invented who they are in terms of their music and their brand. How else can you have a 30 year career with 40 number 1 hits in an industry where there are so many that not only don’t make it but if you do it’s hard to get past one hit. It’s innovation. Same as it is in business. You have to come to the table with new products and services. Reinvent products, services, yourself.
In the business world I find a number of analogies related to sports and war. I can relate a lot more to sports analogies but music resonates even more with me. It’s not a one man/woman show. It isn’t just about the artist. Just like it isn’t just about the CEO or the innovation team in business organizations. There is a lot of production work involved. The stage and the media that goes along with the show are well put together and thought out. The dancers are extreme. It is a team effort with everyone working towards putting on an amazing show. The artist has clearly surrounded themselves with exceptional people and takes care of the team.
Attention is paid to the details. At one point one of the signs was being covered up and the artist saw it on one of the large display screens and adjusted it so everyone could see the sign; all while continuing to perform. The sign said: No Fear.
Put effort and energy into your product or service even when others aren’t. It’s going to be hard to go to another concert after this one since most of the time the artist will just be standing around in one place or maybe a bit of movement if the audience is lucky. This is a key ingredient to staying around longer then everyone else and definitely being able to charge more than everyone else.
We can learn a lot from artists and musicians who have lasted a long time in their industry by paying attention to their success factors. The trick is in applying them to our own organizations.
What success factors do you see organizations employing that help them get ahead?
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- Are you sharpening your organization’s business tools? (spring2innovation.com)
- HBR Dream: “Disrupt Yourself” (whitneyjohnson.com)