I love innovation and creativity. That's why I was hoping that Adam Lambert would win American Idol last night. But, as my son calls them, the "sheeple" won the day.
I'm not taking away from the fact that Kris Allen has talent. He has loads of talent. Unfortunately, he is like a lot of other performers out there and inherently a safe harbour -- people felt comfortable wit
h Kris, whereas Adam, with his looks and his innovative approach to every performance made many a little uncomfortable.
Well, we often make this type of decision in business as well. Go with the "tried and true", vs. the innovative and creative. Yes, the choosing of the latter is riskier...you might be pushed to have to think in a whole new way, but the payoffs for reinventing your business could be amazing.
Just think if GM had chosen to follow the Lambert Way, instead of the Allen comfort zone? We might actually had seen some innovation and perhaps the firm would not be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy today. Same goes for Chrysler...and let's not forget Microsoft, which to a certain extent ha
s rested on its laurels...as opposed to Apple, which has continuously pushed the envelope. The mantra of "it worked before, so let's not change it", is inevitably the death knell for many companies...who once were leading the pack, but now find themselves at the back of the pack...seeing the competition ahead by many lengths in the business Kentucky Derby!
So good luck to Adam Lambert. This young man is going to be a superstar, regardless of mainstream America's rejection of him. In a few years, Kris Allen will be all but forgotten, and Lambert will be playing to packed stadiums around the world.
I'm not taking away from the fact that Kris Allen has talent. He has loads of talent. Unfortunately, he is like a lot of other performers out there and inherently a safe harbour -- people felt comfortable wit
h Kris, whereas Adam, with his looks and his innovative approach to every performance made many a little uncomfortable.Well, we often make this type of decision in business as well. Go with the "tried and true", vs. the innovative and creative. Yes, the choosing of the latter is riskier...you might be pushed to have to think in a whole new way, but the payoffs for reinventing your business could be amazing.
Just think if GM had chosen to follow the Lambert Way, instead of the Allen comfort zone? We might actually had seen some innovation and perhaps the firm would not be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy today. Same goes for Chrysler...and let's not forget Microsoft, which to a certain extent ha
s rested on its laurels...as opposed to Apple, which has continuously pushed the envelope. The mantra of "it worked before, so let's not change it", is inevitably the death knell for many companies...who once were leading the pack, but now find themselves at the back of the pack...seeing the competition ahead by many lengths in the business Kentucky Derby!So good luck to Adam Lambert. This young man is going to be a superstar, regardless of mainstream America's rejection of him. In a few years, Kris Allen will be all but forgotten, and Lambert will be playing to packed stadiums around the world.
1 comment:
Since we seem to have entered the realm of the cliché here, I feel compelled to point out you may be painting with too broad a brush upon this particular canvas.
Of course you are correct when you point out it is the very nature of corporations to figure out what works and then to stick with it. If it ain't broke...
On the other hand GM, Chrysler and Microsoft are all excellent examples of large corporations who, upon reaching that point in their corporate lives, turned their creativity and innovation to finding and implementing new and unique ways to fleece their customers, providing less for more and pocketing the difference...
... much as Adam Lambert will be doing shortly, I imagine.
(As an aside, I hate that show but I happened to be channel surfing past it one night and I became mesmerized by one of Mr. Lambert's performances - a duet, of all things!
Another cliché: all that's old will be new again!)
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