Coming into an uncertain 2012, my attention was recently drawn to a book by Oren Harari called “Break From The Pack: How To Compete in a Copycat Economy”. It is a book worth reading and certainly challenges the idea that the best way to build a great business is to copy what everyone else is doing.
One of the concepts Harari introduced that I particularly liked is what he calls the Madonna Effect. Love her or loathe her, Madonna is a phenomenally successful pop star with a career spanning 25 years at the top of her game in a notoriously difficult and brutal industry. She has sold more than 140 million albums, her concerts are still sell-outs, she’s starred in and now directed films (some of them hideous!), written books and created videos. Robbie Williams, himself a gigantic star, says “she’s an absolute legend and makes us all look like amateurs.”
Madonna obviously has unique staying power in a very fickle industry. Her success comes from her extraordinary ability to reinvent herself in anticipation of many fashions. Every couple of years she comes up with a new way of presenting herself and her work. She takes note of what other groups are experimenting with, then in her own creative way she gets in front of the pack and leads her audience there.
The ability to re-invent yourself is a characteristic of great business leadership. Our environment is in a continuous state of change and in such circumstances businesses need to continuously re-think their business model. You need only look at IBM and to all of the “Good to Great” companies documented by Jim Collins to realise that the difference between ordinary and great is a willingness to apply the Madonna Effect. The leaders of all of these companies took a critical look at where they were and made a conscious decision to go to a better place.
If you accept the proposition that winners stay ahead of the pack you should be behaving as a Madonna. Here’s a self test that I have put together that you might like to use to determine how well you are doing at it. When you’ve reviewed each point, decide where you are on a scale of 1 to 10 overall, where 1 is a resounding NO and 10 is a resounding YES. How does your business stack up?
- No matter how good you are now you know in your heart that change is inevitable and that good today does not mean good forever. You’re therefore constantly looking for better ways of doing things and for different market opportunities.
- You closely monitor trends in your environment and visualise how your business will be taking advantage of a different set of circumstances.
- You are not afraid to walk away from current products, services or customers or if you believe there is a greater opportunity to deploy your resources for greater long term returns elsewhere.
- You constantly experiment with new ideas and you invite your customers to experiment with you and help you find better ways to create value for them.
- You are deliberately provocative. Your ideas may range from the sublime to the ridiculous but you could never be accused of being indifferent.
- You passionately believe in a different future for your business and your ability to prevail but you are still firmly connected to reality.
- You are always upbeat, optimistic and excited about the future and what opportunities it offers your business to break from the pack.
How did you score? If it’s 7 or less, you are probably losing out to your competitors.
