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Takeaway#18: To Zig When Others Zag

….The revolution will not go better with Coke.

The revolution will not fight the germs that cause bad breath.

The revolution WILL put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution will not be televised,

 

WILL not be televised, WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.

 

The revolution will be no re-run brothers;

The revolution will be live…….

 

Gil Scott-Heron ♦ The Revolution Will Not be Televised

 

#18: Like the Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron stands in the pantheon of innovators that gave birth to rap.  Hip-Hop owes a debt of gratitude to this innovation.  His words are a reminder that innovation will not be broadcast to you while you sit at home with a beer and potato chips.  Your new idea will come in real time, but will not be served to the masses or else it would not be a revolutionary idea.  You will have to recognize change by being attune and in the moment.  Yes, you will need to zig, while the others are zagging.

Also revisit your marketing tagline.  Does it stay with the consumer?  That Coke tag is over three decades old and still is recognizable.  We do not even have to say Listerine, because it is synonymous with the second line.  Is your tagline or elevator speech that memorable?  Does it resonate or is it forgotten?

BPM TAKEAWAY#18:

  • THE NEW THING WILL TAKE WORK

  • CHANGE REQUIRES THOUGHT

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About codemizell

The Beats Per Management collective (“The BPM”) is curator for C.O.D.E Mizell and supports the repurposing of hip hop content for professional success. BPM consists of former Hip Hop junkies now living in the corporate world. BPM members carried milk crates of 12” records when “bpm” used to mean beats-per-minute for mixing music, now BPM members focus on Excel spreadsheets, legal briefs, power points, whiteboard-scribbling and business plans. BPM cannot shake the instant recall of Hip Hop lyrics. The good news is that BPM realized that these lyrics had application to its daily management concerns. BPM does not claim to have captured the true artist intent in its lyrical analysis, BPM seeks only to celebrate the role that hype-lyrics can play in the daily grind to get business done in the corporate world. This is not a glorification of urban pop-culture or a debate on the poetic merits of rap, we leave that to the literary critics and socio-political commentators. If you disagree with BPM send us your spin on the lyrics. We have an open mind, and hope you do. The “BPM Takeaways” dispense reminders for your business day. Hopefully, the next time a referenced-cut is heard on the radio, it will trigger your “Takeaway” and not just flashbacks to the music video. A quote-a-day will make you a better executive. BPM hopes to keep all advice short and to the point – Executive Summary Style. Technically the lyrics are “raps” and the culture of the genre is “hip hop” but lets not get overly technical -- substance not form that controls here. The point is you are putting that untapped knowledge to use. And to think they said that Hip-Hop would get you nowhere…puhhleasse. -Roscoe Waxx for BPM

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