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A return to classic beats helps us move forward innovatively today:Takeaway #8

       On down through the Middle Ages

When the earth kept going through changes

There’s a business going on, cars continue to change

Nothing stays the same, there were always renegades

Afrika Bambaata & The Soulsonic Force  

(Renegades of Funk ♦ Planet Rock)

Is the only constant change?  BPM believes this to be the case.  Reinvention and innovation are the hallmarks of any long term executive player.  At the risk of contradiction, having a brand for the way in which you conduct business with the world is great, but you need to be able to adapt that brand with the times.  Business continues to evolve, and you do not want to spend your life in an Edsel when the new BMWs are coming around the corner.  Again, don’t lose focus on your basic mission, but certainly work that mission so that it remains relevant to the changed surroundings.

BPM TAKEAWAY#8:

  • IF NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION THEN REINVENTION IS A SECOND MOUTH THAT MOM HAS TO FEED

  • INNOVATE OR DIE

Q: Outside-the-box test:  I say surf, what location comes to mind? (Hawaii?, Malibu?)

A: Nope.  Surf ghana:  http://www.economist.com/node/21550253  C’mon …outside the box.

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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

4 responses to “A return to classic beats helps us move forward innovatively today:Takeaway #8”

  1. Jackie Modeste's avatar theglobalroundhouse ⋅
    April 27, 2012 at 9:58 am

    Surfing… Ghana? Outside the box, indeed; and this would seem a paradox to your point of tradition being important but I know it is entirely consistent (why you posted it in the first place!). Here’s a favorite quote from one of my mentors, Albert Murray: “not only is tradition that which continues; it is also the medium by which and through which continuation occurs.” (Hero and the Blues, 72)

    Tradition is all about change and continuity; adaptation. We can think of it as a series of tests, generations of trial-and-error, that result in fully vetted habits, strategies/coping mechanisms, that work. Culture captures complexities that economic (mathematical, etc.) models do not. Culture endures, long term. Fads fail. Business that endure are those with a culture designed to adapt o changing conditions. Why it’s so important for a business to align its strategies with its core beliefs and make sure front line employees are looped in.

    Reply
    • codemizell's avatar codemizell ⋅
      April 27, 2012 at 12:03 pm

      Great quote. Interesting to think whether the core competency can evolve but the core beliefs remain. Ghana has always been in tourism biz – but now it has shifted the compentency slightly (surf) without shifting the core belief (tourism $=good)….thanks for the thought. The BPM

      Reply
      • Jackie Modeste's avatar theglobalroundhouse ⋅
        April 28, 2012 at 9:02 am

        Absolutely — core competency can evolve even as beliefs remain. Beliefs are the “values” or “integrity” that guide the system. From the “core” various manifestations can emerge (surfing). Apple can create many different products, they are “different” but come from the same core competency.

        Was interesting to read ideas on bhorowitz.com, re: benefits of retaining a founding CEO. Dealt with this professionally several years ago and thought founder needed to go, was a lag on growth. He just couldn’t embrace the changes necessary to diversify and grow. During the process of his ouster, I learned his primary concern was in retaining core beliefs as we diversified and realized new areas of growth. Ultimately, he was outted and the growth that occurred definitely changed the core competencies of the company; it no longer exhibited his core beliefs. Company became something so different from the original that it was unidentifiable. New CEO did not have same value system, core beliefs. Aligning interests in succession planning is important to retaining core beliefs and embracing a new growth model.

  2. codemizell's avatar codemizell ⋅
    April 30, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Thanks for sharing those observations….agreed that @bhorowitz had a thoughtful approach…and thanks for this link: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/04/just_how_powerful_are_you.html

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