…have you ever in your life experienced . . .

a day where Murphy’s law takes over your life

…and when the day was over you just had to say

you said man it’s just one of those days…

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince  ♦   Just One of Those Days (1987)

…Yo, it’s a warning shot over the bow

Truth be told, this ain’t my style

You gotta understand some stuff a man can’t allow…

Okay – people dissing Will sat on a wall

People dissing Will had a great fall

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

couldn’t put none of their careers together again

You get it?….

Will Smith aka the Fresh Prince   ♦  Mr. Niceguy; Lost and Found (2005)

Look at these lessons learned over two decades.  It is not the wisdom of the lyrics but what it illustrates about career longevity and development.   Who would have thought that a kid from suburban Philadelphia with a potential one-hit wonder novelty rap status would turn into a multi-million dollar Hollywood power player actor-producer?  The keys are found in his name and these lyrics.  He was the Fresh Prince, but he certainly stands as the embodiment of what managers often try to glean from Machiavelli’s The Prince.

The Prince should have the capability to reinvent himself as need be.  Fresh Prince to Will Smith certainly qualifies.  The Prince must be able to be ruthless and others fear him when need be.  Note how The Fresh Prince transformed from a hapless victim of circumstances to that of the vicious, no-more-Mr. Niceguy that having suffered the fools that would dismiss him, puts them on notice he can make sure they never work again.  Look who is all grown up.

You can’t always be loved; sometimes people have to be afraid of you.  Now management by fear is not what BPM is recommending; but the ability to impose fear needs to be part of your management skill set.  Again your human resources development objective is to create a team of talented people who motivate themselves by their own desires and fears with little, if any, heavy handed motivation by you.  You manage the team like a ship at sea.  You direct their wind sails, but you don’t need to be a blow hard making the very wind that moves their ships on the ocean.  Yet, they need to know that you are capable of summoning thunder and lightening out of the sky for those that doubt your abilities or seriousness

.

BPM TAKEAWAY#32:

• IMPOSE FEAR WITHOUT PEOPLE WORKING IN FEAR

• YOU MUST BE BELIEVED TO BE THE GOOD COP AND THE BAD COP AS CIRCUMSTANCES NEED

The greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint
The greats were great cause they paint a lot

Macklemore  ♦ Ten Thousand Hours Lyrics

Takeaway bonus:  Malcolm Gladwell told us about the 10,000 hours rule.  It takes practice and that many hours to be good.  Put in your work today.  Yes, Mr. Iverson, we are talking about practice.  Go do some painting today…

…You think it’s all about getting this cash flow

I’m tryna to find a way to get around on these assholes

They wanna play you, burn you soufflé you…

Hesitate to pay you, push back your debut…

Doap Nixon ♦ Behind the Music

Takeaway 139:  Check you ATCF and your pipeline to liquidity.  Is the market frozen or is someone bamboozling you into believing that this is the case? Do you lack an Exit option or is somebody blocking the other side of the fire door?

“Most culture in this country is driven by Black culture, whether that’s food, music, dance, or anything else,….And more recently Latino and Asian culture have driven global culture. Here I live in the most early adopting region in the world, and we know very little about the most early adopting culture. Therein lies the opportunity.” Tristan Walker

Tristan-walker-why-combing-technology-with-black-culture-is-the-greatest-economic-opportunity-of-our-lifetime

…Sir noticed that my input was accurate intelligence

That type meant ta stripe, kids

Even after he died, I still write raps like this…

Slick Rick ♦ Who Rotten ‘Em

We all wish we could offer pearls of wisdom like rain water.  It is just not feasible.  We can, however, take a measured approach to the manner in which we manage and influence our team members.  If you have recruited properly you have talented people who can be motivated in subtle ways without ham-fisting advice, policy or directives via lectures.

The best points/accurate intelligence strike at the heart of the issue cutting through stylistic differences that team members may have.  You may not like the cut of your player’s jib, but does the player get the job done in your field or vocation?  That is the critical issue.  Any advice or discipline or should strike at the issue that is critical to the mission statement.  Keep personality out of it.

Similarly, the point must be universal and timeless.  Does your advice square with the words you used to motivate your players two years ago?  Is it logically consistent with past treatment or policy?  Are you going to be okay with someone quoting it back to you next year or when you sit down to terminate their employment?

BPM TAKEAWAY#31:

• DISCIPLINE AND MOTIVATE WITH TIMELESS, UNIVERSAL DIRECTION

• FOCUS ON SUBSTANCE NOT FORM