When I consult / coach entertainment companies, I start with looking for the boundaries. How far are you willing to go to stick to your mission? If I can show you that you can have a bigger impact and a more profitable year by taking down your youtube channel and sending texts to people, would you do it? What if you would delight more people by setting up a rug factory?
The limitations are where the creativity starts
The greatest moves in sports happen only because of rules. That’s where the innovation and the excellence shows up. So, we definitely need limitations and the more deliberate and concrete the limitations are the more fun the game.
I am (we are) this
The trouble starts when we draw the limits for our companies apart from the clarity of our mission.
I was a vegan for ten years
I thought (and still mostly think) animal based food is inefficient and unecological. This wasn’t the popular way to be vegan. The popular mindset was “animals deserve rights.” When I told meat eaters my logic, they often were surprised and curious.
This difference stood out to me when I walked up to a pro-vegan kiosk at an outdoor event. Everything about it was pictures of tortured animals. So off-putting … and i believe bad marketing.
I told the dude “Hi! I’m vegan. I don’t care about animal rights. Do you have any brochures that aren’t covered in sad cows?” He 1. didn’t believe me 2. told me “of course not”
What a missed opportunity. If that organization’s mission was to save animals’ lives (which i don’t totally believe it is), they could get so many people on board to reduce meat consumption by giving more reasons and focusing on the positivity. What if 10% of the vegans they inspired didn’t believe in animal rights? It would serve their mission, but maybe it was more important to them to publicize their mission than to achieve their mission.
What if they taught the best cooking classes in town (and charged for them) with omnivorous chefs teaching how a small portion of meat can compliment a healthy vegetable-rich meal? If they reduced the meat portions by 50% for thousands of people, that could make a big difference for the farm friends. The non-profit’s biggest donors would probably be outraged!
Flexibility is generous
The best entertainment pros are care-givers. They’re generous and they want to share a spark. Being flexible in how one achieves that mission is generous. Being rigid is defensive and selfish. Make rules; have a voice for sure, but make them deliberately based on a mission that’s open to giving your audience what they really want.
Eli Broad was an accountant
He told his wife she would never be poor. He got the opportunity to start a home construction company. He revolutionized how houses were built based on the economics. Then, he researched recession-proof businesses. Discovered life insurance was the thing. He bought a life insurance company and changed that industry. Now, he has changed the landscape of Los Angeles art through the money he’s brought to downtown and beyond.
His mission wasn’t be an accountant. His mission was “don’t be poor.”
For some reason it’s easy for us to understand when someone will change their pursuit for money. It’s hard to understand when they’ll change to serve people better.