Last week I wrote two posts discussing the concepts of Nitin Nohria’s 4+2 Formula for Success in music/entertainment industry terms. In the first post, I discussed the 4 Career Foundations that they found at work in every success they studied: strategy, work, attitude and team. The second post was a discussion of 4 additional practices that they called “secondary” principles: talent, leadership, innovation and partnerships. As I said in that post, what’s interesting about this second set of 4 is that the research showed that a business only had to do two of these to succeed and it didn’t matter which two.
Talent’s Not Enough
This all supports my number one comment to all musicians and artists: talent is not enough. You need to recognize that talent, or your ability to do what you do well, doesn’t matter as much as (a) you think it does or (b) you wish it does. This does NOT mean talent is not important. Talent is critical, but not for the reasons you think. Talent is critical because EVERYONE is so great! You better be talented and do what you do well. Period.
Smart Phones
Take smart phones as an example. I’m in the market for one and the reality is they all do pretty much the same thing. And what they do is spectacular! Real time, instant access to the web, files in the cloud, video, TV, music. I mean really, we are living in a SPECTACULAR time in history.
In terms of what I need to do with a smart phone, does it matter which one I buy? No. They all do the same things and they do the same things well.
I will make a choice though, and here’s how: combinations.
Combinations
I will pick a phone because a combination of phone features (all the same) + user interface + style + service provider will add up to “more” than the alternative. I’ll pick a phone because of how the features work in my hands, how I like the look and feel, and several other factors that matter to me.
The same is true for your career in the arts. You will not get anywhere by focusing on, and depending on, your ability to do what you do. Your success will come from recognizing and/or developing combinations that are unique to you.
What You Do
There are two sets of combinations you have to work with. The first is personal, and power-full, combination of you and your art. The second is what’s being discussed in the 4+2 Formula: what you do day in and day out in terms of activities, tasks, goals and objectives. So what’s your combination of what you do?
- strategy, work, attitude and team + talent and leadership
- strategy, work, attitude and team + talent and innovation
- strategy, work, attitude and team + talent and partnerships
- strategy, work, attitude and team + leadership and innovation
- strategy, work, attitude and team + leadership and partnerships
- strategy, work, attitude and team + innovation and partnerships
Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
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