A Crucial Trait

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There is one trait that the Beatles had which cemented their allure to the world. True, there were many elements that put the Beatles ahead of the competition; we’ve talked about several of them in previous postings, and we’ll be exploring more in postings to come. But the trait we’re going to talk about today may have been the most important (or at least in the top three). Without it, they still would have written amazing songs that would live ...

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Creativity, Customer Service, The Beatles, Work Ethic

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What Are You Best At?

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What is it that you can do better than anyone else?

Most of us go through our entire lives without asking, much less answering, that question. And yet the answer to that question could determine our ultimate success or failure.

The Beatles weren’t the best musicians in the world. There were better rhythm guitarists than John Lennon, better lead guitarists than George Harrison, better drummers than Ringo Starr, and even better bass players than Paul McCartney (although admittedly not many). So how ...

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Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles, Work Ethic

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Breaking Out of “Home Base”

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It’s not an absolute rule, but Beatles fans tend to fall into one of two camps: those who favor the early Beatles (She Loves You through roughly the Help! album) and those who prefer the later Beatles (say, Rubber Soul through Abbey Road). It pretty much depends on which iteration of the band you grew up with (or encountered initially, for those of you who weren’t lucky enough to catch them the first time around). Although I’m a huge fan ...

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Change, Communication, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

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Making Music vs. Playing the Notes

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I enjoy playing the piano. People may not enjoy listening to me play the piano, but I still enjoy it. This morning I was playing through a jazz version of the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever. I started working on it this past weekend, and I’m pretty close to having it under my fingers now. In a couple of days, I should have the notes down. But it will still be far from “audience ready.” See, there’s a difference between “playing ...

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Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles, Work Ethic

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A Tale of Two Apples

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Last week I read an article on Forbes.com about the early days of the Apple computer company. It turns out that when Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary co-founder who embodies and personifies the company’s slogan of “Think Different,” was asked in 1983 by the team working on the Mac for a standard they should shoot for, Jobs’ answer was simple: the Beatles.

The Beatles.

Not another computer company. Not another tech company. Not even another manufacturing company. A rock group. Steve Jobs wanted ...

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

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When Plans Go Awry

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Boy, was yesterday going to be a great day! So many fun plans, and perfect weather for them, too! (You: “What were these fun plans, Bill?” Me: “None of your business. But trust me, they were going to be fun!”) I hop out of bed, eager to get started. But first, a quick e-mail check. Yes, this is a blatant violation of the rule Julie Morgenstern talks about in her book Never Check E-Mail In the Morning, but I’m a ...

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results

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The Power of Ideas

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I’ve been talking a lot about ideas lately. I love ideas. I love coming up with them, I love watching others come up with them, I love seeing them brought to fruition. It’s been said that, in business, nothing happens until somebody sells something. That may be true, but you know what? In virtually everything—business included—nothing happens until somebody has the idea for it. Look around you. Everything you see (at least everything human-made), from the shoes on your feet ...

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

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Are You a Crank or a Visionary?

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So I was reading through a book of Mark Twain quotes last night (did the guy ever say anything that wasn’t pure gold?), and I came upon one that was particularly relevant to my last post:

“The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

Bill Gates was an idiot whose idea of “a computer on every desk” was patently absurd. Those wacky Wright kids, Orville and Wilbur, with their crazy “flying machine” idea—what were they thinking? And ...

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

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Have You Missed the Boat?

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Do you ever feel like you missed the boat? Do you ever feel like opportunity has, once again, passed you by? Do you ever find yourself saying, “If only I had…

…invented the Pet Rock;
…bought into Microsoft when it first went public;
…come up with the idea for Facebook?”

Somehow the innovations always seem to go to the other guy. It’s not that you’re not smart; it’s just that your timing is off, right?

Bull crap.

Charles Duell, the Commissioner of ...

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Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles, Work Ethic

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John Lennon and Overcoming the Naysayers

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John Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi, who is usually described with words like “strict but loving.” And while there is some debate among Beatle people over exactly how “loving” she really was, nobody questions the “strict” part. As you can imagine, then, she was not a big fan of young John’s obsession with rock and roll, or his non-stop guitar practice.

“The guitar’s all well and good, John,” she would say, “but you’ll never make a living at it.”

Years ...

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Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles, Work Ethic

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