| Shake That Brain!® Solutions
Volume 2, Issue 8 |
| Shake
That Brain! Volume 2, Issue 8 IN THIS ISSUE: 1. BORROWING ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Imagine you know someone whose job is working at an automobile assembly line. One day he tells you about a "dream" he has – taking the concept of the assembly line and applying it to making music. Sound crazy? Absurd? Listen to this: "My dream for a hit factory was quickly taking form, a concept that had been shaped by principles I had learned working at the Lincoln-Mercury assembly line. At the plant the cars started out as just a frame, pulled along on conveyor belts until they emerged at the end of the line – brand spanking new cars rolling off the line. I wanted the same concept for my company, only with artists and songs and records. I wanted a place where a kid off the street could walk in one door an unknown and come out another a recording artist – a star." The writer is Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, as recalled in his biography, "To Be Loved." Corporate headquarters ("Hittsville") was a small, converted house; yet Motown Records became a hit maker for artists like the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations and others. And Gordy – most definitely – used the assembly line as a model for his hit making factory: Songs were written according to a standardized format; an in house band("The Funk Brothers")gave each tune the same distinctive Motown rhythm and sound; and a quality control process (admired by Gordy from his assembly line days) was now applied to how songs would be selected for recording and promotion. Finally, performers were "polished" by the "Motown U pros" who dressed them, taught them about makeup, and gave them those choreographed, often synchronized moves that made them each a shinning "star" and a true Motown product. Other fruitful "borrowings" include: > The Ziploc food-storage bag – "borrowing" the zipper concept from, well, zippers. > Furniture fabrics -- "borrowing" menswear-inspired pinstripes and houndstooth. > Starbuck's – "borrowing" the cafe-scene from Europe. > Mega bookstores and public libraries – "borrowing" from Starbuck's by offering Booko Frappucinos and Library Lattes (sometimes, by including an actual Starbuck's inside). The trick, if you will, is to constantly be surveying your landscape (everywhere you go, everything you read, see, listen to or overhear), asking yourself: "What's here that I can 'borrow' and apply to my situation?" All you need ... is to pay attention. POP QUIZ: What can a famous museum learn or "borrow" from McDonald's? ANSWER: Franchising. The Guggenheim Museum, long based in New York, now has branches in Las Vegas and Bilbao, Spain (where the owners pay a licensing fee). Meanwhile, discussions are underway about Guggenheim "satellites" being created in Guadalajara and Singapore. When the New York Times asked Thomas Krens, director of the Guggenheim, where his prioirties were – "home or abroad" – Krens, avoiding either/or thinking, replied: "Both." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This newsletter has been brought to you by Joel Saltzman. Joel is a speaker,
facilitator, consultant, and creator of the "Shake http://shakethatbrain.com/wow Joel is also the publisher and founder of Shake It! Books: http://www.shakeitbooks.com/ TO
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