Those who know me know that I am a pretty big Prince fan. On the anniversary of his death, I thought I’d write about how Prince’s creativity correlates to business and The Four Fundamental Forces of Leadership.
Prince’s was constantly creative
Some artists inspire with their boundless creativity, they inspire us to be better people and to explore our untapped potential. Prince is that artist for many. His iconic album Purple Rain would catapult him to pop stardom, becoming one of the most beloved works of his career. Debuting in 1978 with For You, Prince would write 39 studio albums over four decades.
Prince related to others through his constant exploration of self-expression. His use of collaboration allowed him to realize his best art. He also saw that mistakes were not a sign of failure but a part of the process that would allow him to succeed.
But how does that creativity apply to a corporate setting?
Here are four ways that Prince’s use of creativity applies to you and your organization through the Four Fundamental Forces of Leadership.
1) Brand Extension
For much of Prince’s work, he wrote the songs, played all the instruments, produced and arranged the tracks. He knew that by extending his talents into an array of areas that his work would reach new audiences.
Label executives thought Prince's number of release-ready songs would oversaturate the market. This did not sway Prince. He knew he had amazing material and believed in it. His efforts helped launch Prince-derived bands such as The Time, Sheila E., The Family, Appolonia 6 and many others. Kenny Rogers also released a Prince-penned song.
Prince Respected how songs might work for others, especially women, in order to Serve others to be successful. In fact, The Bangles and other artists said that the demo songs Prince provided them didn’t require any adjustments because he had thought out what was possible so well.
By knowing the resources and ideas at your disposal, reaching your ideal or target market is possible. Having a Love for and Respecting of the mission and vision of your organization will develop further through brand extension that may fit in perfectly with what your customers need.
2) Collaboration
As a standalone artist, Prince was exceptional. So, why did he collaborate? Prince Loved the learning that was possible by working with other artists and wanted to Serve his art. By bringing in the right people at the right time, he explored possibilities and nuance and was able to produce unique results.
You can see this in one of his backing bands, the Revolution. Each member had their skills, insights, and talents, and Prince knew how to best use them make the unforgettable anthems found on Purple Rain. Members of the band, especially Wendy and Lisa, have significant writing contributions to songs even basic Prince fans know and love.
Prince wasn’t just a renowned songwriter and instrumentalist. He was also a producer for other musicians. With The Time, you can tell that he and Morris Day were having a lot of Fun and that Joy came out in the music.
Better products come out of collaboration.
For you, involving finance, product development, and customer service into discussions early leads to new insights. Collaborating can also involve bringing in different people from outside your organization. Employing the strengths of your collaborators can generate new opportunities, products, and outcomes.
3) There Are No Accidents
Prince’s Song The Ballad of Dorothy Parker which would appear on Sign O’ The Times is a great example of a mistake done right.
Prince’s engineer, Susan Rogers, brought in a custom mixing board made specifically for Prince to his home studio. There was a problem, though. Prince started recording on the new boards before they were fully set up, with the high-end frequencies not being available yet. Prince heard the missing sound, and knew it would lead to a mistake in recording, but was undeterred. The final product of that session, although knowingly flawed, was used for the album. The result? A moody song with distinctive bass-infused glam that has become a classic.
Realizing that mistakes and accidents propel us to learn and improve, they are no longer a source of fear or anxiety. Loving the process that allows you and others to make mistakes and fail leads to unexpected insights. Fun and Joy come from trying things at a level where failure is sought; it invites so much exploration. Accessing and analyzing mistakes can act as a guide to bettering the process. Scotch® Tape initially was a mistake at the 3M lab.
4) Turn Raw Material into Something Coherent and Usable.
Prince could have been someone who had big dreams but never acted on them. Yet, he did access those big dreams. Prince was able to turn ideas into demos, songs, hits, and acclaimed albums thanks to his process. He was able to find nuances and mutations going on in various parts of life and connect them in novel ways to create art – the essence of Respecting. For example, Prince was in LA leading up to the Sign O’ the Times album and was reading about the gang violence going on. That, and other stories of the day, helped him pen his iconic title single from that album, which many consider to be his master work.
You can turn knowledge, experience, and even failure into a viable product. The information acquired throughout the process can produce real results. Once the product meets or exceeds customer needs you have fulfilled your mission. Unbounded creativity has been finally harnessed into something both coherent and usable, improving your organization and enchanting your customers.
Prince was a distinct creative force in music and the arts and a savvy businessman. While his genius may never be fully understood, we can learn from his use of the Four Fundamental Forces of Leadership within his creative process.
His understanding that brand extensions could reach new fans was a foundation for his success. Collaboration allowed Prince to reach creative heights he could not otherwise realize. Prince recognized that mistakes were not a sign of failure but a part of the process. Finally, he took all of his knowledge and experience and created something both coherent and usable.
Artists make remarkable products that touch hearts and minds. Similarly, organizations can reach new audiences when they work from a place of mission and vision.
Who inspires you? Likely they had their creative processes, failures, and output.
We can learn from artists and their creative process to improve ourselves, our businesses, and our lives.