Culture, Money, and Building
The culture isn’t great because it’s a transient ecosystem.
It’s a transient ecosystem because everyone is looking for better culture.
Money helps keep people around. But if the money isn’t gonna get better, what is there to stay around for? Culture. But if the culture isn’t great…
You see the circle.
The thing that disrupts this frustrating loop is…ownership and responsibility. Choosing to be the one who builds rather than the one who only takes. It’s scary because money is easy to measure and culture is easy to complain about…and you’ll never get much push back if that’s the way you operate.
If you try to build culture and fail, now you’re the one others are complaining about.
If you turn down the big money, you look like a fool.
But it might be worth it.
»» And if you only chase dollars, the worst thing that can happen is you just might win that lonely game.
Core Elements
Chemistry of the group
The voice and charisma of the singer
The songs…melody, lyrics and the packaging around them
A way into the songs…a belief, identity, trick, mindset, burden, responsibility that gets you reconnected to the songs night after night
And all of that rolled together gets you something else. A weird and inevitable synergy that can’t be calculated and yet it’s easy to point out the elements.
When Your Product Is Good...
you don’t have to argue about it.
When the product is good you get to rest in that. You don’t need to be drawn into the other person’s game. You don’t need to fight for position or try to prove anything.
The product is good. Here it is. Here’s the problem it solves. Do you want this?
Chasing The Perfect Melody
By now know it’s never going to be perfect…so perfect isn’t the actual goal.
But we say things like ‘chasing the perfect melody’ with the wisdom that the goal is the chasing part not the perfect part. We dangle the perfect part out there just for fun. Knowing we won’t get there. Almost hoping we won’t get there because it’s the chasing is in our blood.
Performer Affirmation
Before a performer is ever told they’re a great performer, they already are.
Being told doesn’t bestow the designation. Being told might help as a reminder, but the truth is there regardless.
So often the affirmation we receive is merely a byproduct of what’s been true for a long time.