I am the Eggman

I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together.

Thus wrote John Lennon in the Beatles’ 1967 “I am the Walrus”. To be sure, Lennon was having fun spoofing all the academics attributing deep and hidden (and wrong) meaning to earlier lyrics. The song was by intention entire nonsense.

Which is a good thing, because nothing could be further from the truth than “I am he as you are he as you are me”. Especially with respect to the Beatles. Four more diverse musicians could hardly be imagined, and each in turn was a one-in-a-million artist. Together, of course, they formed what many have called the most influential musical group of all time, punching out number one songs every three or four weeks through the 1960s. It’s hard to think of a more prolific or successful professional group of any genre.

Like you, like me, each of the Beatles was one in eight billion. Although they grew up in the same city at the same time, mostly of Irish-Anglo origin, and each was essentially a self-taught musician, each had a special and unique genius. They were not clones of one another (or anyone else), nor did they try to be.

So the question is: how did four such diverse young men essentially take over the worldwide music business for ten years?

Seen through the lens of the Alignment Principle, the answers would be as follows:

1. Each of them knew exactly what unique Gifting he possessed and made it the centerpiece of his life.

2. Each was content to let the others get all the glory when exercising their own Giftings, and to collaborate with others with complementary Giftings.

3.Each understood exactly how their own Giftings and those of the others intersected, and made sure this happened so that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

4. They lucked into a genius manager, Brian Epstein, who also knew his own Giftings and stuck to his knitting. If it was business, he called the shots, and they obeyed. If it was music, he stayed out of the way. Above all else, Epstein understood the importance of professional reputation.

5. They respected one another as individuals and as artists.

6. They presented themselves to the outside world as a unified persona, that is, their brand was them and they were the brand.

7. They understood exactly who their audience was, and what their audience wanted, often even before the audience did, and they knew how to satisfy the listener.

8. They knew where their business, or art, was going, and stayed ahead of the curve.

9. They understood it wasn’t just about music, but it was about the culture in which the music lived, and the business which was their music. Until the end, they never lost track of the moving pieces.

There are, of course, a dozen or more further reasons for their success, but from these eight points we see what it takes for any group of professionals to lead the pack.

Sadly, this is not what we see with most professional firms. Too often we see jostling egos, too many hands on the steering wheel, too much attention to dividing the pie, professional and personal jealousies, empire building, calculated alliances, and politics.

Smart professional firms know how to let their players discover and exploit their Giftings, and how to leverage off one another’s greatness while avoiding the jealousies and politics of discontented, disappointed individuals who really don’t know why they show up for work.

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