Wednesday, November 14, 2007
An Awesome Harry Chapin Concert and How It Relates to Your Business
For some reason, I got to thinking the other day about the really great concerts I've seen over my lifetime. Ultimately, it led me back to the hands-down, best concert I ever attended.
And it reminded me of something important about running a business.
But I'll get to that in a moment. First, why That Concert sticks out in my memory.
That Concert was a Harry Chapin concert in the mid-70s. In case you never heard of him, Harry Chapin was kind of an under-the-radar singer. He had only one, big commercial hit, "Cat's in the Cradle," which, although good, was nowhere near as good as the awesome story songs for which he was known by a small, but appreciative fan base. His career was cut short by his death in an auto accident in the early 80s.
A friend of mine and I got tickets for a concert near where we went to college. He was scheduled for two concerts that night, one at 6:30 and the other at 9:00. We had tickets for the 9:00 concert.
Nine o'clock came and went and the doors to the auditorium remained shut. Nine-thirty, ten o'clock, ten-thirty and still we waited outside. My friend and I were getting pretty irritated. We were just about ready to leave. Boy, what a mistake that would have been!
Shortly after 10:30, an ecstatic crowd from the first concert emerged from the hall. By 11:30 we were seated. The 9:30 concert started just before midnight.
Despite playing for an exhausting four hours earlier that evening, Harry Chapin was alive with energy. This was no perfunctory forty-five minute set mixing in a couple of old favorites around a nonstop pitching of his latest album.
He played every song from his vast repertoire that his fans knew and loved. Occasionally, he passed off a verse to one of his band members to save his voice for the finale that everyone had come to hear, a challenging and emotion-packed song that could wring you out just listening to it.
By 3:30 AM, he was clearly exhausted, running on pure adrenaline, when he came to the finale. His voice was nearly gone, but, other than a few high notes that he signalled his band to cover for him, he sang with all the energy he showed at the beginning of the night.
The concert wasn't just a concert. It was a thrill of a lifetime.
What, though, makes this concert a good lesson about business?
It's passion. He could have stuck to the scheduled times for the concerts and no one would have complained. He could have mechanically gone through a few fan favorite songs and everyone would have left happy.
But he attacked the music with energy and passion and the stamina of a triple-marathon runner. He connected with his audience on a personal level. Everyone felt that he was genuinely happy to be able to sing their favorite songs for them.
Harry Chapin was a unique singer and a unique individual. I don't know of anyone who could match the passion he displayed. But that passion has become an example for me in my business and in all I do.
And it has become a measure of true greatness. Want to be a great business owner? Be passionate about serving the needs of your customers. Wear that passion on your sleeve. There are too many businesses out there that simply go through the motions of serving their customers.
Going through the motions is not enough to make you stand out from the crowd! Be passionate about doing the absolute best you can at serving your customers' needs. Do it not as a show or as a trick to fool them into thinking you care. Do it from your heart and you'll attract a following as loyal and as satisfied as Harry Chapin's following was.
No, you probably will never match Harry Chapin in pure, unadulterated passion. But keep working to expand yours.
Your customers will see the difference.
And you will see the difference in your customers' response.
Passionately yours,
Jeff
P.S. Want a boost to your ability to expand the passion in your life? I've found nothing better at helping me get beyond my own self-imposed limitations than BANABU, a series of exercises designed to help you identify and achieve the kind of life you want for yourself.
Find out more in my review of BANABU; or check BANABU out for yourself.
For some reason, I got to thinking the other day about the really great concerts I've seen over my lifetime. Ultimately, it led me back to the hands-down, best concert I ever attended.
And it reminded me of something important about running a business.
But I'll get to that in a moment. First, why That Concert sticks out in my memory.
That Concert was a Harry Chapin concert in the mid-70s. In case you never heard of him, Harry Chapin was kind of an under-the-radar singer. He had only one, big commercial hit, "Cat's in the Cradle," which, although good, was nowhere near as good as the awesome story songs for which he was known by a small, but appreciative fan base. His career was cut short by his death in an auto accident in the early 80s.
A friend of mine and I got tickets for a concert near where we went to college. He was scheduled for two concerts that night, one at 6:30 and the other at 9:00. We had tickets for the 9:00 concert.
Nine o'clock came and went and the doors to the auditorium remained shut. Nine-thirty, ten o'clock, ten-thirty and still we waited outside. My friend and I were getting pretty irritated. We were just about ready to leave. Boy, what a mistake that would have been!
Shortly after 10:30, an ecstatic crowd from the first concert emerged from the hall. By 11:30 we were seated. The 9:30 concert started just before midnight.
Despite playing for an exhausting four hours earlier that evening, Harry Chapin was alive with energy. This was no perfunctory forty-five minute set mixing in a couple of old favorites around a nonstop pitching of his latest album.
He played every song from his vast repertoire that his fans knew and loved. Occasionally, he passed off a verse to one of his band members to save his voice for the finale that everyone had come to hear, a challenging and emotion-packed song that could wring you out just listening to it.
By 3:30 AM, he was clearly exhausted, running on pure adrenaline, when he came to the finale. His voice was nearly gone, but, other than a few high notes that he signalled his band to cover for him, he sang with all the energy he showed at the beginning of the night.
The concert wasn't just a concert. It was a thrill of a lifetime.
What, though, makes this concert a good lesson about business?
It's passion. He could have stuck to the scheduled times for the concerts and no one would have complained. He could have mechanically gone through a few fan favorite songs and everyone would have left happy.
But he attacked the music with energy and passion and the stamina of a triple-marathon runner. He connected with his audience on a personal level. Everyone felt that he was genuinely happy to be able to sing their favorite songs for them.
Harry Chapin was a unique singer and a unique individual. I don't know of anyone who could match the passion he displayed. But that passion has become an example for me in my business and in all I do.
And it has become a measure of true greatness. Want to be a great business owner? Be passionate about serving the needs of your customers. Wear that passion on your sleeve. There are too many businesses out there that simply go through the motions of serving their customers.
Going through the motions is not enough to make you stand out from the crowd! Be passionate about doing the absolute best you can at serving your customers' needs. Do it not as a show or as a trick to fool them into thinking you care. Do it from your heart and you'll attract a following as loyal and as satisfied as Harry Chapin's following was.
No, you probably will never match Harry Chapin in pure, unadulterated passion. But keep working to expand yours.
Your customers will see the difference.
And you will see the difference in your customers' response.
Passionately yours,
Jeff
P.S. Want a boost to your ability to expand the passion in your life? I've found nothing better at helping me get beyond my own self-imposed limitations than BANABU, a series of exercises designed to help you identify and achieve the kind of life you want for yourself.
Find out more in my review of BANABU; or check BANABU out for yourself.
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