Collectivism in all its many forms and manifestations – political communism, homogeneous national cultures, and monolithic organizations – is being challenged. It was challenged in the Eastern Block and the Wall came down. It was challenged at IBM and the company almost went bust before it changed. It is challenged in Japan, causing deflation and a recession. In one week in August 1998, the Japanese stock market lost more market value than the Russian economy produces in a year.22 People and organizations in the industrialized world simply have far greater choice than ever before. They know their rights.
Both our own lives and corporate destinies are shaped by the choices we make rather than through the vicissitudes of chance. Capital and competences may be the entry requirements, but not even access to these resources guarantees success. There is a final choice. Position yourself in a karaoke bar. What do you see? People enter the stage and sing a Sinatra tune. In all likelihood it sounds terrible. Then they have a beer and their next performance is somewhat better. After five of six beers, not only do they think that their voices have improved dramatically – they also feel as if they are actually in the process of becoming Frankie. Formally speaking, a karaoke club is a place for institutionalized imitation – you go there to be someone else. Here’s the problem. Imitation only gets you so far – and may be bad for your liver. You can consume all the alcohol in the world or be extremely talented but this does not alter the fact that imitating someone else will never make you truly successful.
The choice is clear. We can settle for singing someone else’s lyrics to someone else’s tempo and tune, or we can try to break free from the sameness of songs already sung – copy or create. And it is by no means only individuals who are living in a karaoke club. Our world is full of karaoke companies. In business there are even names for this imitation frenzy: benchmarking and best practice – as if these fancy labels would make a difference. Let’s face it. No matter what the pundits say, benchmarking will never get you to the top – merely to the middle.23 As individuals, organizations and regions we can blindly copy someone else - and we do. Minimalist architects are all studying Mies Van der Rohe. General Motors watches Toyota. Europe and Asia are looking toward the US. Now, many of us can be whoever or whatever we want to be whenever. The problem is that far too many try to be the same someone else, rather than themselves. Innovators don’t imitate. They know that there is no point in trying to become a “mini-me” GE.
People, companies and nations can continue to reduce uncertainty and become a me-too version of an original or they can embrace risk and create the future classics. Make a mental note of the fact that according to author Herman Melville: “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” Then remember that not even originals are always the real McCoy – not even Frank Sinatra. His great comeback is merely a karaoke copy of the concept that Elvis, or more correctly Elvis’ surviving relatives, launched a few years ago. For some people, imitation is enough. A woman was telling us of a recent trip to Las Vegas. To celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, she and her husband had gambled small amounts of money and wallowed in the ersatz splendor of karaoke capitalism’s spiritual home. They had taken a trip on a gondola, complete with fake Venetian gondolier and fake Venice. The lady loved it. She had, of course, visited Venice, but Las Vegas’ version of Venice – a kind of Las Venice – was much better. The water was clean. There were no unpleasant scents. The gondoliers spoke English. Fakery was preferable to reality. Dutch architect and thinker Rem Koolhaas refers to this as a world of controlled environments versus junkspace. Controlled environments are safe, secure and sound. Junkspace is for those without the hard currencies of our karaoke times.
Certain individuals might of course claim that markets are always right. If fakery is what people want, let’s give them fakery. We beg to differ. Short term, imitators may beat true innovators, but in the long-term, creators thrive at the expense of copycats. This is true for countries, corporations and individuals. In fact, in a world where cover versions rule true originality is worth more than ever. As poet Robert Frost put it: “The best way out is always through.”
This is a call to arms. To succeed, as individuals and in business, we need to dare to be different. Cash and competence gain us entry to the club. Then you must make up your mind: either to accept the backing tracks or to express your own individuality. In the world of karaoke capitalism, success is not about getting a back-stage pass. Following the rules is merely an imitation of life. Only imagination and authenticity places us front-stage. And the future, as always, belongs to those at the frontier. The time has come to fall in love with yourself and your rights. Who knows, the world may just love you for it. Or as Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, puts it: “Will the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up”!
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KARAOKE CAPITALISM / Management for mankind
Jonas Ridderstråle & Kjell A Nordström
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