It looked great on paper
Have you heard of an American Soul group called Honey Cone? Chances are you haven’t. They achieved a major hit record but they didn’t manage to sustain a career for more than a few years. This despite the fact that on paper, they should have been bound for massive success.
The group consisted of three extremely talented women singers, all with impressive backgrounds in music. They were backed by a record label run by the top composers and producers Holland, Dozier and Holland. Honey Cone performed many highly-regarded live shows, released a series of excellent records and appeared regularly on national TV. But, even though they seemed to be doing everything right, the group didn’t stay together long, and never really broke through to major success.
Great on paper
When everything looks great on paper, it can be easy to assume that success is guaranteed. After all, the same model seems to have worked well many times in the past. Surely if we just replicate those things we’re bound to succeed? Sadly not. What worked brilliantly for other groups of the time like The Supremes, just didn’t work for Honey Cone.
Similarly, that approach you saw working really well on another project? Well it may not work with yours. And that’s because you can’t start at the end of someone else’s story.
Every project is different
As we’ve written before we’re strong advocates for the Agile way of working, because we’ve used it with success in many change projects. But we know that every client is different. The aims, culture and people are unique to that organisation. If we tried to replicate exactly what we did with a previous client we’d soon run aground.
That’s why it’s important to be clear on what you want to achieve in your change project. There are a range of techniques you can use to do this. We recommend a Vision Board as it's a very effective way to set out what good looks like for your organisation. It's a key step in putting your own unique stamp on the future. We’ve seen lots of vision boards and can confirm that no two are ever alike. Not even similar.
Take nothing for granted
When you’re working your way through your project go back to your Vision and ask yourself and your team: is what we’re doing now still in line with our Vision? If not you may need to change what you’re doing. Or you may realise the Vision’s not quite right any more. Either way, take nothing for granted.
It’s also important to be honest about how things are going. Look back on the last couple of weeks and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. If something’s not going well, stop doing it or fix it. But don’t tell yourself, this should be working, it worked really well on that other project, we must try harder. That’s a sign you’re trying to start at the end of someone else’s story.
As for the end of Honey Cone’s story, they gained a cult following in the years following their break up in the early 1970's, and the surviving members still perform occasionally.
Check them out. They’re great, and not just on paper.
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