January 2011 Archives

I've been here in Los Angeles for the week and the town is awhirl with Golden Globe excitement. 

Women in high heels beyond the height of any I've ever seen, parties filled with darting eyes to see who just walked in, limousines jamming the entrance to five star hotels and in general a lot of posing.

At parties and events, authenticity stands out like a patch of fertile soil in a barren desert of fear.

For me, it's been a fortunate few days meeting with some extraordinary individuals -- creatives of all kinds from producers to actors, managers to directors, rappers to writers...people who entered the world of film, TV and stage because they loved the material, the art, and telling a great story...not the money, the awards, the flash.

One concern has continued to be raised by each artist in every conversation thus far -- so much so that it has taken me aback. And it is this: that over the years the increasing focus has become more on money than on art...nothing we didn't know but it is more intense now than ever: films shooting without finished scripts because they want to beat out another film on a similar subject; tens of millions of dollars being pumped into a film's promotion in order to land an Oscar...in order to make more money; a "Green Light Committee" (deciding on whether or not a film gets made) being comprised of accountants, financiers, lawyers, studio executives and the marketing department. Not one person from the world of filmmaking itself is on the committee that decides which films get made.

One seasoned director made a comment at breakfast yesterday that I will never forget. "I don't care if someone is arrogant and brilliant. But the problem these days is that those making the decisions are arrogant, ignorant...and powerful. And that's a dangerous combination."

No doubt we need business and art together. It's called "Show Business" for a reason. But we'll be in trouble if it gets to be "Business Business" masquerading as Art. 

(c) Victoria Labalme Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

I've often heard artists complain of their ill-fated financial future...and more times than I can count, executives, business people and sales professionals have approached me after a keynote or event and confessed in a whisper that they have buried their "art" -- in their past, in their garage, and under the confines of corporate culture.

But I don't think it has to be this way. It doesn't have to be a "zero/sum, either/or" approach.

Executives, managers, entrepreneurs, health care professionals, government leaders, students, technology specialists, engineers, advisers, teachers, lawyers and sales professionals who tap into innate creative "outside" talents and apply them at work become legendary leaders, presenters, and communicators.

No doubt, it is terrifying to discover in yourself and in your company elements that don't fit into a pattern of what you see in the outside world.

But this is where your greatest potential lies.

Landmark success doesn't come from running with the pack and from shaving off parts of who you are to fit into a mold. Success results from taking risks - and risk requires exploration, creativity and the courage to trust that the combination of talents with which you are gifted can produce extraordinary results.

This is the foundation of innovation. This is the foundation of great works of art and great businesses. This is the foundation of The Prism Effect(TM).

(c) Victoria Labalme Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.