Michael Jackson, the former wunderkind of pop, turns 50 today. For some reason this piece of news about the man who put the Wacko very much in the Jacko made me think about our lives as stories. And in broad terms the lives of businesses too given the way Jackson’s career has been linked to the story of millions made and lost.
There’s a tendency in the media to sum up a person or a company. This is where they got to, they imply. This is where they are at, the media seems to say. It’s like the destination is the here and now.
But should we focus on the destination? The moment we’re at right now? I’m not so sure.
To keep going, to keep developing, I think we have to envisage where the story is going. Lets forget about the eventual destination, but keep our eye on the journey. Even if things look bad in the now, we can (and sometimes should) focus on how the story can change, how the journey could take a different, better turn.
In a film or a novel a character or an event can change the course of the story catastrophically. Life can do that too. Again, that applies to business.
Looking at the sad, weary images of the former King of Pop littered across the media, I find myself thinking he needs to focus on what could be. Where things are going. What opportunities and success might just be around the corner.
In life and in business the story doesn’t end; the narrative just keeps getting rewritten.
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