In business and
in life, little things
matter.
When Ondrasik wrote his first hit song
“Superman” 15 years ago, he wrote it in
45 minutes. “It was a gift,” he says. “The
song ‘Superman’ has taught me that,
sometimes, little things become big
things.”
Before he wrote the hit song,
Ondrasik said he first fancied himself as a
rocker. “So when I ended up writing this
ballad, my first thought was: ‘This isn’t
for me.’ I almost didn’t put it in my
record, but I wouldn’t be standing here
had I not put it in. Certainly, little things
matter—the extra hour of brainstorming
with your team, the high-five to a client
or a smile to an employee.”
This idea of giving a little bit more is
most crucial in creative endeavors, where
innovation is needed. “Writing the song
‘Superman’ has taught me the power of
work ethic and the value of a concept,”
he says. “While it seems romantic to say
I wrote the song in 45 minutes, what
many don’t know is that I had to write a
thousand songs before I got there. It’s
simply part of the process of creation.”
1.
There’s a great song in
every room—if you just
learn to listen.
According to Ondrasik, listening is often
a skill that’s overlooked when it comes to
innovation. He says many executives are
good at listening to themselves, but not
to others. “The best executives are those
who listen well to their team. There’s a
reason why the Beatles are the Beatles.
Collaboration raises the dynamics,” he
says.
So how does he cut through the
noise? “Change your environment,” he
advises. Everything starts with a blank
2.
slate, but to get that flicker of inspiration,
environment matters. “Sometimes I go on
trips or lock myself in a cabin to write a
song,” he says. “A lot of my ideas come
when I’m not actually doing the craft, like
when I’m doing physical activities like
hiking. I also think it’s important to value
the subconscious, which is why I tend to
play the piano immediately after waking
up in the morning because I believe the
subconscious is hard at work at that
time.”
If you can’t win the
game because the rules
have changed, change
the field of play.
Given the tremendous success of his first
hit song, Ondrasik eventually faced a
dilemma: How do you follow something
as big as ‘Superman’? It took him several
years to produce another hit through his
song “100 Years.” The reason why the
song resonated to his audience, he
thinks, is because it offered a simple
sentiment: To live in the moment.
“How do I get better and remain
current but stay true to who I am?” he
asks. His advice is to tell your story but
stay authentic to your brand. Storytelling,
he said, is becoming a huge strategy in
the world of business. “You could be the
‘Beatles’ of spas but if nobody knows
your story, nobody will hear you.”
With the world of business changing
fast, he says evolution is crucial. Ondrasik
himself had to reinvent after he realized
that radio stations would no longer play
his songs. “Radio was deserting me.
Radio stations no longer want to play
songs from 50-something music artists.
Many other artists struggle with this,” he
says.
Instead of fighting the new rule, he
had an epiphany: “If you can’t win the
3.
game because the rules have changed,
change the field of play.” To do this,
Ondrasik started writing musicals,
creating a TV show in which he could
use his songs, hitting speaking circuits to
share his story and even doing symphony
shows. “I started to feel young and found
my new energy,” he says.
Take swings even
at the prospect of
failing.
If there’s a major failure in Ondrasik’s
career, it must be the branding failure of
his name “Five for Fighting.” Despite his
success, only a few know that Five for
Fighting is a one-man band named John
Ondrasik. “Five for Fighting is a colossal
marketing failure,” he says. “But
sometimes, within these failures lie the
opportunities.”
As a sports fan, he brought up the
idea with his record label to pitch Five for
Fighting to sporting events, which turned
out to be a smart move. “John Ondrasisk
doesn’t play in those gigs, Five for
Fighting does,” he says. The biggest
opportunity, he thought came when
producers of a little independent film
approached him to include his song
entitled “Chances” among its soundtrack.
There was a slight problem, the song was
supposed to already be included in
another big-production holiday movie.
“But something in my gut tells me this
song was made for this movie, so I pulled
it from the other film. That small
independent film that many thought
nobody was going to see was ‘Blindside’
which turned out to be one of the biggest
sports movies of all time,” he says. This
experience taught him to trust in one’s
instincts. “It’s about taking swings or
risks. When you go against your gut,
that’s what keeps you up at night.” n
4.
November 2016
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