Small Business Today Magazine AUG 2014 SIVER STONE EVENTS | Page 18

EDITORIALFEATURE

Lessons Learned from

60s Band The Monkees
By Hank Moore, Corporate Strategist™

T

he recent death of Davy Jones fostered a fond remembrance of the
band The Monkees and a discussion
of 1960s cultural influences. Interestingly enough, many lessons can be learned
from The Monkees and can be applied to
business success.
After the Beatles appeared on the Ed
Sullivan Show in 1964, Hollywood responded by putting together a group of
actors to play a Beatles type teenage pop
group. The Monkees was primarily a TV
sitcom that starred Michael Nesmith, Davy
Jones, Mickey Dolenz, and Peter Tork.
The songs were written by Tommy
Boyce, Bobby Hart, Neil Diamond, Carole
King, John Stewart, and other top talents.
The recordings featured studio musicians.
The Monkees acted in the sitcom and
lip-synced two songs per episode, one of
them done in a new, original format as a
music video.
Once The Monkees debuted on NBCTV, they were an instant hit. The TV show
spawned concert tours and The Monkees
had to learn to play the musical instruments. There were guest shots, product
tie-ins, merchandising, and Monkees fan
clubs. All this activity jelled with The Monkees and it became the prototype for other pop acts packaged as big business.
Even though The Monkees lasted only
two seasons on NBC-TV, there were recordings and concert tours that outlasted
the series.

Now to tie in The Monkees to business lessons,
there are four basic kinds of companies:
1. Those that created the original concept. The people who created the

The Monkees were
that rare business
enterprise that applied to
all four categories
of business. Then there
are the dynamics of
casting the right actors
to play the right parts.
Most musical groups
came together
by happenstance,
many playing good
music but not possessing
charm and charisma.
The same is true
for companies.
widget then proceed to run the
widget manufacturing and distribution enterprise. The Monkees were
a spoof of The Beatles who created
the widget. Yet, The Monkees created the music video component and
the laughter-friendly audience acceptance of what was formerly misunderstood.
2. Companies that take someone else’s
concepts, perfect them, and deliver them to new and different marketplaces. The Monkees went into
living rooms. Parents saw them as
“sons” when they were more leery of
The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The
Doors, and other rock groups. The
Monkees reached wider audiences, thus priming the pump for other
comparable sitcoms.

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3. Companies with a short life in the
marketplace. They are nurtured as
assets to be expanded in other directions, flipped to other sellers, or taken
to other levels. Though they only ran
two seasons,“The Monkees” has been
rerun ever since. They turned up on
cable TV, VHS tapes, and DVD box
sets. Remarketed music sets continued to sell on records, tapes, CDs, and
Internet downloads. The Monkees’
two-year stint in the original market
has extended to 45 years in the after-market.
4. Companies that team with others,
creating a synergy and diversified
holding that individual players could
not achieve on their own. This embodies the most important dynamic
of modern business: Collaborations,
Partnering, and Joint Venturing. The
Monkees led to Michael Nesmith’s
video “Elephant Parts” which led to
MTV music videos. Many TV shows
(comedies and dramas) have since
incorporated music video inserts.
The Monkees money helped bankroll
Woodstock and music videos by other artists.
The Monkees were that rare business
enterprise that applied to all four categories of business. Then there are the
dynamics of casting the right actors to
play the right parts. Most musical groups
came together by happenstance, many
playing good music but not possessing
charm and charisma. The same is true
for companies.
One often wonders where those people came from, why they cannot work
toward common goals. and why they are