American Idol Business Lesson – Pick A Winner
February 19th, 2009
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by BobTheTeacher · Filed Under: Bob The Teacher Training · Business Building · Freemind · Mindset · Productivity
Believe it or not, I’m a fan of American Idol. I like the stories of the contestants, watching the season unfold. I also like to study the marketing that they do in the show (like their not so subtle displays of Coca-cola cups for the judges, even though they are filled with water – maybe Dasani?).
While I watch the show I try to relate it to business ideas (this helps me “justify” watching it).
So I was watching the results show yesterday (I DVR it so I can watch it in about 30 minutes instead of an hour), and the business idea was a simple one: you have to pick a winner, even when it’s tough.
Let me explain what I mean and how it applies to business.
The way American Idol works this year is they had 36 people make it through to the live stage. And now, they have 3 groups of 12 sing off, with the top 3 going forward based on the votes of viewers.
The truth is, out of the 12 people that performed Tuesday night, there were legitimately 5 people that were good enough to get through.
But they could only have 3.
It’s too bad that people like Anoop and Ricky got the boot.
However, it’s a competition after all, so the top 3 emerge.
This is exactly like what we face each day in our businesses.
We have 5-7 great ideas or things that we could do each day to move forward. But we may only have time for 2 or 3 of them.
No matter how hard it is to pick – we have to choose where our priorities should be. Otherwise, we wind up spinning around in circles, perhaps getting 60-80% of all the things done. These leaves a lot of unfinished projects!
Of course, some of the priorities can be sent to someone else to do for you, but that’s a different topic for another day.
So what ideas, tasks, projects stand out for you? What’s the winner going to be for today? Choose your winners, then get them done.
That’s the way to move forward!
Bob Jenkins
p.s. One way I help myself choose is to use the Freemind mindmapping software (you’ll hear me talk about this a lot). It’s free, and it basically gives me an easy way to organize the things that need to be done. I can put things in order, rearrange them, and even cluster them around my own logical categories.
Using this software every day helps me to pick my winners. Maybe it can help you, too? Download Freemind at DiscoverFreemind.com. And if you want to learn it faster, grab my quick tutorials on it inside the members area.
4 Responses to “American Idol Business Lesson – Pick A Winner”
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| Bob Jenkins is an internet business marketing teacher, with ten years experience teaching teenagers and teachers. He is the creator of several online training courses that teach you how to get better customers and increase your profits. Specializing in social networking strategies for business and creating information products from teleseminars, Bob can help you use internet marketing tools and strategies to promote your business online. |
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Am in the process of downloading Free Mind.
Thank you for pointing me in the direction thereof!
go well
Michael
Its still a bit early to make a valid choice. It is exciting to watch an “average” performer grow and come out of their cocoon to win. All the guys did well except for Stephen, him walking away in the middle of a song should have been a hint. Tatiana sang beautifully but I believe her actions the week before might have cost her a significant number of votes. Just an example of how we must make the most of opportunities when they present themself.
I always look for the fun factor when prioritizing my projects because I work so much better when I am enjoying myself. If I see tasks that are continuously being left till last then I find a way to a)make them fun or b)delegate them or c)just drop them altogether – its amazing how often things that seemed so important turn out to be unnecessary!
Used to watch Am.Idol, don’t any longer (because no channel where I live broadcast). But Am.Idol really is just a tool, an example of what we have to do in our business, but also in our lives.
A popular word today is “multi-tasking”. Sometimes we have to, but it takes us out of focus. The same when faced with multiple choices. They sure can remove focus. When choosing as you say, we cut down on unnecessary tasks and allow ourselves to focus on the main thing.