Last week I recorded my first rap to acknowledge the completion of a major milestone in a transformation project. Set to “Fresh Prince of Belair”, musically it was questionable, yet generated a huge response (mainly laughter) from our team. Exactly what we wanted.
We’ve been on a long road to get to this point in the program. Many team members are tired, but the work continues. This comical music number was so off the wall that people were showing it to their spouses and kids. I’m sure they all thought we were nuts. Regardless, a bit of fun helped recharge our batteries for the journey ahead.
id·i·o·syn·crat·ic
peculiar or individual.
I have a strong sense of humour. I like the spotlight. When a teammate suggested we do a rap, I agreed immediately. Why not? How hard can it be? Well, 245 takes later, it was done. Worth every minute spent struggling with mics and video software. I think more people watched the video than have ever read the project newsletter!
It’s common to consider what others have done to celebrate milestones, build a new strategy, or lead a meeting. Emulating what works is smart. It’s also very safe. Not so inspirational.
We spend too much time being what others want or expect us to be, killing all chance of innovation.
Today, consider one thing about yourself that separates you from the rest. How can you leverage that towards a goal or to benefit others in a unique way? How can you put aside the desire to sound or be like someone else and instead insert more you into what you do? You just might unlock something others have been looking for.
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
