What Musicals Can Teach Corporate America

I have always found inspiration, encouragement, and wisdom about life in musicals.  But it occurred to me not too long ago, that big companies could also learn a thing or two from the life lessons our on-stage heroes learn through song and dance.  Here are a handful of lessons I came up with.  Please feel free to add your own in the comment section below!

 

Pippin

While every company can dream about being extraordinary, and enter into spaces they know nothing about, only to fail, not everybody can be the next great battle hero (or facebook, or Apple).  Still, it is better to live, to make, and to have, then it is to mount a burning platform and die. 

Music Man

Be wary of the manager who comes along saying that there's something very bad going on here, and he has just the solution.  The manager who commands a reorg is the Music Man of the corporate world.  He need not be accountable for the results, because he will be on the next train, to the next town, before you can reach him with tar and feathers.  Oh, YOU got Trouble with a capital T when the Music Man comes to town.

Wicked

Sometimes perception becomes reality.  Acting on the best intentions can be misunderstood, misinterpreted, and made to look wrong.  However, being popular is also lonely and disappointing.  It's not enough just to do the right thing for the right reasons, or what you believe to be right, and it's certainly not enough to look good on the outside without actually doing good; charisma and presentation are are just as important as the actions.  

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Even in the face of the most extreme adversity, you can still rise to fulfill your dreams.  Be good and honest and good at what you do, and others will recognize your value.

Shrek the Musical

It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside; it's what's inside that counts.

Pirates of Penzance

When you make a commitment, make sure it's the right one, and that the terms are correct.  Catastrophe can be avoided with a little double checking and due diligence.  

Rent

Treat people right, because you never know when you'll need them to be on your side.