It was nineteen ninety something and I was drunk off of my arse. It couldn't be helped. I had just finished walking Marion Ross ("Mrs. C from 'Happy Days' fame) down the red carpet at the Golden Globes, and dinner was no longer being served. Miramax, Paramount or Disney - I honestly can not remember - generously realized I hadn't been fed, and got me a drink. Hollywood.
A few whatever I was drinking later, the event ended, and I stood up, bumped into Jean Luc Picard, you know, the Captain of the Star Trek Enterprise, and Madonna. I shook Jean Luc's hand (Patrick Stewart) and nearly fell all over him, not drunk, just a huge fan. I spun around and stopped the "Material Girl" from leaving the building.
Madonna wasn't shocked, very happy actually. She had just won a Golden Globe and previous to that, gave birth. Our eyes met, she said "Hi," and I said, "Congratulations."
"Thanks," she replied.
"For everything," I countered.
Turning around, she gave me a big sister to brother like smile.
I'll never forget the glow in her face, and how sobering that moment made me respect the marketing of Hollywood. Madonna didn't look anything like she does today, nor what she did years before. I'll add in that she was beautiful in person, more so than what I've thought of her in lights, and her sincerity rang through.
But, what gave me pause, the most, was that she, once again, had re-invented herself. As the performer had no identity of her own, only that of the audience who she knew would want her. I've often wondered what she's really like. How could any star of that magnitude really know what she wants when people are always giving things to her, hoping that will become her flavor of the month?
And, in parallel, we have to raise a glass to her fans. Some have matured away from her music, while others have either grown with her or have gotten to know her. One person, even one Company, like Microsoft, has generations of fans. So, it's with no great surprise that Microsoft launched its Microsoft Online Services, and will not cannibalize its software business. The same way Madonna didn't cannibalize her fans.
There are a countless number of large technology companies and small ones to boot who have re-invented themselves, even yours truly, a number of times, to speak to market conditions. And, as these are extraordinary times, many I am finding are doing just that. Changing as the market is changing.
Now, there's a difference between a person or company which either becomes a chameleon just to fit into the "social media" space to get hip with the times vs. someone or a company which genuinely has a vested interest in what it can provide its fan base. Not to say that a person or company can not chameleon itself into an olive branch approach and grow beyond its current offering, but its current, and always "core" offering will never go away.
Madonna still makes great music. Whether she's the "Material Girl" or "Material Mom," her music has evolved, yet retained the same quality and charm, even if you don't like it today. Another good example, from the music world, is Van Morrison. He too has made great changes, and been a successor of changing times.
I'm sure we could make a game of it, thinking of the many musicians, companies, people and more which have morphed over time, yet still retained their core. In the 80s PriceWaterhouse had a thriving entertainment practice in Los Angeles, yet ask anyone at the senior level, and I'm sure they would still tell you that their core offering, in the day, was accounting forensics.
I've also often heard tech executives fear change. Change is good. Change doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. It depends upon how change is planned. If it happens suddenly and there is no plan in place, then it can be harrowing, but also recoverable. I think the most important point, if any, in this post, is that to have re-invention or change, one must learn to let go.
Madonna let go of the fact that her old fans may not follow her new style, she had to. But, she relished in the fact that her new fans would. And, as loyal as her old fans have been, many have followed. It is with that kind of strength and focus, was she able to pull off such a planned victory both in the way she has released successful album after album, and gone on tour, even in her later years.
I take off my hat to you Madonna, as the mother of re-invention, and hope one day that we may meet again.