Michael Jackson – One Important Human Resources Lesson From His Legacy
by Alan Collins
I grew up a big Michael Jackson fan. I never learned to moonwalk, although I confess I tried a lot…unsuccessfully! Anyway…
When he left our mutual hometown of Gary, Indiana and moved west to LA, Michael wound up selling more records than any other solo artist.
In death, he leaves a remarkable legacy as a global icon and as one the greatest musicians ever. And, unfortunately, he may also be remembered as one of the most criticized artists ever as well.
As I listen to the news accounts of his life, despite his ups and downs, there is one important HR lesson (among many I’m sure) that stands out for me. And that lesson is that…
…..Hiring or having great talent isn’t enough. Talent must be nurtured to achieve true greatness.
Michael Jackson’s enormous talent was spotted at age 8 by Motown. He experienced much success as a member of the Jackson 5 and Berry Gordy’s Motown organization. However, as talented as Michael was, he didn’t achieve real, true greatness and status as a worldwide icon until he collaborated with Quincy Jones. Jones was a gifted songwriter and producer…but more importantly, he knew how to maximize Michael’s talent. Together, they co-produced the “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” albums. These albums produced ten #1 hits including the singles “Billie Jean”, “Beat it”, and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.’” The “Thriller” album achieved Double Diamond status in the US….and is regarded as the best-selling album of all time. Michael has repeatedly said throughout his career that he could not accomplished this record-setting milestone without the genius, leadership and partnership of Quincy Jones.
The lesson for HR here is that just having or hiring talented people is not enough. They must be put in an environment that nurtures them with effective leadership and collaboration in order for that talent to thrive and achieve true greatness. Simply put, you can’t just throw a bunch of highly talented, hard charging, type A personalities into a room and expect them to work together productively without a war. Now a little bloodletting is okay, that’s all part of building a team. But, this is where leadership comes in. You need to have great leaders at all levels of your organization who can bring together A players, get them to collaborate and not bicker, get them to keep their egos in check, establish business priorities and tradeoffs and channel their best collective energies into your business objectives. Like Quincy did with Michael.
As HR professionals, we should ensure that there are HR initiatives and programs in place for grooming and developing the “Michael Jacksons” in your organization…and that these initiatives are NOT cut because of the tough economy, but remain a key business priority in order for your organization to thrive as we emerge from the recession.
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For additional lessons, insights and strategies for advancing your HR career from Alan Collins, check out: UNWRITTEN HR RULES: 21 Secrets For Attaining Awesome Career Success in Human Resources (including TWO CHAPTERS you can download immediately) at http://UnwrittenHRRules.com.
Alan Collins was formerly Vice President – Human Resources at PepsiCo where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. He is now President of Success in HR, Inc. and the author of “Unwritten HR Rules.”
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June 26th, 2009 at 9:53 am
There are a lot of elements to what allowed MJ’s talent and potential to be realised. Talent first has to be recognised and of course nurtured as Alan says. In this lifestory other things converged as well. Michael Jackson was a legend for our times and this era. If he was born 20 years earlier or 20 years later – who could tell if his impact or reach would have been the same. His rise to greatness is a modern phenomenom and was enabled by changes in technology and media. Before him came Soul, the rise of rock and roll and then he merged those elements to make pop his genre. He (and his collaborators) met new technologies head on, rember how records transitioned to CD’s – now we have Itunes. MTV started, everyone had a colour TV. He was at the leading edge of these modern mediums (along with sensational talent). I am sure he took creative risks too ….. and they paid off. As a leader when he reached the top, he never forgot the people who kept him there, its obvious he dearly loved his fans. As a humanitarian he did try to leave the world a better place – There are so many lessons to take away from his career. We live in interesting times. Im glad my journey so far has included a soundtrack of Michael Jackson songs.
Allan, thanks for the article.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Alan, great and timely article. I believe that a collaborative culture, reward system that supports the culture and values of the organization along with having supportive/creative managers on board can make all of the difference to mazimize the talents of employees. In this economic climate–these aspects are a strong retention strategy as well–people are willing to commit to an organization where we are all on the same team (even if cost cutting is part of the shared pain). I would have enjoyed seeing your moon walking attempts (I was never able to master them either!)
June 27th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Hi Alan Sir,
The way u expresses the quantum of feeling taking base of HR, very effective. As a HR pro we are responsible to be as Add value to Organization to build Team and play role of Coach/ Mentor.
The loss of MJ is not countable.
With Grief
Ravish
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravishji
June 27th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Hi Sir,
Greetings for the day !!!
I was going through all news channels and news papers, one of the intension behind of that was to know some learning which should help me in professional life.
At last I got it from your article.
This article is reflecting true visionary and legendry thoughts.
Regards,
Ankit Gandhi.
June 28th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Excellent article. This weekend I, like millions of others worldwide who grew up with Michael Jackson, reflected much on the life, music and eccentricities of the self-titled “King of Pop.” In fact, I’ve been thinking of ways to use the insatiable media coverage of his life (womb-to-tomb) to introduce class lessons focusing on character building, social consciousness, appreciation of the performing arts, and personal responsibility for health awareness and maintenance to pre-K through third grade summer campers with whom I work as a volunteer. So, I certainly appreciate your views on the role Quincy Jones played in Michael’s successful career and suggesting that the roles we play as HR professionals in our organizations have the potential for being of similar influence. It makes great sense. Thank you for sharing your views.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I, along with many others, fervently hope to see the Alan Collins Moonwalking video (soon to be out on his web site)!
Forget the book, the video will bring throngs to your website!
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 am
Dear Alan,
This article is really different from other articles, it’s title itself made me feel to read & understand.
It is true that only talent alone can’t do good but a way to use that talent is more important, and that is what Jones done to MJ.
I have just attended a round table meeting in India with acorss industry HR guys, and there also leadership was the attention topic. In any organization acorss globe makes the difference & its footprint only when it has extraordinaory leaders behind it.
Sachin
+919910304093
July 4th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Dear Sir,
I would really apperciate the way you put across a different point of view in your article for all the professionals.I was going through your article and realise that every incident good or bad can always teach us something and change our outlook towards professional as well as personal life.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with all of us.
Regards,
Akanksha
July 15th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Excellent article Alan. I will be sharing this with my Executive Team. We place a lot of emphasis on developing talent within our organization. Having the right tools and environment to do the same are critical success factors. Thanks for the information.
Joyce
July 17th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Really liked the article, and truly agree. The difficulty is grooming the managers already in place to become better leaders. There is not enough accountability, training and mentoring in that space — especially in larger organizations where there is hiring of likeness (good or bad) into supervisory and managerial levels.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Alan,
I enjoyed reading your article on Michael Jackson. It was well written and very insightful. It occured to me that this analogy could be used in parenting as well. Parents who do not take care to develop their children, etc.
Thanks for this great piece.
Deb Sutton
August 9th, 2009 at 2:12 am
Excellent article! Your point about leadership absolutely hits the mark. I hope many more people read it.
I too never mastered moon walking but enjoy Michael Jackson’s music.
Kind regards
Kelly Moller
KM Training