Lesson #3: Risk Yesterday’s Success for Tomorrow’s Promise
Lesson #3: Risk Yesterday’s Success for Tomorrow’s Promise
Before Laliberté came onto the scene, circuses typically meant clown acts, dancing bears, and jugglers. He changed all of that with his vision of an animal-free circus. Instead of the norm, Laliberté wanted a show that focused on pure athleticism and shocking effects. “We didn't reinvent the circus,” says Laliberté. “We repackaged it in a much more modern way.” That was a risk in and of itself – challenging the nature of a centuries-old industry – but Laliberté’s risk-taking would not end there.
As Cirque du Soleil became more and more popular, Laliberté decided to test the waters – again. Not only did he want to continue creating a unique vision of a circus, but he also wanted to create a permanent act, a circus that did not tour. As of then, that was unheard of. How could a circus stay in the same place night after night and keep drawing the same numbers of people in, critics wondered. Laliberté would show them.
In 1992, Laliberté launched his first permanent show in Las Vegas. Called Mystere, the show created its own special permanent theatre for the event. Despite initial criticism that the circus was too dark, audiences loved it. And, indeed, they did keep coming back for more. From there, Laliberté would open additional permanent shows in other locations throughout Las Vegas, as well as in Orlando, Florida.
“I have seen many successful people fail after they start fearing they might lose what they have built,” says Laliberté. “[We stop growing] if we start being afraid of taking risks and if we start diminishing our creative pertinence. We should always aim at doing more-creative endeavors, not in terms of volume but in terms of more creativity and more sharing.”
Laliberté attributes his risk-taking nature to his early years on the streets of Europe, performing for money. He had to take risks, to be increasingly creative and daring in order to not just make money, but to survive. If people did not put change in his hat as they walked by, he would not even have enough money to eat. And so, he was forced to take risks in order to wow the passersby. “I don't believe in pitfalls,” he says. “I believe in taking risks and not doing the same thing twice.”
Laliberté transformed the circus from a spectacle with dancing bears and clown jugglers into a thing of beauty and athleticism, combining all the elements of dance, theatre, and gymnastics. And, he did it all without knowing whether or not it would work. Now, as one of the richest men in Canada, he is able to say his risks paid off.
Lesson 3 Risk Yesterdays Success for Tomorrows Promise
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“We’re not afraid of risking what was our success yesterday in order to explore some new field,” says Laliberté. “We’re adventurous. We like the challenge of unknown territory, unknown artistic field, and that’s what stimulates us.” Laliberté owns 95 percent of Cirque du Soleil, which gives him great freedom to do whatever he wants with it, and that means taking risks.
Before Laliberté came onto the scene, circuses typically meant clown acts, dancing bears, and jugglers. He changed all of that with his vision of an animal-free circus. Instead of the norm, Laliberté wanted a show that focused on pure athleticism and shocking effects. “We didn't reinvent the circus,” says Laliberté. “We repackaged it in a much more modern way.” That was a risk in and of itself – challenging the nature of a centuries-old industry – but Laliberté’s risk-taking would not end there.
As Cirque du Soleil became more and more popular, Laliberté decided to test the waters – again. Not only did he want to continue creating a unique vision of a circus, but he also wanted to create a permanent act, a circus that did not tour. As of then, that was unheard of. How could a circus stay in the same place night after night and keep drawing the same numbers of people in, critics wondered. Laliberté would show them.
In 1992, Laliberté launched his first permanent show in Las Vegas. Called Mystere, the show created its own special permanent theatre for the event. Despite initial criticism that the circus was too dark, audiences loved it. And, indeed, they did keep coming back for more. From there, Laliberté would open additional permanent shows in other locations throughout Las Vegas, as well as in Orlando, Florida.
“I have seen many successful people fail after they start fearing they might lose what they have built,” says Laliberté. “[We stop growing] if we start being afraid of taking risks and if we start diminishing our creative pertinence. We should always aim at doing more-creative endeavors, not in terms of volume but in terms of more creativity and more sharing.”
Laliberté attributes his risk-taking nature to his early years on the streets of Europe, performing for money. He had to take risks, to be increasingly creative and daring in order to not just make money, but to survive. If people did not put change in his hat as they walked by, he would not even have enough money to eat. And so, he was forced to take risks in order to wow the passersby. “I don't believe in pitfalls,” he says. “I believe in taking risks and not doing the same thing twice.”
Laliberté transformed the circus from a spectacle with dancing bears and clown jugglers into a thing of beauty and athleticism, combining all the elements of dance, theatre, and gymnastics. And, he did it all without knowing whether or not it would work. Now, as one of the richest men in Canada, he is able to say his risks paid off.
Lesson 3 Risk Yesterdays Success for Tomorrows Promise
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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