I don’t normally write posts in this vein and yet felt compelled to do so, the thing is I have always been a huge fan of Cilla Black.Bizarrely on Saturday evening I was watching (again) the Cilla mini-series on ITV catch up, only to find out twelve hours later that she passed away in her home in Spain.
Attribution: Entertainment Press / Shutterstock.com
The thing is Cilla Black is such an inspirational character and can provide us all with a number of great life and business lessons.Many different age groups and nationalities read this blog. Here is a quick catch up on who Cilla was.
Heard of the Beatles? Move over One Direction, these guys invented teenage hysteria. In essence they were Cilla’s ‘mates’. Cilla was the coatroom girl in the Cavern where the Beatles were discovered. She loved singing and encouraged by John (Lennon) and Paul ( McCartney) would often get onstage and sing.
Cilla came to the attention of Brian Epstein a well known promoter and as they say the rest is history. Well not quiet.
The thing was the world was different then. Female artists were not in the spotlight as they are today; a lot has changed in 50 years. Cilla was one focused lady and a grafter and totally blazed a trail for UK female entertainers over the last half a century.
Warren Buffet is quoted as saying “It’s not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results” which is a lesson we could all heed.
Cilla is a case in point. Was she the best vocalist ever? Probably not, though she knew what she was good at and worked it like crazy.
Cilla was the biggest female record selling artist in the 60’s in the UK (this was at a time when records sold millions of copies). She then reinvented her career- something many ‘pop’ stars are not able to do- to become the highest paid entertainer on UK television. The original Ant and Dec all rolled into one and paid a lot less! So here are some lessons we could all take on board.
Attribution: Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
1. Have a vision
Read reports at the time and the various interviews through her career and Cilla tells the story that she knew she was going to be a ‘star’. She dreamed about it constantly while asleep and whilst she went about her day.
She had her compelling goal and her why. She loved to entertain people and make them happy; might sound twee and this powerful vision for her was the focus of her career.
How good is your vision and what is your why?
2. Put yourself first
Not something everybody does and yet it is an important lesson to learn. Laser focus and putting your goals as a number one priority produces results. Cilla certainly put herself first. She did what she needed to do even telling Bobby he wasn’t going to be her manager.
3. Work with a mentor or coach
Cilla put her trust in two mentors in her life the first was Brian Epstein and the second was her husband Bobby.
Brian Epstein was quite a genius. He understood the market and was able to direct Cilla early on in her career. While rock and roll was the ‘in’ thing Epstein got Cilla singing classic ballads that opened up huge possibilities to access a different market.
The average life of the majority of pop stars is about 4 years. Epstein knew this and was able to guide Cilla to an even bigger possibility: TV. After his untimely death Bobby took over and continued to guide Cilla.
4. Give the market what they want
Have you ever been to a concert and felt cheated because the artist didn’t play your favourite songs? Me too.
It is easy to stay where you are and dig your heels in because you want to ‘do’ what you want. Yet if you have a compelling vision and a why you have something different to follow. Cilla wanted to entertain and she certainly had the skills to do that. As a consequence she re invented herself as the TV star most people recognise her as. Did you know that her variety show on BBC in the 70’s commanded audiences of 22 million? Even murders on Eastenders don’t get anywhere near that…
Attribution: carrie-nelson / Shutterstock.com
What about you and your offering and are aware of where your market is heading? How do you need to adapt to remain top of mind?
Thank you Cilla for all the fun and enjoyment you have brought us over the years. I for one will miss you.
This podcast was hosted by Denise Oyston. Follow us on Google+
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