Despite his role as founder and CEO, Gordy continued to write and produce songs, but his position offered no guarantee that his songs would be selected to be released. This added to the culture of trust and candor that allowed for a democracy of ideas to flourish.

Instead, he filled the quality control department with a set of people who could speak to the Dont Forget The Motor City (The New Mix) cycle, from production to distribution to market trends. I took the democratic approach because although I was in charge at Motown, I made logic the boss: no egos or politics allowed.

Not even mine. And I did it because of truth. Gordy demonstrated this as a leader, creating a space for others to feel empowered to follow. There was no question who was in charge. Gordy gave himself power of veto power at all quality control meetings, and remained involved in the day-to-day operations of the label, even as it scaled.

However, he made two crucial decisions on how to lead that cultivated the creative atmosphere around him. First, he hired people who were better than him, better songwriters, better producers, and he refused to be intimidated by them. This challenged everyone at the company, including himself, to adopt a learning mindset that led to personal growth. Second, he allowed for complete creative freedom in the discovery and production of ideas, while maintaining strict, collective principles that everyone adhered to for decision making.

This allowed him to distribute risk and accountability to create a sense of co-ownership that drove the entire company toward excellence. Hitsville had an atmosphere that allowed people to experiment creatively and gave them the courage not to be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, I sometimes encouraged mistakes, Dont Forget The Motor City (The New Mix).

Everything starts as an idea, and as far as I was concerned, there were no stupid ones. Many companies struggle to find a balance between power and autonomy, but Motown proved the model. While Gordy maintained control over the direction of the company, he used his power to empower others, and then granted them the freedom to do something with it. Making hits was the only thing that mattered. Because the Motown north star was so precise, it left no room for ego.

Expose your leadership to the same critique as you would other parts of the culture to test its strength:. Berry Gordy knew that culture existed in the grooves : in the often invisible patterns that exist between people.

For pop music, these were simple themes of love, joy, and heartbreak. In his company, these were the defined patterns that everyone would follow so they could focus their energy on creativity and precision.

Whether you adopt all of his methods or some, Gordy proved that an organization could be successful through empowered teams, rapid iteration cycles of creation and critique, and a shared purpose.

Emily is a veteran design and product practitioner. She is currently a Senior Designer on InVision's Design Transformation team, where she helps teams and leaders increase their impact by maturing their practices and developing a culture of learning and collaboration.

She focuses on human-centered design, translating creative strategy into business value, building a culture of leadership, and sharing Dont Forget The Motor City (The New Mix) across disciplines. On the side, Emily enjoys exploring the desert around her home in Moab, Utah with her husband and 3 kids. Motown capitalized on its vision by following a set of first principles that will sound quite familiar: Iterate rapidly through divergence and convergence Accept failure as a necessary step to learning Critique artifacts, not people Scale through strong, service-based leadership Diverge, Converge, Dont Forget The Motor City (The New Mix) Motown founder Berry Gordy had worked in a Ford-Lincoln plant in Detroit.

No song could be released until the department unanimously agreed it was ready Recorded songs went through several mixes This feels familiar: apply limited gates early on to encourage open ideation, and gradually narrow through cross-functional critique Dont Forget The Motor City (The New Mix) prioritization.

The idea was to have more flops within the company and fewer on the streets Bob Ohlsson The company invested time early in the process to produce lots of ideas when risk was low.

No Room for ego Berry Gordy discovered quality control while working on an assembly line, and applied the concept ruthlessly at Motown. What would we do without it? I'd be lost. I would imagine I access it sometimes several times a day and it always has the answers. Thanks guys. You are simply the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Join Date Jun Posts Originally Posted by woodward.

Join Date Sep Posts 5, It is an absolutely fantastic website! A great resource. Thanks for all your work putting it together and running it, guys. Join Date Aug Posts 11, Join Date Sep Posts Where would we be without this wonderful source to refer to? I am so sorry to read in the acknowledgements that Keith Hughes brother passed away in March. He had been mentioned as a source of support in every edition. My condolences to you Keith. Join Date Aug Posts 9, Truly invaluable.

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Tr.cm/11wz - Bru (4) - Moment Of Clarity (File, MP3, Album), Dvořák* - Symphony No. 4 / In Natures Realm Overture (Cassette, Album), Whatll I Do - Cher - Bittersweet - The Love Songs Collection (CD), Playtoy (Long Mix) - Carmin - Playtoy (Vinyl), My Faith - Down In Flames - Start The Fucking Fire (Vinyl), Pet Eunuch - Clinic - Walking With Thee (CD, Album), Try A Little Harder - The Rolling Stones - Metamorphosis (Vinyl, LP), Be Gitaros Negaliu - Jarr - Šaukia Kūdikis (Cassette, Album), Woodstock - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà Vu (Vinyl, LP, Album), Club Groove On - Various - Westcoast LA Style Vol 4 (CD), Warning - Tony Touch - Dont Call It A Comeback (CD), Girls Dead Monster - Keep The Beats! (CD, Album), San Jacinto - Peter Gabriel - Plays Live - Highlights (CD, Album), Hit By Love (Classic Radio Mix) - Ce Ce Peniston - Hit By Love (CD), Nem Állok Le - Mr. Missh - 60 Nap (CD, Album)