How does the geekiest franchise in TV and movie history produce a box office winner? And JJ Abram's Star Trek was a winner on its opening weekend. The official website declares it "the number one movie in America!" It's getting more good reviews than bad ones. No movie has ever had a bigger opening in IMAX. And the Trekker on our team (i.e. a fan who doesn't dress up like her favorite character unless it's Halloween...that would be a Trekkie) plans to see it at least a second time before it leaves the theaters. Maybe even a third.
How did this happen?
Here are a couple of factors we think are probably contributing to the success of what is, basically, the overhaul and redevelopment of this franchise (something many of our clients and friends are dealing with in their own organizations!):
- New Leadership - Abrams, the sort of crazily creative director of TV's Lost and Fringe, admits that he's never ever been a Star Trek fan. He didn't come in to save what once was or recover past glory days. He came in to make the most awesome movie he could make. He came in to produce a heart-pounding, tear-jerking, joke-cracking film that would get an audience applauding when the curtain closed (which the audience did in the theater we were in). The overhaul and redevelopment of an organization requires nothing less. If your leadership is more interested in what was than what could be, you may need new leadership. At the very least, you need leadership that is willing to be redirected and retooled.
- A Clear Mission - Abrams messed around quite a bit with the "plot" of the Star Trek story. In fact, the way he ignores or alters the "canon" (i.e., the history of the characters and the universe they inhabit) is one of the things that has gotten him into trouble with the purest Trekkies. But, the fact is, Abrams never veered from the fundamental "purpose" of the Star Trek franchise. Both the original TV series (1966-1969) and the sequel called Star Trek: Next Generation opened each episode with a recitation of the crew's mission: "To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no [one] has gone before." Every Star Trek fan in the country can quote that mission to you by heart. It has guided every action of every crew member in every series and every film for decades. It is at the core of this new movie, too. Are the people in your organization equally clear about what their common purpose is? More than ever, as resources seem to get a little scarcer and our work seems to get a little tougher, we need to be putting our energy, time, and resources to work where they really matter. In a redevelopment or renewal effort, nothing is more important. You need to know who you are and why you're doing what you're doing. There will be times when that is all you have to get you through.
- Good Timing - One of the things that sets the Star Trek franchise apart is that its message is basically a hopeful one. Sure, there are still bad guys in the universe it portrays. But the future of humanity, according to Star Trek, is one in which people get along with each other across race, gender, religion (and even species!)...and work together for the sake of the common good. Just think how radical it was, not all that long after the Bay of Pigs crisis, to have a Russian crewman appear on the bridge of the original starship Enterprise! Or how startling it was, as the civil rights movement reached its climax, to see a black woman serving with honor and valor as a Starfleet officer beside her white male colleagues. In our time, which might be characterized by an audacity of hope, people are eager for a message like this. They are ready to hear it, believe it, embrace it. Good timing isn't something you can necessarily create for your organization. But you can pay attention to what's happening around you and be ready to seize the opportunities that present themselves.
At A Renewal Enterprise we have a lot of experience helping people lead through redevelopment and renewal efforts. We'd be happy to share our experience with you if you think it's time to revision and/or refocus for mission; engage in a strategic planning process; prepare for a major fundraising campaign; redirect and retool existing leaders and/or transition to new leadership; realign staff and structure; or just spend time together in conversation about the things that really matter.
Also, feel free to print off this article and share it with your leadership team.
Use these purposeful questions as a conversation starter:
- Are we, as leaders, more focused on resurrecting the past or on living into a new future? How about the people in our organization?
- What do we need to "let go of" in order to move forward?
- How can we give the past a proper burial so that we can be free to make whatever changes need to be made?
- Are we, as leaders, clear about our common purpose? How about the people in our organization?
- Is our purpose/mission clear enough that we can easily say "no" to things that don't flow from it or contribute to it?
- Does our mission guide our every decision, help us navigate through every conflict, and determine where we are putting our resources?
- What do we need to do to make sure we're all on the same page as we move forward?
- Are we, as leaders, paying attention to what is happening around us and in the context "outside" of our organization? How about the people in our organization?
- What opportunities exist right outside our door that we aren't taking advantage of?
- Who seems primed and ready to hear the message we have to deliver and/or respond to what we have to offer? Are we ready to deliver?
- Where are the natural partnerships and/or strategic alliances? Who should we be working with and/or learning from?
Just for fun, you might also want to also check out "12 Leadership Lessons from the Bridge of the Starship Enterprise." You'll find them in this little article from Fast Company magazine.
And feel free to pass along this post to anyone you think might be helped by it...or to any of your Trekker friends (the Trekkies probably won't have liked the film so don't bother sending this to them!).
Live long and prosper!
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P.S. Join us for our next 4th Tuesday webinar (May 26th, 7-8 p.m. CDT) when we'll be doing a deep dive into the question: What can leaders learn from Star Trek? Click here to register. Cost=FREE!
P.P.S. For you Trekkers out there, SciFi Wire has a pretty good interview with Abrams posted, in which he describes what he was thinking and trying to accomplish as he took on this project. Read it here.
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