How DARE They—Radiohead Using our Problem-Solving & Fearless Decision-Making Methods?!
How many companies do you own? Would you consider owning and running your own, or even a few? What about more than a dozen?!
Radiohead is practically a household name in the music industry. Not only are they gifted with their musical creativity; they are gifted with something even more important to keep their music alive: financial sense.
Did you know that Radiohead has about 20 companies? This beats out the reported 8 companies Paul McCartney has run by more than half!
1993 is when it all started, and the band formed Radiohead Ltd. to deal with their touring income. Then, in 1996, they created W.A.S.T.E. Products Ltd. to handle their merchandise sales. From there, the band continued to be financially savvy, forming companies with eachnew album or product.
And of course, one of their most famous and successful albums, In Rainbows, was sold for a "name your own price" cost model, which made everyone scoff at such a Bizarre idea and tell the band they were crazy to break away from their record label and release an album on their own. But guess who was scoffing at their critics while cashing checks for copious amounts of money after a huge launch? Yep, that's right: the crazy idea to have fans name their own price for the In Rainbows album propelled Radiohead into higher stardom and made the music industry quake in their boots.
Radiohead continues to enjoy their success from strategic decisions made early on, and has total creative freedom with their empire. Today, they even perform voluntary liquidations of companies that have downsized. Many musicians and even celebrities should take a page out of their book—and we should too!
The business model Radiohead has is far beyond what most bands have. Their Bizarre and Daring decisions to set up a company per album may sound extreme and out of the norm for most, but it all comes down to sensibility. By having so many companies, the band protects itself in case one of their entities loses money.
While many bands only make it so far because they run out of money or aren’t as protective of their assets, Radiohead is leaps and bounds beyond others by being creative problem solvers in the area of finances. After all, they’re not just musicians; they are business owners too.
Remember when I told you that instead of “thinking outside the box,” you need to Think Inside the Triangle? And, of course, that Triangle is a B.A.D. one, where B.A.D. stands for: a Bizarre idea, A Little Different idea, and a Daring idea. Well, Radiohead used our B.A.D. Triangle—how dare they?!—and came up with some pretty Bizarre and Daringideas and solutions to make their music career more profitable and sustainable. Plus, they have some pretty bizarre names for their companies, too!
Rumor has it all the details of their companies and holdings are very hush hush—you can’t even get answers from their lawyers or accountants, apparently—which makes them oh so daring! Wouldn’t you like to take a page out of their book and be successful too? Of course you would!
So, I’ve got three solutions for you help you use our B.A.D. Triangle like Radiohead did to solve problems and make fearless decisions. You can do one, two, or all of the following:
1. Look at the graphic of our B.A.D. Triangle below and see if you can figure out how to use it just by looking at it.
2. Get our free Instant Problem Solving checklist mini book that will explain the process further—click HERE.
3. Take our newest course on Problem-Solving & Fearless Decision-Making on Udemy and get all the answers. It’s on sale for $10 this month, and you can get it by clicking HERE.
No matter what you choose to do, there’s only one thing that will guarantee you seeing a change from your current position or situation. You MUST take action. It’s the only way!
If you’re stuck and don’t know where to start, leave a comment or PM me and I’ll be happy to help you out in whatever way I can. And if you have something to say about this article, let me know in the comments. Maybe you have a different way to solve problems and make decisions . . . if so, let me know!
Images by Jane Tian @Sticky Steps