I read a great post by Steve Boese earlier this week called ‘On crazy ideas and taking action’. It’s a story about Steve’s pet rock (they’ve been together since 1975, awwww) and how the crazy idea of pet rocks made Gary Dahl a milionaire. It’s a top tale and I encourage you to take a pause and read it now before continuing here.
I hope you enjoyed Steve’s story? Now where were we… ah yes, crazy ideas and taking action. It’s no secret that I’m excited to be off to Ohio in September to speak at their SHRM conference. Rush are on their North American Clockwork Angels tour at the same time, and they pass close by to Ohio a couple of days after SHRM concludes. I’ve already got tickets to see them in London when the tour comes to Europe in 2013, and it might be fun to see them in the States too.
Then an idea forms, a crazy idea. Rush have been together for many years. They’ve seen and heard it all, and they’ve been together and apart and demonstrated a drive to learn and be great at what they do. They are for me a fantastic example of teamwork. And of course it’s not just them – what about everyone else who helps to make a tour like Clockwork Angels happen. I’m confident there will be many people behind the scenes who’ve worked with the band a long time, as well as newcomers. I’d love to learn the story behind the tour.
I dropped fellow Rush fan Kevin Grossman a line and we thought a little more about the crazy idea. Then we took some action. This week we’ve contacted Rush’s management company and asked if we could possibly meet some of the crew, and hey the band too if they have the time, and find out directly from them, what makes a team like Rush tick rock. So far, we’ve had no reply – and with the number of approaches they must get, it’s no surprise. We’ll hang on a few days yet, and give them a little nudge next week. Maybe something will happen, maybe it won’t, and whatever happens I was brought up to believe that if you don’t ask you don’t get.
Is it time to let your crazy idea out too?
The publicity photo used in this blog post was taken by the late Andrew MacNaughtan
Great post and idea Doug. I wish I was able to catch your presentation at Ohio SHRM. Best of luck on the Rush idea…I saw them three times in the 80s and they were spectacular.
Thanks Jay – I hope we can get a few #OHSHRM tweets out for you and others who cannot be there. It would be lovely if we can get a response to our proposal – we’ll see eh 😉 I’ve seen Rush live a few times and yes, spectacular is one great way to describe them.
Thanks for the props, Doug and I hope you and Kevin get to see your crazy plan work out as well. I was a big Rush fan back in the day myself so I will be following the story quite closely!
Thank you Steve and your Pet Rock story lifted me and gave me the impetus to share a little craziness. Here’s hoping 😉
Right on, Brother. Believe.