I woke up to the sad news that Pete Seeger has passed. He was a giant of American music, influencing and inspiring many music greats. In the case of Bruce Springsteen, that influence was so great The Boss recorded an album of songs Seeger made popular. It seems appropriate that this TunesDay, we look at one of Pete’s most popular songs. Here is the version most of us know:
For Turn Turn Turn, Seeger often said all he did was write some music and six words (actually, one word repeated) since the lyric is from the Book Of Ecclesiastes. That sort of humility (and humor) extended into his sense of community. You never went to a Pete Seeger show unless you were prepared to sing, and I can’t remember ever not knowing many of his instantly familiar songs – If I Had A Hammer, Where Have All The Flowers Gone and many others. While The Byrds made today’s song a hit, many others recorded it as well. I think that’s so in part because of the music and mostly because of the message which is one of those universal truths that apply to business as well as to our non-business lives.
There is a time to every purpose; everything has a season but that time will come and go. That’s the song distilled down and it’s something we often overlook in business. If you don’t actively embrace change, you probably have very little chance to do well. It’s not particularly difficult to look around and see those industries with outdated business models and those which have sprung up to fill the voids left by those businesses not moving forward. The music business itself is still struggling to turn, as is any content business that clings to the old ways and sues their customers.
Change isn’t something to be feared in business. New markets emerge, new product categories are developed. It’s something that, as the song points out, is GOING to happen. Change is the catalyst that moves business forward. We can choose to embrace it or to resist it. Your call.
Consult Keith 