Christopher Walken: Business Exemplar

One of the things I've learned in being in business is to expect the unexpected--the kind of thing that never crosses your fevered mind while you're sipping a latte in the bank drive-through line. I've met people who had a great business idea and should have been rich, but weren't. I've met people who stunned me with how little they knew about being in business, and by how much success they'd garnered.

I like hanging out on the skinny branches where anything can (and usually does) happen.

One actor epitomizes the unexpected: Christopher Walken. He's a much-lauded, talented and prolific actor with a creepily beautiful face. His movies have grossed over $1 billion in North America alone. He's been an angel, a video game character, a whacked out vet and an evil genius and then some and won't walk away from a part unless he just doesn't have the time. And then there's this music video ("Weapon of Choice" by Fatboy Slim):



Here's what I've learned from Master Walken: Try anything, don't stand on ceremony, be willing to see yourself differently, go broad, and then try going deep. Transform yourself in the service of what you love.

This has had me take several runs at my consulting business over the years, working on projects about which I knew little (like the country and western music video Internet project...ask yourself how much I knew about C&W or the Internet, for that matter, 10 years ago).

Cheers!