Having a prayerful attitude in the midst of chaos.
Today’s inspiration starts with a photo I shot in London’s Piccadilly a few days ago and comes from my friend Robert Gillies who dropped a brief blog in between Berklee assignments (which, I remember well from my summer spent there, are overwhelming). I quote because this was such a good thing to wake up to:
Honestly though I’m rather homesick and feeling the pressures of taking my career into my own hands. Whilst all those pressures are self-imposed it keeps me wondering if I’m doing the right thing; self-doubt is a constant companion, but the enthusiasm of my family, friends and fans, coupled with a prayerful attitude, keep me going. I may try to stretch myself too far at times, but I am determined to reach my goal.
Thank you, Robert! There is something about knowing that you’re not alone. It’s heartening.
Today will be a day spent on readings and essays about ‘controlling’. Controlling is the last of the four aspects of business management. The first three are planning, organizing, and leading. As I read these articles and consider the ways in which I intend to measure my company’s (or my own) performance, it strikes me that I’ve been doing it all along, but informally, and uninformed.
What does control do? It “provides an organization with ways to adapt to environmental change, to limit the accumulation of error, to cope with organizational complexity and to minimize costs”, according to Davidson and Griffin (2003). These are the functions of control.
Types of control include the control of physical resources, human resources and information resources as well as financial control. The control of financial resources is the most important area because finances affect all other areas. Yet, the expenditure of money doesn’t necessarily indicate that we’re backtracking, failing, or going in the wrong direction. Sometimes a financial investment cannot be measured in monetary terms.
Thus, there are steps to take. Establish standards of performance. Measure your own company’s or personal performance. Compare performance and standards. Evaluate performance and take action. Simple. Clear. Easy.
Right.
Without diving into the academics too deeply, I suspect what I’ll ruminate on today is the fact that I have not established specific standards of performance. It brings to mind the number of times people have asked me what my definition of success is. I normally respond by listing off the names of a few artists I love and admire: Sarah McLachlan, Jann Arden, Ani Difranco, Loreena McKennitt, Ember Swift. There are so many others. In different ways, they all epitomize ’success’, but I was grounded at Midem when Steve Greenberg suggested (or perhaps it was the manager of Chuck D…I can’t remember) that the sale of 5,000 copies of an independent release would be considered a success. That’s helpful. I was aiming for double that, ultimately.
One can either establish one’s own standards or benchmarks to achieve, or one can measure and then compare progress with that of another artist or independent label, though the rub is to take into consideration whether or not you’re at the same place in your development, whether you’re at the same point in the cycle. Sometimes, theory is tremendously helpful.
I realized a month ago that I needed help and that was a turning point. I started to ask for it. Closer examination of how things are going, hence…control, should unearth some new realizations and directions, strategies, and tactics. It all starts with the mission, of course, which I have long ago established for me and my little label. And it is action that plows the field. So, off I go like a good little student. To my studies. To my books. La la la la laaaaaaaaaa. And tomorrow I have a meeting with my marketing assistant, Roxanna.
Lorelei Loveridge
Orderly Bazaar Records & Publishing
www.loreleiloveridge.com
www.myspace.com/loreleiloveridge
