Business Superhero of the Month: David Bowie

21 Jan 2016

It may seem an unusual pick for our Business Superhero feature, but with the passing of music legend, David Bowie, we’ve all been reminicising about what he meant to each one of us. The more we explored and discussed his life, the more I realised how much the business world could learn from David Bowie’s life.

David Bowie was a music, fashion, and cultural icon, he had the genius ability to reinvent himself time and time again, always refusing to stand still.

Although not a businessman in the sense we usually speak about, what David demonstrated during his six-decade career is the ability to constantly evolve. It was his desire to constantly push the boundaries and take risks – which were usually so off the wall for his generation – that continued to make him current and interesting. 

So often in business it can be easy to keep to what works and not want to change in case you disrupt the current, successful flow – by not developing and improving, you will only find yourself becoming less and less relevant. Stagnation is a word that comes to mind…but is never a word you would use to describe David Bowie.

His love for his art was clear and he became renowned for being an innovator – not being afraid to venture into uncharted territories or worrying about whether the general public would approve of his latest adventure. Staying at the forefront of innovation in your industry is vital – you want to be leading the way not bringing up the rear – and the only way to do this is to occasionally task some risks.

There is nothing more important in business than standing out in your industry and the only way to do that is to carry on making strong decisions and taking risks. The possibilities are endless. 

“I don’t know where I am going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” David Bowie, 1947 – 2016