Somebody That I Used To Know

I first heard this song on an episode of Glee this past Spring.  It was sung by two estranged brothers, and the lyrics were just so hauntingly real ... the performance gave me goose bumps.  Shortly thereafter,  as with all good marketing, the "real" version started appearing on pop radio stations over and over again as performed by the original group, Gotye.  The original version is a duet between former male/female lovers, and it was equally as compelling and beautifully orchestrated.

I didn't think much more ... just another pop song that captivated my attention for a few weeks.  Moving on.

But then I saw this video.  So creative, so compelling, so uniquely different.  I'm obsessed.

So much so that I used it as an opener for Day Two of my Board Meeting a couple of weeks ago.  The message I wanted to send was that teamwork, creativity, collaboration, and innovation can produce amazing results.  It can take you from ordinary to extraordinary, from conventional to ground breaking. Yet still in a very simple manner.

It's a video of the original group Goyte, performing the song as a team.  It's a wow, and such a lesson learned in creativity and working together, each with a specific role.

(correction:  I've been since told that this performance is from "Walk Off The Earth", doing a cover of the Goyte original)

What do you think?  What's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
President, Cohn & Wolfe North America
Author, The Experience Effect series
Professor, NYU