Lesson from the Band Journey: No Team Member is Irreplaceable
Last night I got to see Journey perform at Jones Beach – a big deal for guys like me who are musically stuck in the 80s. Whether you love the band or hate them, though, one thing is for sure: they’ve done something right in order to still be around. I’d argue that the way they configure their team is the biggest factor in Journey’s longevity and continued success.
The hyper-short version, for those who don’t know:
- 1973 – Band was formed
- 1977 – New lead singer, Steve Perry, signed on
- 1981 – Ridiculously insane success with “Escape” album, featuring hit songs “Don’t Stop Believin’” & others
- Rest of the 80s – Popularity beyond belief
- Mid-90s – Steve Perry leaves band; new singer Steve Augeri brought on
- 2007 – New singer Arnel Pineda brought on
- 2011 – Band still playing, selling albums, packing arenas
(Click to learn the longer version of the history of Journey)
Of course there are other factors at play regarding Journey’s continued success, but with regards to the music itself, it basically comes down to 1) the band and 2) the songs. After all those years, you can imagine that the guys in the band are getting a bit old, and parts are starting to break down, if you will. The songs, however, are incredibly demanding – especially the lead vocals, which are sung extremely powerfully and in a high register, which Steve Perry had a unique ability to belt out. With Steve gone, shouldn’t that have been Journey’s “swan song?”
As a manager of teams, what should jump out at you is that Journey didn’t do what you’d expect them to do: call it quits after their frontman with an incredibly unique voice left the band. Instead, they simply searched high and low until they found singers who sounded exactly like him – even resorting to YouTube in the case of their current singer!
Whether you agree with this decision or not, the results are clear: Journey remains extremely viable and successful nearly 40 years after being formed. It seems that the old adage “nobody is irreplaceable” holds true, after all.
Do you have any “irreplaceable” key members of your team? What would you do if they suddenly disappeared?