Exito Madonna

Article

Madonna – Strategy on the Dance Floor

Jamie Anderson& Martin Kupp European School of Management and technology

To be published in Business Strategy Review, Spring 2007 (forthcoming)

Abstract This article explores the theme of strategy by examining the career of Madonna, the world’s highest earning female entertainer, and one of the best-known women on the planet. The articleidentifies the impact that strategy can have on successful performance, both for individual managers and for organizations. As the Madonna example demonstrates, strategy is not about crafting a detailed plan to be implemented without adaptation or evolution, but about establishing an overall direction that incorporates five key elements – vision, customer and industry insight, leveragingcompetences and weaknesses, consistent implementation, and a drive towards continuous renewal.

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Introduction The year 2005 saw Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Ritchie celebrate her 47th birthday and reach new heights in what few would question as an incredibly successful career. Her documentary titled I'm Going To Tell You A Secret was debuted, showcasing Madonna behind the scenes during herRe-Invention world tour, and in July she announced that she would be releasing her 10th studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. The first single, ‘Hung Up’ went straight in at number one on the UK Singles Chart, marking her 11th chart-topping UK single. During the first week, ‘Hung Up’ was the number one download on iTunes stores around the world, and in November Madonna opened the MTV European MusicAwards with a stage performance of the track.

So how has Madonna been able to maintain her incredible success? The answer to this question lies in five key ingredients of successful strategy that are equally relevant to companies and individuals. These five dimensions have provided the foundation underpinning Madonna’s stardom, and if diligently pursued can provide the ingredients forsustained company and career success.

Dimension 1 – Vision One of the most important drivers of Madonna’s success has been her vision to become the world’s foremost female performer. Between 1983 and 2005, ten studio albums, multiple world tours, and a dozen or so movie roles had established Madonna with an image and persona beyond any single field of entertainment: In delivering upon her vision shehas also made a great deal of money: she is easily the world’s top earning female entertainer, and has a net worth estimated at over €300 million. Madonna’s vision to become a star has been clearly apparent, and her spectrum of personal and professional activities – stage performances, television appearances, albums, music videos, Hollywood films, books, and links to charity – all evidence aremarkable dedication to a single goal: the objective of becoming the world’s foremost female performer.

Madonna has demonstrated a clear commitment to her super-stardom goal that has been pursued with single mindedness throughout her career. Her aspiration to be a performer started at High School, where she was a straight-A

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student and excelled at sport, dance and drama. She continued herinterest in dance during brief periods at colleges in Michigan and North Carolina, and in 1977 went to New York, studying with noted choreographer Alvin Ailey and taking modeling jobs. Two years later, Madonna moved to France to join a show featuring disco singer Patrick Hernandez. There she met musician Dan Gilroy and, back in New York, the pair formed club band The Breakfast Club. Madonna playeddrums and sang with the band before setting up pop group Emmy in 1980 with Detroit-born drummer and former boyfriend, Steve Bray. Together, Madonna and Bray created club tracks which led to a recording deal with Sire Records. With leading New York disc jockey Mark Kamins producing, she recorded "Everybody", a US club hit in 1982.

Firms that do not have a vision of where they want to go soon...