flevyblog

Flevy Blog is an online business magazine covering Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP STRATEGY, MARKETING, SALES OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN ORGANIZATION & CHANGE IT/MIS Other

One Fish, Two Fish, Big Fish, Lose Fish

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, KPI Compilation: 800+ Corporate Strategy KPIs (186-slide PowerPoint presentation). This presentation is a comprehensive collection of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) related to Corporate Strategy. A KPI is a quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization, employee, or process in meeting objectives for performance. KPIs are typically implemented [read more]

Also, if you are interested in becoming an expert on Strategy Development, take a look at Flevy's Strategy Development Frameworks offering here. This is a curated collection of best practice frameworks based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. By learning and applying these concepts, you can you stay ahead of the curve. Full details here.

* * * *

One Fish, Two Fish, Big Fish, Lose Fish

“They were capable of looking at what the rest of us thought of as a great advantage, and seeing it for what it really was.” Malcolm Gladwell

In David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell tells a brilliant tale that begins in the nineteenth century when Paris was the center of the art world. Café Guerbois was a gathering place for a small group of struggling, unknown artists. This group of artists would meet to eat, drink, and argue about politics, literature, and art. Mostly they discussed their careers.

 

During this period, art, specifically painting, was regulated by the Ministry of the Imperial House and the Fine Arts. Art was treated as a profession similar to medicine or law. The goal for every artist during this period was to have their work selected and displayed at the Palais de l’Industrie or the Salon. The Salon was prestigious and highly selective. Art professions were made and destroyed based on the opinions of the jury and the general public.

Every year in April, French painters submitted two or three of their finest paintings hoping their work would be selected for display. The pieces judged to be unacceptable were stamped with a red letter “R” for rejected. Those selected would be hung in the Salon for public viewing by millions. The paintings that received unanimous approval were hung at eye level and sure to receive the most attention. As Gladwell describes, “the winners were celebrated and saw the value of their paintings soar. The losers limped home and went back to work.” Some artists never recovered from this rejection.

 

During this period, art was expected to be “accurate, but should also set a morally acceptable tone.” The public expected to “be uplifted and entertained” by the pieces they viewed. Anything less was mocked or believed to be unworthy of recognition. It was a challenging time for any artist who went against tradition or tried to be different. The struggling artists saw the world differently. “They painted everyday life. Their brushstrokes were visible. Their figures were indistinct.” However, this small group of struggling artists all agreed that the “Salon was the most important art show in the world” and offered validation.

To break it down in today’s terms, the Salon was like Harvard or MIT. These institutions have graduated some of the greatest thinkers. They are perceived as being the “gold standard” based on their quality of education and success of their graduates. Their reputation is built on a traditional view of education the way it has always been done in a brick building with large lecture halls and accomplished faculty. This traditional view tends to perpetuate a misconception that education delivered in any other way is somehow less than. These institutions make the same mistake that the Salon made. The Salon incorrectly assumed that there was only one way to view art.

The struggling artists all knew that being accepted by the Salon or adapting their art to traditional expectations came with a cost, “it required creating the kind of art that they did not find meaningful, and they risked being lost in the clutter of other artists’ work.” They stayed up night after night, discussing whether the acceptance that came with having your art selected and displayed in the Salon was worth it or whether they should venture out on their own and find a solution that works for them. The question was whether they wanted to be a little fish in a big pond or a big fish in a little pond.

The group endlessly discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the Salon versus displaying their work in a space all their own. They understood that “the choice between the Salon and a solo show wasn’t a simple case of a best option and a second-best option. It was a choice between two very different options, each with its own strengths and drawbacks.” At the end of the day, this group of struggling artists decided to break from tradition and pursue the option supported their passions.

They found open space on the Boulevard des Capucines that had just been vacated. It was located on the top floor and contained several small rooms with red-brown walls. The exhibition opened on April 15, 1874 and lasted for one month. People paid one franc to gain admission. In total, 165 works were displayed including “three Cézannes, ten paintings by Degas, nine Monets, five Pissarros, six Renoirs, and five by Alfred Sisley.” Together this group of struggling artists created an opportunity for everyone to be treated as an equal. Every painting was hung at eye level. Pissarro wrote to a friend, “we have succeeded as intruders in setting up our little banner in the midst of the crowd.”

“Off by themselves, the artists found a new identity. They felt a new creative freedom, and before long, the outside world began to sit up and take notice. In the history of modern art, there has never been a more important or more famous exhibition.” The works of Manet, Degas, Cézanne, Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir would go on to invent the modern art movement called Impressionism.

The Impressionists disrupted the Paris art world in the nineteenth century. They realized that the traditional approach to art did not meet their needs. The Salon, which every artist strived to be a part of, emphasized inequality, promoted unhealthy competition, prematurely formed the public’s opinion, and made art less accessible. This is not to say that the Salon was all bad. The artists selected for display were no doubt extremely talented and deserved the accolades they received, but it reflected only one approach and provided only one path to success. The Impressionists showed the world that sometimes being a big fish in a small pond opens up new doors for other struggling artists or students who are just looking for an opportunity to follow their passion.

In higher education, we can be quick to condemn institutions for offering low cost, accessible education in a way that is new or different. We diminish the quality of education earned by these students. However, what we miss is that the students served are following their dreams by choosing an educational option that was designed to meet their needs. Our focus should be on encouraging institutions to offer more quality educational options at “eye level.” It is not just about large endowments, well-manicured campuses, or championship winning athletic teams. Higher education, like art, is about public enrichment and accessibility of opportunities. We need to support the small ponds so we avoid losing fish along the way.

And if you are ever in Philadelphia, stop by the Barnes Foundation and experience for yourself the impact made by a few struggling artists and read the full story about the Impressionists in Malcolm Gladwell’s book.

144-slide PowerPoint presentation
Frameworks are powerful tools Strategy Consultants leverage to address their clients' business issues in an organized, thorough, and efficient fashion. In this presentation, we provide primers to 20 consulting frameworks used by Strategy Consulting firms. These frameworks have been categorized [read more]

Want to Achieve Excellence in Strategy Development?

Gain the knowledge and develop the expertise to become an expert in Strategy Development. Our frameworks are based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. Click here for full details.

"Strategy without Tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu

For effective Strategy Development and Strategic Planning, we must master both Strategy and Tactics. Our frameworks cover all phases of Strategy, from Strategy Design and Formulation to Strategy Deployment and Execution; as well as all levels of Strategy, from Corporate Strategy to Business Strategy to "Tactical" Strategy. Many of these methodologies are authored by global strategy consulting firms and have been successfully implemented at their Fortune 100 client organizations.

These frameworks include Porter's Five Forces, BCG Growth-Share Matrix, Greiner's Growth Model, Capabilities-driven Strategy (CDS), Business Model Innovation (BMI), Value Chain Analysis (VCA), Endgame Niche Strategies, Value Patterns, Integrated Strategy Model for Value Creation, Scenario Planning, to name a few.

Learn about our Strategy Development Best Practice Frameworks here.

Readers of This Article Are Interested in These Resources


324-slide PowerPoint presentation
Curated by McKinsey-trained top managers. Unlocking Success with the Complete Chief Strategy Officer Business Toolkit In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the role of a Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) has become more critical than ever before. The CSO is not just a [read more]


 
153-slide PowerPoint presentation
 
 
23-slide PowerPoint presentation

About Susan Chiaramonte

President of EduCred Services and publishes weekly blog posts on higher education, business, and leadership. EduCred Services is a higher education consulting firm providing customized solutions to strengthen institutions’ foundation for continued growth, efficiency, and sustainability. You can connect with her on Susan Chiaramonte and educredservices.





Complimentary Business Training Guides


Many companies develop robust strategies, but struggle with operationalizing their strategies into implementable steps. This presentation from flevy introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. [Learn more]

  This 48-page whitepaper, authored by consultancy Envisioning, provides the frameworks, tools, and insights needed to manage serious Change—under the backdrop of the business lifecycle. These lifecycle stages are each marked by distinct attributes, challenges, and behaviors. [Learn more]

We've developed a very comprehensive collection of Strategy & Transformation PowerPoint templates for you to use in your own business presentations, spanning topics from Growth Strategy to Brand Development to Innovation to Customer Experience to Strategic Management. [Learn more]

  We have compiled a collection of 10 Lean Six Sigma templates (Excel) and Operational Excellence guides (PowerPoint) by a multitude of LSS experts. These tools cover topics including 8 Disciplines (8D), 5 Why's, 7 Wastes, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), and DMAIC. [Learn more]
Recent Articles by Corporate Function

  

  

  

  

  


The Flevy Business Blog (https://flevy.com/blog) is a leading source of information on business strategies, business theories, and business stories. Most of our articles are authored by management consultants and industry executives with over 20 years of experience.

Flevy (https://flevy.com) is the marketplace for business best practices, such as management frameworks, presentation templates, and financial models. Our best practice documents are of the same caliber as those produced by top-tier consulting firms (like McKinsey, Bain, Accenture, BCG, and Deloitte) and used by Fortune 100 organizations. Learn more about Flevy here.


Connect with Flevy:

     
  


About Flevy.com   /   Terms   /   Privacy Policy
© . Flevy LLC. All Rights Reserved.