Power to the People: The Power to Transform

This being the 70th birthday of John Lennon, I thought it the perfect time to look into why he holds such a special place in our collective memory, beyond the obvious contributions he made as a Beatle and during his solo career.

Like the other three members of the Fab Four, he was a decent musician and singer. And fortunately for all of us – he was also the perfectly acerbic counterbalance to McCartney's saccharine sweetness.

But in my opinion, what made Lennon so transcendent and transformational was not the power of his musicianship, songwriting or singing.

It was the power of his ideas.

Lennon brought "power to the people," imagined a world in which there was "nothing to kill or die for," and asked us to "give peace a chance."

He and Yoko spent their honeymoon in bed for a week, talking to and singing for the press, to promote their dream of world peace. Imagine if they had Twitter to play with.

The point is that even the most incredible talent and great production values can only get you so far. 

Regardless if you're a Beatle or a marketing executive, to be truly transformational, there's nothing more powerful than a strong idea. 

-Mark