By Stanley E. Fawcett, Amydee M. Fawcett, A. Michael Knemyer and Sebastian Brockhaus ·
January 16, 2020
On May 21, 2017, the Big Top came down and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed its final show in, where else, New York’s Nassau Coliseum. After a 146-year run, the curtain closed on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” That said, it’s time for a one-question pop quiz that focuses on a critical supply chain capability that you need if you want to help your company avoid Ringling’s fate. Here’s the question: Why did “The Greatest Show on Earth” go out of business?
Perhaps you’re thinking: “The circus is a relic of the 20th Century. It’s amazing that Ringling survived as long as it did.” If so, you’ve overlooked Cirque du Soleil, a smashingly successful 21st Century circus. Every year, close to 20 million people pay upwards of $100 per ticket to experience Cirque performers in action.
The diverging fates of Ringling and Cirque highlight one of the great mysteries in business: “How do one-time showstoppers lose their balance on the competitive high wire?” The mystery is solved in two words:
- Choreography. Choreography, the art and science of making meaning through space and movement, brought the famed three rings together, creating the circus.
- Competency. Although both Cirque and Ringling were born of choreography, Cirque thrives because it invests in choreography as a valued competence. The Ringling Bros. died because it didn’t.
By Stanley E. Fawcett, Amydee M. Fawcett, A. Michael Knemyer and Sebastian Brockhaus ·
January 16, 2020
On May 21, 2017, the Big Top came down and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed its final show in, where else, New York’s Nassau Coliseum. After a 146-year run, the curtain closed on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” That said, it’s time for a one-question pop quiz that focuses on a critical supply chain capability that you need if you want to help your company avoid Ringling’s fate. Here’s the question: Why did “The Greatest Show on Earth” go out of business?
Perhaps you’re thinking: “The circus is a relic of the 20th Century. It’s amazing that Ringling survived as long as it did.” If so, you’ve overlooked Cirque du Soleil, a smashingly successful 21st Century circus. Every year, close to 20 million people pay upwards of $100 per ticket to experience Cirque performers in action.
The diverging fates of Ringling and Cirque highlight one of the great mysteries in business: “How do one-time showstoppers lose their balance on the competitive high wire?” The mystery is solved in two words:
- Choreography. Choreography, the art and science of making meaning through space and movement, brought the famed three rings together, creating the circus.
- Competency. Although both Cirque and Ringling were born of choreography, Cirque thrives because it invests in choreography as a valued competence. The Ringling Bros. died because it didn’t.
January 16, 2020
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