We’re well into January, and I’m guessing that by now you’ve already begun abandoning your well thought out and well intentioned New Years resolutions. And they were well intentioned, weren’t they? That’s because it’s so much easier to be optimistic when you’re looking at the new year through the rosy vapors of last night’s champagne. But then stark reality hits (along with a killer headache if you bought the kind of champagne where you get change back for a ten), and your ambitious plans start to crack and fall apart like a cheap facelift.

Why is this?

I think it’s because the whole concept of New Years resolutions is a flawed one.

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In a recent blog article, I made the observation that too many of the big decisions we make in life are predicated on the avoidance of failure rather than on the achievement of success. In other words, we make too many “safe” decisions because we’re afraid of what might happen if we fail. I encouraged my readers to aim higher—to shoot for greatness, innovation, and influence.

But what if you do fail?

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Cool guy Steve Spangler with Ellen DeGeneres

At a recent convention where I was speaking, I ran into my good friend and science wizard Steve Spangler. As always, I was astounded by just how successful this guy is. He runs a multi-million dollar company, he’s an Emmy winner, and he’s appeared numerous times on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. And if you ask him what he does for a living, he’ll tell you the truth. He’s a science teacher.

So how does a science teacher achieve that kind of success? I think it boils down to a decision he made several years ago—a decision that most of us would never have thought to make.

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I recently read a wonderful book called Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan. Since I’d written a book extolling the business virtues of the Beatles, I was curious to see how these two iconic bands stacked up in the world of corporate smarts. In some areas I found that their methods (whether conscious or not) were similar; in others, they were miles apart. For example:

Embracing technology: Scott and Halligan talk about the Dead’s state-of-the-art, 26,400 watt concert sound system—the Wall of Sound. It was a system that truly left other bands in the dust. The lesson, of course, is that businesses need to learn what is state-of-the-art in their industries, and embrace these new technologies to keep themselves ahead of the competition.

The Beatles, by contrast, didn’t have the luxury of a Wall of Sound. Most of their concerts were played through a meager 500 watts of amplification—less than some home theater systems today. Still, the Fabs embraced what early technology they could. It was, for example, at their insistence that EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) finally upgraded from four-track to eight-track recording capability. But more important, perhaps, the Beatles readily embraced whatever technology was best for the job, whether it was new or not. Part of the background instrumentation on the song Lovely Rita consists of all four Beatles playing combs wrapped with toilet paper!

So yes, embrace technology…but remember that technology itself is just a tool, not the goal.

Free your content: The Grateful Dead were famous for not just allowing bootleg recording of their concerts, but actively encouraging it. They knew that the more widely disseminated their music was, the bigger their fan base would become. The parallels to social media and Internet strategy are unmistakable: giving away content—which may seem counterintuitive—ultimately results in more customers and more profits.

Contrast this with the Beatles, who have just as famously kept a very tight leash on their music distribution (witness the almost Herculean efforts it took to get their 40 year old songs on iTunes). Pretty much the exact opposite of the Dead’s strategy, and yet both bands are immensely successful. What gives? What’s the difference?

The difference is that the Dead and the Beatles were selling different products. Although in a general sense both bands were in the music business, the Dead were selling concerts while the Beatles were selling records. The Dead’s product was the next live concert, and they figured (correctly) that if fans could hear previous concerts (which were always different), they’d be inspired to buy a ticket to the next one. Not so with the Beatles. After 1966, there were no concerts. If you got a free copy of the Sgt. Pepper album, you wouldn’t be inspired to go out and buy the product, because the album was the product. Instead, they put giveaways inside the album itself. Sgt. Pepper came with a series of cardboard cut-outs, and the subsequent White Album included glossy photos of the individual Beatles as well as a full-size poster.

The lesson is to understand what your real product is, and to not give that away. Instead, give away services and products which will lead to further sales of your real product.

Experiment, experiment, experiment: The Grateful Dead were the ultimate jam band. In concert, their songs would become lengthy improvisations—sometimes brilliant, sometimes not so much. But that willingness to experiment kept it fresh, for both the band and the fans, and it made each Dead concert a truly unique event.

Nobody would mistake the Beatles for a jam band. Their concerts were short (around 30 minutes) and virtually the same, night after night. But it was in their recordings (particularly from Rubber Soul on) that the Beatles’ experimentation shined. Each album was unlike the one before; each was a risk (most of their fans didn’t want them to change); and each left the competition in the dust.

So although the Beatles and the Dead manifested their experimentation in different ways, they both understood the importance of shaking it up, of stretching the boundaries.

It’s as true in the rock world as it is in the corporate world: if you keep doing the same thing you’ve always been doing—even if you’re the best in the world at it—eventually the competition can catch up. And if you wait for that to happen, it may already be too late.

One band was together fewer than ten years, the other was around for thirty. One band thrived primarily in the recording studio, the other was the ultimate stage act. Different bands, different styles. But they both have one thing in common: they are unbelievably successful. And isn’t that a great model for us all?

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Our business lesson today, boys and girls, comes from a spider (and not in one of those hokey “Charlotte’s Web” kind of ways). A spider, whom I’ll call “Henry” because that’s what my girlfriend and I named him, has built a web just outside my front door, right by the porch light. Now, given that most other flying insects (and by “flying insects” I mean “spider food”) are drawn to light, this is a particularly good place for Henry to set up shop. And while we could draw a fine business lesson from this about going to where your customers are (and by “customers” I mean “spider food”), there was something else I noticed about Henry and his web that got me thinking:

He really “owns” his space.

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So there was this band from England. Not London. Somewhere up north—a place called Liverpool. They were a hit in their hometown, but hadn’t really made much of a splash anywhere else (except for a few clubs in Hamburg). They had gotten a recording contract, and even put out a record—a simplistic little song called Love Me Do. It was nothing particularly special. They were a young band, and they were still looking for their first hit.

And their producer found one for them. It went on to become a number one hit song. But not for this little band. Because this little band—the Beatles (duh!)—turned it down.

A number one hit song. A sure thing. And they turned it down. Smartest move they ever made. So my question for you is this: Would you have made the same move? The answer, in all likelihood, is no.

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Yesterday I gave a keynote speech at a resort and spa nestled in the Colorado Rockies. (Hey, sometimes you get a resort; sometimes you get a Motel 3.) This resort had signs posted throughout the facility touting a luxury pedicure available in the spa. This was the last line of the sign:

“A pedicure from [name of spa] will be a lovely caveat to your evening.”

I’m not sure what word they were trying for, but the last time I looked, “caveat” meant “a warning.” I even checked a dictionary to make sure there wasn’t some other definition of which I was unaware. There wasn’t. So what they’re saying is that their pedicure will be a lovely warning to my evening.

Now, I don’t know if this signage (which the front desk, after I pointed it out to them—yes, I am that irritating—told me they’d been using for months) has actually cost them any business (I didn’t partake in the pedicure; but then, I wasn’t inclined to anyway), but it brings up a crucial leadership skill that doesn’t get talked about all that often.

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We all love a risk-taker, don’t we? The business owner, the entrepreneur, the CEO who has a big idea, then boldly rolls the dice with a “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” attitude. We look at them with wonder and envy, and jealously applaud them when they make it big. We hear people tell us, “You have to take risks in business if you want to make it big,” and we nod our heads in agreement, sit back in our metaphorical leather chairs smoking our metaphorical pipes and respond sagely, “Yes, yes, risks. Must take risks.”

And then we go back to doing what we’ve always been doing.

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How many opportunities (including BIG ones) are you leaving on the table because you’re ignoring the small game?

I was just reading an interview with Paul McCartney’s bass player, Brian Ray (and what kind of pressure must that be—playing bass for one of the greatest rock bassists of all time?!). The interviewer asked the obvious question: “So, how did you get the McCartney gig?” I think Brian’s answer is a great business lesson for all of us. Here’s what he said:

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June 23rd, 2010 is a date that will go down in Wimbledon history. This is the date that two guys whom you’ve probably never heard of—Nicolas Mahut and John Isner—battled for ten straight hours in a match that had to be completed the following day because, well, because it got dark!

Ten straight hours! Even before it was completed the following day, it was the longest match in the history of the Wimbledon Championships. In fact, it was the longest match in the history of tennis.

Now, why should you care? (I figured I’d say it first before you could get all snotty about it.) What’s the leadership lesson for your business?

Actually, there are two:

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