Why is it that some people enjoy being questioned on their decisions or positions on a topic, while others feel challenged, sometimes to the point of feeling threatened?   While the latter can occur in any environment, I’ve observed it more when there’s a hierarchy between people, e.g. management/employee, teacher/student etc.  Whatever the reason, these interactions frequently stifle innovation and creativity, and can affect the bottom line.  Over the years I’ve watched this play out numerous times in both industry and academia.

The other day Andy and I were coaching a pair of music school graduates who contacted us with questions on how to grow a business they recently started.  It soon became clear that the biggest hurdles they are facing at this time are the lack of a concise message and sales experience. 

Every arts entrepreneur knows it can be helpful to have some margin of safety when getting a new venture off the ground.  Margin of safety is an investing term that describes how the potential for loss is reduced when an asset is purchased at a price lower than its actual value. Because an artist’s biggest asset is human capital—the talent that creates the art, music, etc., they can avoid loss by arranging adequate resources to learn and hone their craft, which increases the value of their art and gives more time to succeed.