Ten years ago, one company cropped up in all the business books – SouthWest Airlines. They’re still a brilliant company of course, but their story is well known. The new story is Cirque du Soleil, a 25 year old overnight success.
The Cirque recently visited Toronto for their marvelous and jaw-dropping show Ovo. Through a series of lucky coincidences, I got to interview Scott Wallace, the General Manger of that show. I’ve always wanted to peer under the Big Top and learn a little of how this amazing company worked.
Scott showed me around, and here’s what we discussed:
- The secret to how you manage 200+ people from 15 different countries
- How to balance providing support and removing responsibility
- How insights into a good village help to structure the running of the travelling troupe
- Ways of keeping things fresh when you’re running the same show night in and night out.
You can follow the amazing Cirque story at www.cirquedusoleil.com
Honest Tea
I’ve just returned from the TED conference in Palm Springs. One of the most fun bits was spending time with Tara Hunt. I have high regard for Tara, not just because she’s a fellow Canadian, but because she hangs out on the edge of what’s happening with business and stirs things up. She’s a social media star – but not just as a “I know about the technology” but from the point of view of “How does this matter to us as humans?” and “How does this help us build and shape community?” She is the author of 
