The ego can be destructive, especially at work. I grew up listening to Herb Albert’s music. I couldn’t help it. Along with the Tijuana Brass, he made music that was so popular it was played on TV commercials and provided the backdrop for nationally televised game shows. Herb Albert was a “machine” generating multimillions of dollars selling record albums.
Herb Albert was also a savvy businessman. He formed a record company with his good friend Jerry Moss, and they killed it. (In 1987, they sold the company for $500 million, and Herb gave most of his away in philanthropy.)
I recently saw a documentary on Herb Albert, and one of my favorite stories was this. Herb was a good singer, good enough to where he had sung a song written by Burt Bacharach that went to number one on the Billboard Charts—“This Guy’s in Love with You.” Later, Burt wrote another song that Herb enjoyed so much that he recorded it. He gave his best and was quite pleased with himself. Afterward, he listened to his recording with his head recording engineer and good friend, Larry Levine. Herb told Larry, “Larry, tell me the truth, how do I sound singing this song?“
“You sound terrible singing this song,” Larry answered.
What would you have done if you had been Herb?
Act defensively?
Chew our your engineer?
Smugly ask him, “And how many records did you sell last year?”
Fire him on the spot?
Guess what Herb did?
He listened. He decided his engineer was right. He then took the song and gave it to a couple of kids in their early twenties, a brother and sister. Herb told him, “I think you guys can sing this song and do well with it. Arrange it however you want.”
They reworked the song to fit their talents, and then they recorded it. It reached number one and became one of the best-selling singles of the year…and all time.
The song was “Close to You.” I’ve heard that song played at a few weddings through the years (another song played a lot has been “We’ve Only Just Begun”—also Carpenters’ song.)
My point is that many of us enjoy a beautiful song thanks to the Carpenters and a tremendously talented individual who kept his ego in check – Herb Albert. An old proverb goes like this, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Herb Albert rose instead of fell.
Don’t let ego get in the way of good work.