“I made it through the wilderness…”

I doubt Madonna has ever sung (or spoken) truer words in her nearly 25-year career.

Growing up in Bay City, Michigan in the ’60s and ’70s, the girl then known as Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was known for getting good grades and excelling as a member of her high school’s cheerleading squad.

Flash forward a few decades and the girl has done more than grow into a woman. She’s become a singer, songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress and author. One of the most famous women in the world, she’s sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and has an estimated net worth of $325 million.

You don’t have to convince Jamie Anderson and Martin Kupp, faculty members at the European School of Management and Technology (www.esmt.org ), of Madonna’s transformation from pom-pom wielding teenie bopper to world-renowned pop star and multimedia magnate. The pair so believe in Madonna’s business acumen they produced a case study on the subject—titled, aptly enough, "Madonna: Strategy on a Dancefloor".

Developed for MBA and executive education courses, "Strategy on a Dancefloor" highlights five key lessons from the pop star’s career that Anderson and Kupp say can be generalized for successful strategy in other business endeavors.

“The idea started to unfold when we saw Madonna opening the 2005 MTV European Music Awards,” Anderson says. “It was striking that a 46-year-old was the opening act at an event where the average act was in the early to mid-twenties.”

Following that epiphany, the pair “started to read everything we could get a hold of, starting with the online world and also checking into existing business literature,” Kupp says.

“Looking at her impressive career, it becomes obvious that one of her most outstanding competencies is her ability to bring people with various talents together with herself as the hub,” he adds. “Through the use of her extensive network of support personnel, including musicians, technologists, producers, dancers and designers she is able to address her weaknesses and even compensate for them.”

Adds Anderson: “Looking at the business world, we observe trends that support this thesis. More and more large, established firms in a growing number of industries use flexible innovation strategies relying heavily on externally sourced technology.

“Companies that have long been champions of internally developed innovations (e.g., IBM and Philips) are rapidly shifting towards the open innovation model, in which venture capital investments, strategic alliances with innovation partners and both inward and outward technology licensing with outside partners play a crucial role in maximizing innovation success,” he adds. “Here also companies see themselves as hubs leveraging their competencies.”

Specifically, Anderson and Kupp found business leaders irrespective of industry could benefit from following Madonna’s lead in the following areas:

1. Developing a long-term mission and vision. According to Anderson and Kupp, Madonna has demonstrated a clear commitment to her goal to be a superstar and has pursued this goal single-mindedly throughout her career. Other dimensions of her life have been either subordinated to or absorbed within her career goals. Rather than wait for industry trends, she has acted to shape the world around her.

2. Gaining a profound understanding of consumers and the industry environment. “Madonna has developed her strategy through a deep and insightful appreciation of customers and the music industry,” Kupp says. “A deep understanding of the ingredients for sustaining popular appeal has been critical to her continuing success.”

3. Leveraging strengths and addressing weaknesses. Anderson says Madonna has been able to exploit her abilities to develop and project her image and to exploit emerging trends, while protecting areas of weakness. “Her weaknesses have been more than compensated for by her use of an extensive network of support personnel, including musicians, technologists, producers, dancers and designers,” he explains.

4. Consistent implementation. Without consistent implementation, even the best strategies are unlikely to succeed, the pair suggests. “Madonna has surrounded herself with individuals and organizations that have enabled her to deliver upon her vision,” Anderson says. “Through her various companies, such as Maverick, Madonna has built organizations that have allowed effective marshaling of resources and capabilities.”

5. Continuous renewal. “A key ingredient of Madonna’s success has been her ability to renew her popularity again and again,” Kupp says. She’s known as the “queen of reinvention” for a reason, he adds.

“We believe the five dimensions are key to a successful strategy,” Anderson says. “Of course they’re somewhat generic, but this goes perfectly with our case that shows Madonna is not inventing strategy but consequently following the strategic process and rigorously implementing it.”

Go ahead and chuckle at their results or reasoning if you feel the need—Anderson and Kupp won’t have any of it.

“The case is not part of our core academic research, but a teaching tool to help students and executives tap deeper into the interesting field of strategy,” Kupp says. “The case shows that strategy is not only for companies but also for individuals—a legitimate and successful framework to help executives develop and execute their own vision.”

“We also shouldn't forget,” Anderson adds, “that as a business person Madonna has accumulated more personal wealth through her success than some of the so-called 'gurus' of the business world, such as Jack Welch and Lou Gerstner—the role models we usually talk about in business schools.”

Until next time!