Jeff Beckham

When you’re business is struggling, it can be difficult to find a clear path to success. Especially when the old way has been terrifically successful for you in the past. New York’s Metropolitan Opera found themselves in this position, but over the past two year, general manager Peter Gelb has deftly maneuvered the company onto new ground.

The success story is related in this week’s Economist, as Gelb transformed the stuffy, elitist image of the Met into something new and vital. How did he do it?

• Began an outreach program to a younger audience. (The average age of Met goers in about 65).
• Opened dress rehearsals to the public.
• Broadcast opening-night performances at Lincoln Center and Times Square
• Sold heavily discounted seats for weekday performances
• Increased the number of new productions in the season
• Brought in well-known directors
• Beamed high-definitions telecast of the Met’s live performances to cinemas across the world

All brilliant moves, and the last one especially so. More than 900,000 people watched last season, three times as many as in previous seasons. Now others are beginning to copy that strategy.

This method of reinvention can be applied to nearly any business. Umair Haque has been doing some terrific writing on this topic. And I also saw a good post on 37signals’ blog the other day about ways to branch out of your core business and diversify your income streams.