Breakfast of Champions (The 2019 NAMM Show): Joe Lamond, Intro

The 2019 NAMM Show began with “Breakfast of Champions,” hosted by NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. The session featured a series of one-on-one interviews with industry thought leaders who explored the role of originality in driving the music products business forward.

Lamond kicked off the session by commenting on how original thinkers don’t let external conditions effect their ability to create, invent and innovate.

“There’s always a rare group of people, a rare group of leaders, who seem to persevere and succeed no matter the economic weather,” Lamond said. “Whether it’s stormy, sunny, it doesn’t matter to them. It’s just weather.

“And the interesting thing about these folks is that they don’t let the economic weather change their strategy. They don’t let it change their plans, and they don’t let it change their laser-focus on those they serve.

“Think about all the iconic products that we know and love, part of our culture, part of our DNA—many of which were launched right here at a NAMM Show. The phonograph, the Stratocaster, digital synthesis, MIDI.

“If you went back and read the headlines from those years, everything was not going great either. I’ll bet, in fact, if you looked at those headlines from those years, you’d find headlines not too different from today. But Thomas Edison, Leo Fender, Dave Smith and Mr. Kakehashi—they weren’t focused on the problems, were they? They were too busy inventing. They were too busy innovating. They were too busy leading. They were too busy taking care of and serving their customers.”

Lamond then mentioned that just by being at The NAMM Show, the people in the audience were helping create the future of the industry. And the same went for the guests he would go on to interview.

“I dub this morning’s guests ‘the originals’ because I believe they are also helping define what this new world will look like. These are people who inspire us with their optimism and their visionary spirit. Many of these people just chart their own course, no matter what’s going on—no matter the weather.”