The Christian Science Monitor

Photo: Dick Clark hosted the New Year’s Eve special from New York’s Times Square, in an undated photo. (Donna Svennevik / ABC)

Dick Clark, television personality and producer, entrepreneur and music enthusiast, was affectionately known as ‘America’s Oldest Teenager.’ Millions of teenagers grew up watching ‘American Bandstand,’ which Clark hosted from 1957 - 1989, and began the New Year for forty years with Clark, and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.’ ‘American Bandstand’ propelled many musicians’ careers, as well as the pop music industry.  

Clark, who died yesterday, was interviewed by the Monitor in 1986, where he spoke about generations, musical styles, racial integration, and what kept him motivated.

Read the full interview here.

“Do simple things well. It sounds easy, but it’s really hard. Get rid of dysfunctional politics. You can see how that has tormented large American companies, like the auto industry. Let outliers into your organization; welcome diversity. The fact is, Steve Jobs couldn’t get hired in most American companies, much less be the CEO. He couldn’t pass through the interview screens. Stay curious. Cultivate peripheral vision in your organization. Learn how to reframe your own offerings by looking both broadly and deeply across other industries. Recognize what you don’t know and find others who know more than you. Build a team at the top that has real power and talent. And don’t underestimate the power of strong cultural control. Find a way to create the old-fashioned unity of purpose.”

- Stanford Professor Bob Sutton talks about the practical business lessons exuded by Apple and Steve Jobs. Excerpt from our recent cover story “The Apple Effect: How Steve Jobs & Co. won over the world.”

You can read the full story and our tribute to Steve Jobs.