Management lessons from Eurovision

Eurovision Song Contest is famed for bizarre and cheesy performances but some valuable management lessons can be distilled:

• Do it in English. Two languages, French and English, represent two thirds of all victories but the latest French victory dates back to 1977. Only two recent winning songs, Israeli winner Dana International's Diva and Serbia's Molitva, have been performed in languages other than English. No song in English got zero points.

• If you go first, you have little hope. I am afraid no one has ever won from the pole position.

• Be original, foolish and make noise. Ripping off the previous year's winner will get you nowhere.

• Be aware of biases and find your lobby. The Baltic countries vote for the Baltic countries, the ex-Soviet nations vote for the ex-Soviets,... This happens in the workplace also and managers tend to hire or promote employees that are just like them.