The Strategic Discipline Behind Products That Never Fade
Why the most resilient companies resist trend-chasing, double down on their core promise, and let planned reinvention do the heavy lifting.
Trends seemingly have a way of infiltrating every leadership agenda. A competitor adds AI to its pitch deck, a social app spikes, a VC blog prophesies “the next billion-dollar category”—and suddenly, teams that already own a profitable niche feel compelled to sprint toward someone else’s finish line. In the scramble, it’s easy to forget that customers first chose us for the product we’ve already mastered, not for the experiments we haven’t shipped yet.
History is blunt about the risks of trend-chasing. In 1985, Coca-Cola reformulated its flagship drink to copy Pepsi’s sweeter profile. The backlash was immediate; the original recipe returned 79 days later, and sales rebounded—proof that a brand’s core promise is not a sandbox for novelty.
LEGO confronted the opposite dilemma in 2003. After pouring money into theme parks, video games, and action figures, the company teetered near bankruptcy. Its revival began when leaders trimmed the distractions and recommitted to the simple interlocking brick, then layered fresh experiences (digital design apps, adult collector sets, blockbuster movie tie-ins) on top of that non-negotiable center.
A pattern emerges: enduring companies treat yesterday’s hit like an operating system—stable at the kernel, extensible at the edges. Microsoft did this when it recast a boxed copy of Office as a cloud subscription: same Word and Excel users trusted, new delivery model that met evolving habits.
The discipline is twofold. First, build contracts, supply chains, and messaging so incremental updates feel like continuity, not rupture. Second, separate personal boredom from market fatigue. Founders often tire of their greatest hit long before customers do. A dual-track culture helps: one squad safeguards the flagship’s reliability while another prototypes tomorrow’s bets.
This week’s guest, Eggs! The Podcast alumni and front-man for legendary 90’s band EMF, James Atkin, offers a front-row case study in that balancing act—maintaining a decades-old signature product while still finding room to innovate.
Sustaining the Spotlight: A Conversation with James Atkin
Most people remember the hook; fewer know the operator behind it. James Atkin rocketed to global fame in 1991 as the voice of EMF’s chart-topping single “Unbelievable,” a track that hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and still pulses through films, ads, and playlists three decades on.
Born in the Forest of Dean, Atkin helped form EMF with four school friends, fusing indie guitars with club-ready beats just as Britain’s “Madchester” sound crested. After three albums, relentless international touring, and an Ivor Novello nomination, the band paused—but Atkin didn’t. He earned a degree, moved to Yorkshire, and now teaches music technology while releasing solo projects and steering EMF’s independent label operations.
Today, he’s back on the road with EMF, co-headlining an 11-city West-Coast tour with Spacehog and pushing the band’s 2024 comeback album, The Beauty and the Chaos—all managed in-house, from recording rigs to merch logistics.
Long-Game Playbook: Atkin’s Lessons in His Own Words
Atkin’s mix of early lightning strike and long-haul stewardship makes him an ideal guide for founders trying to keep a flagship product fresh without losing its soul. His playbook—part nostalgia economics, part DIY reinvention—starts in the quotes that follow.
“People think we just landed in the U.S. and the record blew up. In reality we spent six-week stretches hitting every radio station, record shop, and meet-and-greet—city after city—before it ever charted.”
Actionable insight: Treat early traction like an operating plan, not luck. Build a repeatable launch checklist—local influencers, earned media, community events—and work it until customers do the talking for you.
“Unbelievable never disappears—the song is more popular than the band! Every few years it lands in a film, an advert, or a TikTok. We just make sure the master files stay spotless so we can drop a new cut on demand.”
Actionable insight: Treat legacy IP like a living asset. Keep source files modular, tagged, and rights-cleared so you can remix fast for new channels instead of starting from scratch.
“These days the whole operation fits in my house: we record upstairs, print shirts in the garage, and ship orders ourselves. What used to require a record-label empire is now a cottage industry—and it works.”
Actionable insight: Re-evaluate the value chain every few years. Pull one high-impact step (production, fulfillment, data) in-house to raise margins and keep control when partners get shaky.
“I don’t think we could have come back with a dubstep record—it had to sound like EMF. My voice and Ian’s guitars are the glue that keeps it us.”
Actionable insight: Identify the non-negotiables that make your brand instantly recognizable—then innovate everywhere around them. Protecting those “signature notes” lets you refresh offerings without confusing loyal customers.
“We keep every multitrack clean, labeled, and backed up. If Marvel wants a 15-second cut tomorrow, we can deliver in an hour.”
Actionable insight: Store code, content, and design files in modular, well-labeled chunks. Clean IP lets you seize surprise opportunities without six weeks of rework.
“The recording doesn’t pay like it used to; the money’s in the show and the merch. People pay extra for a night—and a T-shirt—that stamps the memory.”
Actionable insight: When a flagship product commoditizes, wrap it in an experience customers can’t download or price-shop: live events, premium service, community access. Experience restores pricing power.
“I spent early royalty checks like they’d never stop. If I could redo it, half would’ve gone straight into the ‘boring’ stuff that grows while I sleep.”
Actionable insight: Install a “windfall rule” before the cash arrives—e.g., 40 % of any surprise revenue goes automatically into long-term investments. Compounding beats impulse every time.
Guard the Golden Thread
Great companies are custodians before they are disruptors. They protect the one element customers can’t live without—the flavor, workflow, story, or feeling that first won loyalty—while letting everything else evolve with the times. James Atkin’s journey reminds us that a hit product is not a museum piece; it’s a living asset that funds exploration because its essence stays intact.
As you plan the next release cycle, resist the reflex to chase every shiny trend. Instead, ask: What is our “golden thread” and how can we weave it into new experiences without severing it? Trim the dead weight, modularize the parts worth remixing, and double-down on the core promise that still lights people up. Do that, and your flagship won’t anchor you to the past—it will power the next decade of growth.
Thanks for reading,
—Ryan
Ready for more?
Catch James Atkin’s interview in its entirety on Eggs! The Podcast.
Don’t miss a show! Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or really anywhere great podcasts are found.
Path Picks
Cool stuff to help you forge your path to greatness.
Note: The Path Weekly is reader-supported. As such, I may be using affiliate links below. If you want to support the newsletter at no additional cost to you, please consider using the links below. If you’d rather not, most items below are widely available anywhere you want to shop. Thanks! –R
Reading list
If you're looking to go deeper on the themes from this week's newsletter, here are a few books that pair well with the conversation and offer a broader perspective on learning, systems, and the future of work:
How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp — Research-backed rules for keeping a flagship product top of mind and expanding reach decade after decade.
Hit Makers by Derek Thompson — Why some songs, apps, and ideas break through (and keep resurfacing) while others fade, with lessons on balancing novelty and familiarity.
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek — A playbook for founders who measure success in decades, not quarters, and need frameworks for sustaining relevance.
Creative Quest by Questlove — A musician-entrepreneur’s guide to constant reinvention without losing the soulful core that fans recognize.
More to explore
James Atkin’s Links:
https://emf-theband.com/
https://x.com/EMFTheBand
https://www.instagram.com/EMFTheBand
https://www.youtube.com/user/EMFTheBand
Work with me
Ryan Roghaar - Fractional CMO/Creative Director/Art Director: https://rogha.ar/portfolio
R2 - Creative Services for Agencies and SMBs: https://www.r2mg.com
Eggs! The Podcast: https://www.eggscast.com
Would you like a personal introduction to any of the incredible leaders featured in The Path Weekly to explore business or other collaborative opportunities?
Contact me here to learn more about my B2B matchmaking service.
Get featured
Do you want to be featured in a future edition of The Path Weekly?
Contact me to learn more.