# data[].attributes.body
Must Read!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Inspector Javert is the well-intentioned law enforcement officer (or detective, or Bounty Hunter) who honestly (if sometimes wrongly) believes that the hero ...

# data[].attributes.body
what other people think.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This weekend my husband and I watched Les Miserables with three of my sons. It was interesting to observe the vast differences in our reactions to this great literary and theatrical work.

Son Craig-the English major, who's studied the full novel (he notes that even the abridged version is more than 700 pages) got a kick out of the individual chorus that defined each character's theme. The overdone sound effect of Javert's suicide fall produced an outright laugh.

Husband Vic, a professional singer, noted that Hugh Jackman had earned his respect.

As a mother, I sniffled at every pull of the heartstring. As a business owner, however, I observed something else:

Has anyone considered how John Valjean's saga represents fairly well every struggling and valiant small business today?

1. Hire smart. At the helm of his buzzing factory, Valjean was doing his best to run an efficient company in an honorable and ethical way-yet a bad hire (the lecherous foreman) allowed inequities to occur that Valjean felt personal responsibility for. If you see yourself in this instance, perhaps some better hiring skills should top your 2013 goals. Here's a start. (You can email for a copy of his hiring ebook. He'll send you a copy for free.)

2. Corporate culture is critical. Could the buzzing ladies on the shop floor have helped to aid and abet Fantine's sad situation? Of course! But the culture of fear and unfairness brought out the worst in their own human nature as well. The culture became a part of the problem. (David K. Williams' take on how to improve relationships with employees covered here.)
3. How is your leadership doing?
Valjean certainly exhibits many of the characteristics of a solid leader. He's courageous, tenacious, accustomed to sacrifice, driven by ethics, and is fearless in his efforts to use his strength and energy for a greater good. However, he's lacking a bit on the strategy front. Where was his succession plan, for example? He anguishes mightily about the plight of the 100 factory workers who will lose their jobs if he's thwarted, but even at 100 employees, he has little in the way of a sustainable organization in place.

He knows the ramifications-but in the "clutch" moment, he sees no alternative but to grab his savings and run. Clearly he could have benefitted from some leadership training and some strategic guidance. Perhaps Alan Hall's Tiger by the Tail or Jack Zenger's recent discussion on the value of teams might have helped. What is in store for your own 2013 leadership and development plans?

4. There will always be unethical and unsavory competitors. You should value the role they play in your plot. Be watchful, be mindful, differentiate clearly, and keep a close eye on your pockets and an even closer eye on your back. Then forget them.

Thenardier, the smarmy and scheming innkeeper and his baleful wife do plenty to influence the plot line of Les Miserables. Unwittingly, Thernardier serves a purpose for good: The stolen ring on his finger when he attempts to crash the wedding of Marius and Cosette leads them to find Valjean before the dramatic moment of death. The lesson? There will always be unworthy competitors in a business setting. Consider the vital role they play-respect their innovation--but remember that in the end, the likely outcome of their impulsive and bad decisions will relegate them to nothing bigger than comedic relief. Here's what John Greathouse has to say about a cool little company that didn't let competition (even when the competitor is ) stand in its way.

In the end, Valjean leaves his mortal life as a hero in ethics and courage - but as a successful business owner, not so much. So who and what are the "Javerts" that are impacting your business plans in 2013? The fiscal cliff? Higher corporate taxes? Outsourcing? A pernicious competitor who never relents? All of these obstacles are frightening, and unlike Victor Hugo's fictional characters, they are real.

My own voice has been as loud as anyone else's, proclaiming the agony of the regulatory and taxation policies we face. By the same token, however, will we go out of business? Can we grab our stash of savings and flee? For the most part (I do have at least a few business friends who've relocated their endeavors to other parts of the world, i.e. New Zealand), we will find the appropriate ways to forge on.

How will we manage?

Taxation - We will face it. We will innovate the ways to grow with the help of contract labor. For the workers affected-they will learn to thrive (and in many cases to even excel) at contract positions. Many will create their own jobs.

Regulation - In cases where regulation thwarts innovation (for example, the 2.3% excise tax on medical device companies Alan Hall has written about) - the businesses affected will work to 1) postpone or change, if possible, the regulatory requirements that appear hurriedly wrought and badly aligned to the situations they are trying to solve; 2) adapt, where necessary, to "what is" by spending less on research or development, finding leaner ways to operate (including offshore labor, if left with no other choice.) Channels may disappear or tighten in an effort to recoup lost revenue through any potential efficiency gains that remain. Where any viability remains, they will increase prices. Long message short - in even the bleakest of scenarios, innovation will find newer and greater ways to prevail. Failed ventures may open the window for different and newly aligned businesses to emerge.

Outsourcing. If outsourcing is eroding your business, perhaps you can find newer and better ways to outsource yourself, from within the U.S. Or, if you are beginning a new business-make it something that could provide an outsourced good or service to others.

New Competition. What does the competitor know that you don't? Become more resourceful, more innovative, and a more viable market participant than ever before. Case in point: my local freinds Ken Krogue and Dave Elkington, co-founders of InsideSales.com, have made a booming business of helping companies be more efficient and effective through-you guessed it-inside sales. If you can't afford the traditional model, don't use it. Perhaps you'll find yourself and your people more profitable and viable than before. It's worth the consideration.

What are your own "Javerts" that are looming as we enter 2013? I welcome your own ideas, whether you are a large organization that may be having to pivot, a small venture, an idea looking for funding, or an individual weighing your options as you look at the continued viability of your own current job.

In any case-consider all of the options. Consult with others. New alternatives emerge and the greatest innovation can occur within the darkest of circumstances.

Instead of sobbing in your Kleenex at the difficulty and injustice of it all, perhaps you'll be able to join my son in a good laugh as Javert falls over the wall and lands with a dramatic and amplified crack.

I welcome your ideas and thoughts. And despite the obstacles, I welcome the chance to run along with you, headlong, into 2013.

Author: Cheryl Conner | Google+

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What I Learned From Les Miserables: Who and What is the Javert Holding Your Company Down?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This weekend my husband and I watched Les Miserables with three of my sons. It was interesting to observe the vast differences in our reactions to this great literary and theatrical work. Who or What is the Javert that's stopping your business? (Photo courtesy of www.lesmiserablesfilm.com) Son Craig-the English major, who's studied [...]

# data[].attributes.headline
Click here for more detail about Javert 

# data[].attributes.subject
Click here for more detail about Javert 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tom Hooper's highly anticipated film adaptation of Les Misérables, coming out on Christmas day, has raised any number of important questions. Will the star-laden cast pull off live singing? How many close-ups can Hooper cram into nearly three hours? Do I have to read the book first?

We should spend time on all of these quandaries, to be sure, but newcomers to the theatrical sensation have another one to tackle first. If I want to understand why people are so hyped for Les Miz, where do I start?

Happily, that question doubles as the perfect prompt for a debate over who among the myriad performers who've attempted the delectable roles provided by Victor Hugo's saga have performed them best. And so below, after countless soundtrack listening sessions and solo bedroom singalongs, I give you the answers: the definitive versions of Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine, Marius, Cosette, and Eponine.

Jean Valjean
Hugh Jackman's eyes alone could probably play Jean Valjean, the tragically heroic protagonist of Hugo's novel, who is haunted by his past imprisonment for stealing bread. But when it comes to two-four-six-oh-oooone, there is only Colm Wilkinson, aka the Valjean. He was in both the Original London Cast (1985) and Original Broadway Cast (1987), as well as the 10th Anniversary Dream Cast (1995). Here he is-a decade of Valjean behind him-killing it, as always:

(Runner-up: I'm also a fan of John Owen-Jones, whom you can see perform the same song, " Bring Him Home," alongside Alfie Boe, Simon Bowman, and Wilkinson himself.)

No one is happy about Russell Crowe's singing capabilities, or his blue costume, but that man can sure give a stern side-eye-which should help him render the role of austere law-enforcer Javert, who holds a grudge against Jean Valjean dating back to the latter's prison days. The musical fact remains that Javert should be sung by a rich baritone, and when Crowe dips into his lower register it feels like he's falling into, rather than hitting, the notes. As cast recordings go, on the other hand, Javerts have been uniformly strong. I like the orchestration behind Roger Allam's rendition of " Stars," but it cannot be denied that Philip Quast's delivery of Staaaaahhhs is the best:

Rumor has it Anne Hathaway will steal the show with her portrayal of Fantine, the frail and forsaken prostitute who signals her virtue with her maternal devotion. Judging from how prominently the trailers showcase her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," she probably will do just that. I mean, listen to Hathaway's perfectly inflected "Sooo different from this hell I'm living," and tell me that you are not verklempt. You can't. The way she draws out those notes!

There's something truly lovely and fragile about Hathaway's performance not usually seen in stage versions, where Fantine's desperation is often emphasized through impressive belting. (One exception: Madalena Alberto, who took it way in the other direction.) Patti LuPone, the original Broadway Fantine, portrayed the broken messiness of the character beautifully, but my favorite remains Ruthie Henshall from the Dream Cast, who has a sort of Bernadette Peters open-throatedness in her voice that evokes both hopefulness and nerve.

Les Miz provides some of the most heterosexual musical theater you're going to find, but I'm still excited to see Eddie Redmayne as Marius stand alongside his best friend Enjolras, played by Aaron Tveit, at the barricades. Tveit comes from a strong Broadway background, and his voice will make you swoon. And Eddie Redmayne, whose " A Heart Full of Love" is almost too much to take, will likely give a strong turn as well. But even he has admitted that there is only one Marius: Michael Ball. Like Wilkinson with Valjean, Ball has played Marius in multiple casts (twice alongside Wilkinson). Watch him perform " Empty Chairs at Empty Tables " with the Dream Cast.

Cosette, the daughter of Fantine who is adopted by Valjean, is the classical soprano heroine of Les Miz. For the movie, however, they gave the part to an alto. Amanda Seyfried is clearly struggling in " A Heart Full of Love," but I doubt the rest of the film will show her faltering in her upper range quite so much. Traditionally, Cosettes have skewed more operatic than not, though there are a few that have added more pop elements into the role. The first London Cosette, Rebecca Caine, went notably light on the falsetto and the results were stunning. Judy Kuhn, who later sang as Disney's Pocahontas, performed Cosette first on Broadway, and later in the Dream Cast, with a mature and rich soprano that is unquestionably gorgeous, though not quite right for Cosette's character. More recently, Katie Hall played Cosette in the 25 th Anniversary Cast, and her delivery was sparkling, youthful, and totally believable.

Eponine, the spoiled child of innkeepers who becomes impoverished in adolescence, brings several buckets of pathos to the pathos-filled Les Miz. So when Hooper asked Samantha Barks to reprise her stage turn as Eponine for his film, his line of thinking was probably, "We are not going to screw this one up." Barks is a sure bet. She's also one of many Eponines with very clear, decidedly musical theater voices. (See also the undeniably talented Lea Salonga and Sutton Foster.) Eponine is supposed to be ragged and tragic, but she often sings like an ingénue-which, I guess, is part of the fantasy.

Still, the best Eponines sing as if they don't quite belong-neither in Marius's arms nor on the Broadway stage. Kaho Shimada gave a lovely, hesitant interpretation of the character. But that mixture of innocence, bitterness, and confusion has never been expressed better than through the original Eponine, Frances Ruffelle.

If you've come this far, you may be ready to follow this Les Miz obsessive one step farther. The original Les Miz didn't have an English libretto; it was composed in Hugo's native French. Alain Boublil, inspired by , pitched the idea to Claud-Michel Schönberg, and in 1980 their version was staged in Paris.

The French Les Miz has its disco-inflected moments, but the score mostly shares the same musical DNA as the English-language version. There are a few obvious changes: Eponine's original ballad " L'un vers l'autre " was cut, replaced by "On My Own" (with a melody initially sung by Fantine). The popularity of "On My Own" resulted in the 1991 Parisian Revival to include a French equivalent, "Mon histoire." The result was a recording that stands among the best in the musical's history.

Previously:
Which Parts of Les Misérables Can I Skip?
Will the New Les Misérables Be Groundbreaking?
Trailer Critic: Les Misérables
Where Do I Start with the Mountain Goats?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tom Hooper's highly anticipated film adaptation of Les Misérables, coming out on Christmas day, has raised any number of important questions. Will the...

# data[].attributes.body
Who is Javert

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Les Miserables, and characterizes Javert as a figurehead of authority: the evil force responsible for Valjean's despair and broken spirit while he is imprisoned. As the quote above illustrates, Hugo definitely felt that authority unfairly targeted the impoverished, like Valjean. But who is this policeman exactly, and how is authority characterized within him?

# data[].attributes.body
Info of Javert

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Analysis and discussion of characters in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables

# data[].attributes.body
What Convicts Are to Javert