What Thriller Teaches us about Creating an Impossible Vision…and Reaping the Rewards

I recently introduced my 10-year-old son to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. He knew the song, of course, but he had never seen the short-film music video that changed entertainment more than 40 years ago. Watching his reaction got me thinking: What made Thriller so iconic—and so visionary—for its time?

I grew up in the MTV era. I’ve seen great music videos, terrible ones, and everything in between. But Thriller was one-of-a-kind. Directed by filmmaker John Landis, it wasn’t just a performance clip—it was a 14-minute cinematic experience with a massive budget, original choreography, movie-quality special effects, makeup, and a full narrative arc. No one had ever done anything like it.

Thriller - the impossible goal that exceeded all expectations

So how did Michael Jackson and his team know it would work?

They didn’t.

They took a massive creative and financial risk. Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones had a bold vision, and to bring it to life they made strategic choices at every level—song selection, the full album design, the promotional campaign to engage fans, a theatrical release strategy, and even bringing in Vincent Price for that unforgettable voiceover.

It’s easy to look back now and see Thriller as inevitable. It wasn’t. It was a daring idea that could have failed.

But Jackson and Jones didn’t aim for a bigger music video. They aimed for something impossible—and then built a plan to make it real.

Your small business may not have their budget, but it should have that kind of ambition. An impossible goal. A clear, inspiring vision of what you want to create—and a strategy to support it. And like the female lead in the video, you might find this a bit scary at times. But in the end when you see your vision become a reality, you will walk away with the confidence to set your next impossible goal.