T h e M u s i c o f B u s i n e s s

Bite size musings on business and personal excellence from Peter Cook

The Academy of Rock

www.academy-of-rock.co.uk

Wanna Be Starting Something?Michael Jackson

Michael had a great hit with ‘Wanna be starting something?’. It’s unlikely that we would have been as successful if he had called the song ‘Wanna be stopping something?’. Yet stopping the momentum of a failing project once in full flow is much harder than starting a new enterprise.

The wise leader stops a project before it has failed and regroups.

Chain Reaction – Diana Ross

Successful innovation often requires the combination of several different talents: Inventors, who often produce ideas without concern for their practical value; Innovators, who develop ideas such that they have sustainable commercial value; Champions, who bring resources to help the product / service idea succeed.

Smart people ensure that these types are represented at the right stage of an innovative project. The innovation chain reaction is then achieved.

Communication Breakdown – Led Zeppelin

To appreciate how good intentions produce unexpected outcomes, buy yourself a copy of the classic rockumentary “This is Spinal Tap” and watch the “Stonehenge” sequence.

There are direct parallels with the ways that bad projects are managed in business.

Bad Romance – Lady Gaga If you're having trouble in a relationship, change what you're doing, rather than banging your head against the same wall. In other words, try the new saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try something different.”

Don’t go gaga trying the same thing over and over.

Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division Love and hate are useful emotions at work, since both produce energy and passion. However apathy is a killer since it stifles action. This is probably the reason why Joy Division did not call their song “Apathy will tear us apart.”

Disengagement is a major cause of poor performance at work or even sabotage.

(I Can’t Get No) SatisfactionThe Rolling Stones

The factors that motivate are different than the things that dissatisfy. If you can’t get no satisfaction, rid yourself of dissatisfiers, such as pointless administration, bad supervision, poor working conditions etc. to start with. That just takes you to a point of neutrality. Introduce factors that produce more satisfaction into your life, such as responsibility, advancement, getting feedback on achievements and so on.

Solitude Standing – Suzanne Vega Give yourself immersion time where you can focus on a topic without external influence or stimulus. In extremis, sit in a broom cupboard to think like Harry Potter in Little Whinging. Whilst distraction is essential for creativity, the reverse is also true. Some people need complete focus in order to think. This must be engineered in a world where we are bombarded by stimuli. If locking yourself in a cupboard at work is considered strange, find ways to achieve mental solitude, e.g. meditation, music whilst working etc.

Nothing Else Matters – Metallica Great time managers focus on what matters most to the exclusion of all other tasks. To do this, it’s important to spend some time finding out what matters and then acting as if nothing else matters.

Wise words indeed from the Californian Thrash Metal Rock Gods!

Pretty Vacant – The Sex Pistols HR gurus such as Gary Hamel at HR conferences seem to mouth the word ‘engagement’ more times per minute than Robert Plant used to sing ‘baby’ in the average Led Zeppelin song. Engagement is not so difficult to do. Find ways to stop demoralising people at work and enhance the things that keep them coming back and giving more effort.

For more detail, e-mail us for your free copy of the book Punk Rock People Management.

Midnight At The Oasis – Maria Muldaur Professor Charles Handy introduced the idea of ‘stability zones’ during change and his idea is an enduring one. People like to have some kind of oasis or anchor point during rapid change and periods of turbulence. Find an oasis point and keep it safe. This could be something physical, a routine or ritual or something psychological.

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