Who was the greatest?

In a 'comment conversation' with my friend from the US John O’Leary we considered the question who is the greatest The Beatles or Elvis Presley?

I would be fascinated by your opinions.

Friend of Simplicity - John O'Leary

My Simplicity interview today is another US based friend John O'Leary. I first came across John when commenting on Tom Peters Blog and we have struck up a friendship through email and Blogging that continues to develop. John and I share some similar music tastes and we share many similar ideas about how organisations should value people working at the front line. John is based in the US.

TREVOR: Hi John – I know you have had a fascinating and interesting career. I would love to hear a quick summary of some of the stuff you have done.

JOHN: Thanks for the opportunity, Trevor! Well, I always feel my career is just beginning, but I guess that’s because of all the twists and turns and course corrections I’ve made. In 1968, after several years of college—and 6 years of studying Ancient Greek—I abruptly left academia (and a promising future teaching dead languages) to play rock & roll full-time. My campus rock band in New Haven had been picking up some prestige bookings in Greenwich Village, New York—opening for acts like the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Sly & the Family Stone, and Joni Mitchell—and we were invited to play the Berkeley Folk Festival that summer. So the band and I didn’t need much convincing to take the leap. We never got the recording contract we wanted but we had a great ride for the next year as did my subsequent “almost famous” bands. It was a real kick to be a part of the NY and LA rock scene in the late 60s and 70s, hanging or jamming with the greats—Blood Sweat & Tears, the Byrds, Tina Turner, Jackson Browne. 15 years later I changed course again and landed in the training & development world. I lucked out again and got to study or work with luminaries such as Werner Erhard, Peter Senge, and Fernando Flores. 15 years later I started consulting under the Tom Peters umbrella. Oh, and in the early 1980s I took some time off to run for US President as an independent—though that was mostly for the fun of it and to write a book about, which is mercifully out of print. A lot of folks who saw me on TV in 1980 still haven’t made the connection to me now, which allows me to keep working.

TREVOR: I was born in 1952 and so I was brought up in England as a teenager in the 1960’s on The Beatles and the music revolution. We rightly remember with great nostalgia the 1960’s. Was it really such an influential decade or do we just have rose tinted spectacles when looking back?

JOHN: Every decade is influential in different ways of course. What interests me is the contribution the 60s made to popular culture, especially in the area of pop music. If rock & roll was born in the 50s, it got a license to drive in the mid-60s. Rock wasn’t taken seriously at first—despite the genius of songwriters like Chuck Berry. But after the Beatles & Dylan showed up, the universe changed. Someday I may write about the summer of 1965, the tipping point. Everybody was trying to outdo everybody else then—the Stones, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Kinks. All at once you were hearing songs like “Satisfaction,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Help,” “Mr Tambourine Man,” “Help Me Rhonda.” Not to mention some great Motown hits.

TREVOR: You do work for Tom Peters who is one of my management icons. Tell us something about working as part of the Tom Peters Company.

JOHN: Actually in the States we’re all independent contractors—in the spirit of “Free Agent Nation” (Daniel Pink’s book and Tom’s credo)—who come together to work on specific projects for clients who want to implement Tom’s ideas. We all share Tom’s iconoclasm and have a lot of fun contributing to the tompeters.com blog, which is a terrific worldwide forum.

TREVOR: What do you see as the greatest challenges for leaders in the future John?.

JOHN: In business, government, education, healthcare, even religion I see leaders trying to make sense of a world turned upside down. Leaders trying to get their organizations to work with user manuals that are obsolete. What’s desperately needed is some independent thinking, and some courage to improvise. This is not a good time to rely on traditional management wisdom, economics orthodoxy, or political dogma. Clinging to ideology can destroy everything. The wise men in robes don’t have the answer. That, in part, is what my book is about.

TREVOR: Tell us about the book.

JOHN: Well, it’s turning into my life work, given how long I’ve been hacking away at it. My focus is on business lessons we can learn from rock & roll bands. The book identifies 6 ways in which the great rock & roll bands are exceptional business teams: (1) they’re radical innovators and risk-takers; (2) they’re passionate and inspired about their work—and they have fun; (3) they manage differences and capitalize on conflict; (4) they create a distinct identity and brand; (5) they’re ambitious, focused, and result-driven, despite stereotypes to the contrary; and (6) they’re highly autonomous and independent-minded. Then I show how to instill—or liberate—these abilities in our organizational teams. And I argue that without an infusion of these qualities many of our beleaguered organizations and institutions, ill equipped to compete in this crazy economy, are headed for obsolescence or irrelevance. To keep it interesting I illustrate my points with lots of stories and anecdotes from boardrooms, bars, and recording studios. It will be a business book you can dance to. Hopefully I’ll finish it this year. I’m a slow writer, but maybe it will appeal to all the slow readers out there.

TREVOR: Have you any plans to come back to England?

JOHN: I’d like to go tonight, but I’m knee-deep in other projects. And to stay healthy I’m trying to trim back on air travel for awhile. I don’t think living on planes is particularly good for any of us. But London is one of my favorite cities. The last time I was there in 2002 I played guitar at an entrance to the Tube just for the fun of it, and I happened to leave my guitar case open. A homeless woman came along and threw in a few pence. Something told me I should just accept it with gratitude, so I did. For one hour I was part of that street community and they took care of me. I'll always remember that snapshot of London. After that I made my pilgrimage to Liverpool to pay tribute to the Beatle gods.

TREVOR: And finally John you know I can’t possibly interview you without asking what you honestly think about The Eagles – Just how iconic are they and how will they be remembered when they finally hang up the instruments?

JOHN: I believe the Eagles, who came out of the same LA folk-rock crowd I used to get in trouble with in the early 1970s, will be forever honored for their alchemy of rock & country. The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers got that started but the Eagles took it to a new level, with a little Don Henley soul mixed in. And from the beginning they were a triple-threat band, which is a hallmark of the top bands. They could sing, play, and write. Don Henley and Glenn Frey were among the best songwriters that came of age in the 70s. When I first heard “Best of My Love” on the radio in 1974 I had to pull over to the side of the road, it hit me so hard. And of course “Hotel California” belongs on a short list of perfect rock songs. It should be launched in a time capsule documenting the whole era. The Eagles are also a wonderful illustration of a business team that learned how to harness their conflict—interpersonal and creative—to put out strong product for a fanatic customer base. And they’re back at it!

Achieving SUSTAINED Excellence - learn from these guys!

I think the ‘traditional’ world of management can learn a tremendous amount by looking outside its own ‘backyard’ and look at, for instance, sport and entertainment.

This last weekend has seen Manchester United forge ahead again by five clear points at the top of the English Premier League.

Also this weekend I was fortunate enough to see The Eagles play another fantastic concert to 20,000 fans at the O2 Arena in London.

One common factor about the phenomenal success of both Manchester United and The Eagles is how they have sustained excellence at the very top level for such a long time. It is not overnight success that blows out after a couple of years. We are talking high performance over a very long period.

Tom Peters famous best seller and the book that popularised management in the early 1980’s was called ‘In Search of Excellence.’

Even allowing for my obvious and self-confessed bias I suggest that Manchester United and The Eagles have achieved excellence and more importantly sustained it.

So …. Three questions to consider:

1 Just what are the ingredients that enable not only the achievement of excellence but sustained excellence for both The Eagles and Manchester United?

2 Can we apply those ingredients in the more traditional world of management in business?

3 If not, why not?

I will be fascinated to receive your comments on this.

9 days and counting .....

Sunday 23 March beckons when we will be seeing The Eagles in concert as they launch their world tour at the O2 Arena in London.

Like a child waiting for Father Christmas to arrive, I can't wait. I hope I never 'grow up'

Countdown to The Eagles - 23rd March

We’ve just bought two tickets for The Eagles at the O2 Arena, London on Sunday March 23rd!!

The Eagles are launching their world tour with four dates in London in March and tickets went on sale today. Judging by The Eagles last tour in Britain in 2006 tickets will be sold out within a couple of days.

After a heart to heart with my darling Annie, convincing her that it will be a good idea to part with £159, I did the deed, went online and hey presto the tickets are on their way!!!

Having waited over 30 years to see The Eagles perform live I will now have seen them twice in two years!!

Thank you darling … I promise you will enjoy it … really you will ….

Talent ... waiting to be given a chance

What talent do you have in your organisation just waiting to be noticed?

Paul Potts was a mobile phone salesman with no self confidence ... and then once upon a time (last year), someone believed in him …

Class is Permanent - The Eagles - Number One!

My favourite Band The Eagles have hit number one in the UK Album charts with their new album Long Road out of Eden. This is the first album The Eagles have recorded for 28 years.

The Eagles have never had a number one in the UK album charts until this week despite having the third best selling album of all time after Thriller (Michael Jackson) and Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd) .

Not bad for a band that has been around for well over 30 years.

This means I must try and persuade Annie it will be a good idea to see The Eagles again on their next UK Tour ….… How about it darling – can we afford it?

Jukebox jury!!

A comment from my friend David Wike about the Jukebox on a recent Simplicity posting prompted me to think about what is my favourite single track of all time and why. That is easy for me - Amazed by Lonestar because that is a song that means a lot to Annie and me.

There are numerous other songs that I would list as favourites …. But they will never be as special as Amazed.

Here are three of my all time favourites – it’s difficult to narrow my list of hundreds!

• The Last Resort – The Eagles
• Imagine – John Lennon
• Vincent – Don McLean
  

I would love to hear from Simplicity readers two things:

1 Your favourite track and why
2 Three additional favourites

And now for something completely different ...

I hope readers of Simplicity Blog enjoy this wonderful Alan Jackson version of one of my favorite hymns 'How Great Thou Art' - it is beautiful - and it reminds me of the wonder of God.

The Eagles are Back!!!

I have been a fan of The Eagles for as long as I care to remember.

I was thrilled to hear they are about to release their first studio recorded album since 1979. ‘Long Road out of Eden’ will be available in October and contains 20 new Eagles songs.

One track 'How Long' was released as a single two weeks ago and can be heard on the You Tube link above.

Annie and I has the great joy of seeing The Eagles in Concert on their Farewell 1 Tour when they visited the NIA, Birmingham in June 2006. That was another ambition achieved - to see the band for real.

They were brilliant live and this latest release will hopefully see The Eagles in the charts again- that would be incredible. If not it won’t matter to the millions of Eagles fans around the world who will buy the album anyway.

Enjoy this if you are a fan of The Eagles and if you are not … one question ...

Why not??!!!!

Don Henley rewarded for tireless work

As I have often said on Simplicity Blog I am a 30 year fan of The Eagles.

It was great to read that Don Henley was rewarded last week for his work of a philanthropic nature for the environment for many years in his own quiet way.

Henley was awarded the MusiCares Person of the Year 2007 – click here for more details

If you want to feel the passion Henley has for the environment listen to The Last Resort – a Henley solo classic in which he displays all his emotion about environmental and justice issues.

Here are the lyrics of The Last Resort but believe me you really have to hear Henley sing it to appreciate the passion – but then I am biased of course.

"The Last Resort"

She came from Providence, the one in Rhode Island
Where the old world shadows hang, heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea

She heard about a place, people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way, and how they loved the land
They came from everywhere, to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand, or a place to hide

Down in the crowded bars, out for a good time
Can't wait to tell you all, what it's like up there
They called it paradise, I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low, while the town got high

Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
Through the canyons of the coast, to the Malibu
Where the pretty people play,
Hungry for power, to light their neon way
And give them things to do
Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes,
And Jesus, people bought 'em

They called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea
You can leave it all behind
And sail to Lahaina, just like the missionaries did,
So many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming"
Brought the white man's burden down
Brought the white man's reign

Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
'Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here
We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds,
In the name of destiny and the name of God

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about what it's like up there
They call it paradise I don't know why
You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye

The Beatles - they changed the world

I have just been listening to (Christmas Gift) The Beatles CD ‘Love’

Listening to that CD brings back many memories of being around at the dawn of a revolutionary era in Britain early 1960’s and how The Beatles touched the world.

I was old enough to realise the impact and young enough to enjoy it.

I was 11 years old in 1963 when The Beatles burst on the scene and music and pop culture was changed forever.

So wonderful to think I was in my formative years when this happened.

Some of the Lennon/McCartney lyrics are crazy but memorable for some strange reason.

Here are just a few examples:

From Strawberry Fields

‘Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see’


From Help!

‘When I was younger, so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way

But now these days are gone

I'm not so self assured

Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.’


From Eleanor Rigby

‘Father Mckenzie, writing the words to a sermon that no-one will hear
No one comes near

Look at him working

Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there

What does he care?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?’