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Sex, Leadership And Rock N' Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock

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With the obvious exception of books like Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Bossidy et al., I've always thought that the modern, prescriptive style of management learning emphasized the thinking part of business (what I call the clean front end) at the expense of the doing it (the dirty back end). And everyone who's been there and done it realizes that the latter is a pragmatic quagmire, a long way from those idealized two-by-two matrices, simple-to-understand (and difficult to apply?) models, and convenient checklists. So Sex, Leadership and Rock & Roll: Leadership Lessons From The Academy Of Rock provides an interesting, alternative perspective to this paradigm.

As the title alludes, it's not a normal book; it's jargon-free (no buzzword bingo here), and focuses on a pop culture-influenced version of business, specifically anchored by modern music (not just rock & roll). And the subject matter is closely defined, based around the central tenet of creative leadership. Following the establishment of some basic concepts that link music to business, the book is structured around what Cook terms as the practice: sex (relationships), drugs (motivation and leadership) and rock & roll (performance). It concludes with an epilogue on application, a list of lists that summarize and extend these ideas.

Nothing too crazy about that, but what is unusual is the attention to case studies, often taken from Cook's extensive career facilitating sessions with Fortune 500 companies, and examples that resonate on first encounter. Another break from the normal for a business book is the division between left brain and right brain concepts, applied quite literally to the page; the left page features the meat - the concepts, ideas, theoretical underpinnings all linked to music - while the right has illustrations, pictures and typographical embellishments to reinforce the message. It's fair to say that it's unlikely you'll ever see James Brown quoted ("Any problem in the world can be solved by dancing") alongside Albert Einstein ("Love is a matter of chemistry, but sex is a matter of physics") in your usual management tomes.

To think this book is too accessible, too much of a fun read to provide benefit is to do it a disservice. It does help to have an understanding of pop culture (for instance, knowing the significance of the replica Stonehenge in This Is Spinal Tap is a useful life skill, let alone crucial business competence, in my opinion), and there is a section for recommended reading, listening, seeing and, a first for me, doing to aid in your enhancement of street cred-ness. But there is substantive theory, applying Maslow's hierarchy of needs to motivation, for instance, to riffs on newer ideas like neuro-linguistic programming, to key points, on which the reader can reflect or take action.

Full disclosure: Peter Cook was my course tutor for part of my MBA, and subsequently I commented on a draft of this book (without payment and I won't receive any benefit from sales). This notwithstanding, at a time when business (teaching) is becoming more grey and uniform, an alternative view on reality is sometimes required. Think of this as a splash of color to help you in this quest.

I once heard a guy called Frank Douglas, a Senior HR VP at Shell, say of large organizations, "We recruit for an orchestra, then berate people for not innovating like a jazz band." Which is, essentially, the theme behind this very enjoyable book. Though the author favors Rock'n' Roll as a balance between structure (orchestra) and chaos (jazz)

Businesses need to reflect the markets they serve and those markets are now less structured, predictable and rule-bound than ever before. And employees and customers are more questioning and challenging than ever before. "Leading in such a business environment," says Peter Cook in this book, "is no longer like conducting an orchestra, where the band has the same sheet music, players know what instruments they must play and the audience accept what they are given. In 21st century society, leaders must move from being score writers to becoming improvisers."

The author then uses the analogy of leading a rock band for creatively leading your organization today, including such nice turns of phrase as "have more productive fun at work, i.e. 'aha' (inspiring), 'ha, ha' (laughing) and 'cha, cha' (moving) moments."

The book title refers to three critical areas in leading an organization today - Relationships (the Sex), Motivation & Leadership (the Drugs) and High Performance (the Rock 'n' Roll).

Cook sustains his riff admirably throughout the book and manages to sneak in beneath the entertaining approach a series of important subjects - from complexity theory and structured ambiguity to Fred Herzberg's findings on motivation and demoralization at work.

I have to read a lot of business and leadership books for my work. I even write them occasionally. This one was a refreshing change: combining entertainment with serious business reading, as Cook has done with this book, is definitely the way to go. Phil Dourado, www.TheLeadershipHub.com

Most readers of business books will be familiar with the jazz analogy for creative teams. Years ago, Peter Drucker proposed a symphony orchestra analogy. In this book, Peter Cook argues that rock music is an even better analogy, because it falls between the extreme structure of orchestra music and the high degree of improvisation of jazz. Rock is collaborative improvisation within a structure, and Cook does a great job of working out this analogy--adding value to the many books out there about jazz and business.

Sex, Leadership and Rock `n' Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock by Peter Cook is simply outstanding. A witty, insightful and fresh look at leadership, with enough rock `n' roll references to keep a smile on any rocker's face.

Peter has written a truly original book that should be required reading for anyone who serves in a leadership role (or hopes to do so one day). There's none of the nonsensical business jargon that litters the traditional boring, and often useless, management books out there.

This is a tremendously fun read that interprets the essential elements of leadership through rock & roll, with a dose of jazz and classical thrown in for good measure. When Cook talks about the MBA, he means Management by Attitude, NOT More Bloody Analysis.

He uses sex and drugs and rock `n' roll as metaphors to expand our thinking, while keeping a safe distance from corporatespeak. In Cook's vernacular, "sex is about making, keeping and ending work relationships, drugs is about motivating and leading others, and rock `n' roll is about reaching and sustaining high performance."

I particularly enjoyed the insightful commentary on the relevance of structure versus improvisation, and the tightrope leaders must often walk between the two.

This entertaining and engaging work is one of the best business books I've read in years.

There have been books on shaking up the usual Corporate hierarchy, but this is the best I've read. It's a different way at looking at things, and Peter Cook not only pushes the envelope, but ROCKS the envelope! Informative, innovative, fun, whimsical..this should be required reading for ALL business majors! I would recommend this to anyone, whether they are in a business atmosphere or not!