Remaking Your Company Through Music.

  • Remaking Your Company Through Music.
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    I don’t know if you go in for those kind of self help and business type books but one idea recently caught my eye courtesy of Chris Arnot in the UK Guardian..

    When reorganising your business why not model it on the helpful styles of contrasting jazz band leaders? There’s an idea. Like any small business jazz bands have products (shows and music) to organise market and sell, stakeholders to please (the public, the musicians, press, peers) and must evolve to survive. More than anything they are heavily reliant on maverick and unstable talent that must be well used for the organisational whole to flourish. Long running bands are actually successful businesses.

    Here are some different ideas.

    You could favour an organisation keeps together for a long period allowing its evolution to come from the differing developments of its members as they grow into their styles and voices. At different times different members lead the sound to help its evolution but continuity and safety and mutual respect are the constants – a safe haven for exploration to occur. The orchestra of Duke Ellington (below) followed this style. A great player in his own right (check Money Jungle on Blue Note to hear him play) and a fine arranger, bandleading was his real forte and he held his together for 50+ years. Motivation and inspiration were his skills, as well as a tolerance for his musicians that allowed talent to flourish.

     

     

    “if you have a creative process you have to have talented employees. But talent is not always easy to manage. To what extent do you encourage wayward behaviour? You have to give them freedom and space but direct them in subtle ways so that the end result comes back together harmoniously”. Ellington managed continuity brilliantly and his band ebbed and flowed from creative peak to creative peak as well as being one of the few big bands to stay intact after the war.

    An all together edgier model is that of the bands of the great Miles Davis

     

    The model is restless, ever evolving. Nothing and no one is allowed to settle, and the only common feature is Miles himself. Miles acts as a provoker, or iconoclastic agent provocateur. Ideas were his thing, and he was as likely to say “play less” as “play more or louder”. His bands lasted just long enough for him to become disinterested in their sound, and then new aspects and elements were added. Davis almost never chose musicians who knew each other before or who had worked together and the maverick element was added at each session. Electric bass, Indian or Brazilian percussion, clavinet, wah wah trumpet – you name it and it was tried. And the styles too – from hard bop to electric jazz, constantly challenging. And always the newest freshest of players to challenge and inspire. It is an exhausting approach but one I have heard articulated in some companies I have worked in “better to put the best together with all the ego clashes and have them for a short time – something great will likely emerge – than years of settled mediocrity”. Davis “was less concerned about stability than others ..if it worked it would be brilliant. If not, he’d disband the team and start again”.

    Or maybe the model of the great drummer Art Blakey

     

     

    Who ran The Jazz Messengers as a school for generation after generation of new jazz talent. Bands would form, be schooled in how to play and dress and behave, and learn their skills. Then they would leave to form their own bands and new talent would enter. But not as individuals, as group units who respected each other and played as a team. “His speciality was bringing on young musicians. But he was much more concerned about the decorum and behaviour of his team than the others”. The Messengers is more like a military school for jazzmen with very clear guidelines of what is considered right and wrong, and the teacher in back reminding everyone where to go and when and how fast. As they solo’d Blakey could (and can on recordings) often by heard shouting guidance and encouragement. If he doesn’t verbalise it, his drums talk for him.

    Anyway, I’m sure you get the idea. These intriguing thoughts are the work of Deniz Ucbarasan, professor of Entrepreneurship. They are summarised in a couple of papers called “Leading Entrepreneurial teams: Insights from jazz” and “Sensemaking and Sensegiving: stories of Jazz Leadership”. At least one is available in full on the web if you fancy it. Its not too highbrow and its backed up with interviews with actual playing musicians as well. It is (as you’d expect I suppose) cool stuff. And a fun way to think about it if you are ever inclined to want to think about how to do things differently but don’t fancy one of those heavy business books.

     

    - Tony H

     

    Ps. I hope they turn their view on funk next – what about modelling your business on this man?

     

     

    Its hard to imagine he was music’s most successful entrepreneur of the late 70s with 2 bands with the same personnel recording for different majors, a bunch of side projects and huge touring revenues. And he looks like the boss really.

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Submitted by Site Factory admin on

 

I don’t know if you go in for those kind of self help and business type books but one idea recently caught my eye courtesy of Chris Arnot in the UK Guardian..

When reorganising your business why not model it on the helpful styles of contrasting jazz band leaders? There’s an idea. Like any small business jazz bands have products (shows and music) to organise market and sell, stakeholders to please (the public, the musicians, press, peers) and must evolve to survive. More than anything they are heavily reliant on maverick and unstable talent that must be well used for the organisational whole to flourish. Long running bands are actually successful businesses.

Here are some different ideas.

You could favour an organisation keeps together for a long period allowing its evolution to come from the differing developments of its members as they grow into their styles and voices. At different times different members lead the sound to help its evolution but continuity and safety and mutual respect are the constants – a safe haven for exploration to occur. The orchestra of Duke Ellington (below) followed this style. A great player in his own right (check Money Jungle on Blue Note to hear him play) and a fine arranger, bandleading was his real forte and he held his together for 50+ years. Motivation and inspiration were his skills, as well as a tolerance for his musicians that allowed talent to flourish.

 

 

“if you have a creative process you have to have talented employees. But talent is not always easy to manage. To what extent do you encourage wayward behaviour? You have to give them freedom and space but direct them in subtle ways so that the end result comes back together harmoniously”. Ellington managed continuity brilliantly and his band ebbed and flowed from creative peak to creative peak as well as being one of the few big bands to stay intact after the war.

An all together edgier model is that of the bands of the great Miles Davis

 

The model is restless, ever evolving. Nothing and no one is allowed to settle, and the only common feature is Miles himself. Miles acts as a provoker, or iconoclastic agent provocateur. Ideas were his thing, and he was as likely to say “play less” as “play more or louder”. His bands lasted just long enough for him to become disinterested in their sound, and then new aspects and elements were added. Davis almost never chose musicians who knew each other before or who had worked together and the maverick element was added at each session. Electric bass, Indian or Brazilian percussion, clavinet, wah wah trumpet – you name it and it was tried. And the styles too – from hard bop to electric jazz, constantly challenging. And always the newest freshest of players to challenge and inspire. It is an exhausting approach but one I have heard articulated in some companies I have worked in “better to put the best together with all the ego clashes and have them for a short time – something great will likely emerge – than years of settled mediocrity”. Davis “was less concerned about stability than others ..if it worked it would be brilliant. If not, he’d disband the team and start again”.

Or maybe the model of the great drummer Art Blakey

 

 

Who ran The Jazz Messengers as a school for generation after generation of new jazz talent. Bands would form, be schooled in how to play and dress and behave, and learn their skills. Then they would leave to form their own bands and new talent would enter. But not as individuals, as group units who respected each other and played as a team. “His speciality was bringing on young musicians. But he was much more concerned about the decorum and behaviour of his team than the others”. The Messengers is more like a military school for jazzmen with very clear guidelines of what is considered right and wrong, and the teacher in back reminding everyone where to go and when and how fast. As they solo’d Blakey could (and can on recordings) often by heard shouting guidance and encouragement. If he doesn’t verbalise it, his drums talk for him.

Anyway, I’m sure you get the idea. These intriguing thoughts are the work of Deniz Ucbarasan, professor of Entrepreneurship. They are summarised in a couple of papers called “Leading Entrepreneurial teams: Insights from jazz” and “Sensemaking and Sensegiving: stories of Jazz Leadership”. At least one is available in full on the web if you fancy it. Its not too highbrow and its backed up with interviews with actual playing musicians as well. It is (as you’d expect I suppose) cool stuff. And a fun way to think about it if you are ever inclined to want to think about how to do things differently but don’t fancy one of those heavy business books.

 

- Tony H

 

Ps. I hope they turn their view on funk next – what about modelling your business on this man?

 

 

Its hard to imagine he was music’s most successful entrepreneur of the late 70s with 2 bands with the same personnel recording for different majors, a bunch of side projects and huge touring revenues. And he looks like the boss really.

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