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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Business as Rock 'n' roll, 6 Oct 2007
This review is from: Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock (Paperback)
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 favours 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." 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
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fresh, accessible approach to management, 25 July 2009
This review is from: Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock (Paperback)
'Sex, Leadership and Rock 'n' Roll' breaks with the tradition of boring management books. I have long believed that Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Bono and others have much to teach business people about leading teams and attracting customers. Peter Cook explains how it's done. He has an innate understanding of how customers and colleagues think and feel. This book is both entertaining and informative. Excellent! John Purkiss, headhunter and co-author of 'BRAND YOU - Turn Your Unique Talents into a Winning Formula'.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sex, Leadership & a Wonderful Approach to the Subject!, 18 July 2009
This review is from: Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock (Paperback)
Having spent the last 10 years working in the field of consultancy and taken my MBA, I have been lucky or unlucky enough to read a multitude of books about Leadership. Many of these works have been either boring or simply repeated the same ideas that have been written time and time again. Not so, I am pleased to sat, in the case of Sex, Leadership & Rock n Roll. This is a book that has managed to bring together the Leadership theories and the exciting world of Rock music. Not many, including myself, have either the time or inclination to trudge through reams and reams of the same old stuff when searching for that gem of information. In this book however, Peter Cook manages to extract key learning points whilst at the same time keeping the pace of the book upbeat and incredibly interesting to read. As both an MBA graduate but also as an author myself, I would highly recommend this book. It is not only a good read but approaches the subject of Leadership from a most innovative perspective. Matthew Francis. Author of the book RUSKIE: Beers, Bears & Babushkas.
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