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