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Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by Peter Cook (Author) "Music comes from the street ..." (more)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Crown House Publishing; illustrated edition edition (1 Mar 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1845900162
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845900168
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 109,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #33 in  Books > Business, Finance & Law > Management > Management Skills > Inspiration

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Product Description

Review

None would doubt that we live in a Rock 'n' Roll Age--so what makes more sense than a brilliant, original, rockin' Rock 'n' Roll model of business management and leadership? Sex, Leadership and Rock 'n' Roll is a marvelous book, which closes the door on the tidy, hierarchical, know-your-place 'Orchestral Age' and ushers in a new, creative era of challenge and change. Hooray! Tom Peters, author of Thriving on Chaos and In Search of Excellence --Tom Peters, author of Thriving on Chaos and In Search of Excellence

'his book rocks harder than early period Sabbath. I gulped it down quicker than Ozzy Osbourne used to down a bottle of bourbon. Phil Beadle, Columnist Education Guardian, Award winning teacher, and author of 'Could do Better' --Phil Beadle, Columnist Education Guardian, Award winning teacher, and author of 'Could do Better'

Peter Cooks approach to the fundamentals of business management using a Rock and Roll model is hilariously practical. One of the major problems that I find as a lecturer is helping students find ways of remembering and, more importantly, applying appropriate management techniques. Peter Cook s book can bridge that gap by providing students with an up to date and relevant language of expression that uses musical idioms and practitioners that most students have heard of and can remember easily. The next step of linking the words and music to the appropriate business practices is made very much easier. The examples expressed in contemporary language will, I am sure, encourage students to use their new knowledge rather than tuck it away in their subconscious. This is a very readable and useful addition to the business bookshelf that I will be pleased to recommend to students. David Moss, MSc, Cert Ed, MCIPD --David Moss, MSc, Cert Ed, MCIPD


Declan Doogan, Global R&D Director

An intriguing approach to delivery leadership concepts and very different from traditional MBA style teaching.
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Music comes from the street. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock
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Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll: Leadership Lessons from the Academy of Rock 4.6 out of 5 stars (8)
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50 Cautionary Tales for Managers: An Entertaining Collection of Enlightening Parables for Managers
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50 Cautionary Tales for Managers: An Entertaining Collection of Enlightening Parables for Managers 4.8 out of 5 stars (12)
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Customer Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, but difficult to read - didn't meet expectations, 24 Jul 2006
By C. M. Perkins (Stirling, Scotland.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Peter Cook (not the deceased comedian), ex-senior manager in pharmaceuticals, holder of an MBA, consultant and musician, has sought to take his love of music and his experiences playing and performing, and package them as providing a fresh perspective on twenty-first century leadership.

If this book was an album, there's one hit single that grabs you and, unfortunately, a collection of mediocre album tracks to pad it out.

The book has taken rock's classic cliché and drawn parallels with what Cook sees as three vital components of leadership: `sex' is all about your relationships; `drugs' is about motivation (your natural high, as well as identifying what it is for those you lead); and `rock `n' roll' means attitude.

Having established the `leadership is like rock `n' roll' analogy, Cook does hit on some really relevant points for business leaders. For example: `Musicians crucially understand the impact of atmosphere on performance' and `Who's playing the drums and bass in your business while all your stars are busy playing solos and smashing up their guitars?'

In the same way that other business titles have attempted to innovate with the accompanying parable, the funky layout or the bonus web-based content, this publisher and author have played about with the structure. The left-hand pages contain the main text; the right-hand pages contain the pithy soundbites, quotes (both from musicians and business gurus) and illustrations. In practice, I found this makes for a difficult read - get to the bottom of the page and you want to continue the train of thought overleaf; but you don't want to miss the nugget on the opposite page. I ended up flipping through the whole of the right-hand `book' first and then read the left-hand side.

As a big music fan that has spent some time with people in bands, I really liked the idea of this book. Early on I smiled on recognising the song titles dropped in as leadership lessons - `It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it' - but towards the end I found the analogy being stretched too far when Cook attempted to explain Madonna and Bowie's periodic replacement of producers and backing bands as "outsourcing their key employees".

The concept behind this book has sufficient really good material to make a great magazine feature, and I'd go and see Peter Cook speaking at a conference because he sounds like quite a character. The book itself would make a good gift item for a colleague with an interest in music, or it would work as an unusual primer on leadership for people new to a leadership role.

Peter Cook might have a one-hit wonder on his hands, we'll have to see how he copes with the follow-up.


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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Business as Rock 'n' roll, 6 Oct 2007
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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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership for the 21st century, 15 Aug 2006
By Steve Gorton (York, UK) - See all my reviews
An intriguing title, so what does Peter Cook's book "Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll" offer us, why should we invest the time to buy / read it and how does this book differ from the many already published?

There are forests of books on "leadership" from the dry academic treatise to the guru - "One true way" titles. Many of these can give us some tips on how to be better managers or understand so called "leadership competencies". The question is can they help us to be today's leaders rather than yesterday's managers?

Now that the received wisdom of leadership has moved from the "great man" approach of the last century to the idea of 21st century leadership as "who I am rather than what I am" - leadership as a way of being rather than doing - it behoves us to think more creatively about leadership of self, teams and organisations. We know that we learn effectively through metaphor and fun and the title tempts into a more creative way of thinking about how we lead effectively to deal with the complexity of modern business life.

So this is where this Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll comes in, and it is deadly serious about ways of dealing with the real challenges for leaders and managers. Organised in three sections sex is about business relationships (the people and business partners), drugs is about motivation and leadership whilst rock'n'roll is about high performance. The book is designed to offer the referenced links between the traditional leadership literature and what Cook calls the "Academy of Rock" metaphor though music to bring this alive in an everyday context. As such the blend of the mainstream literature is brought alive with quotes from an eclectic mix of Einstein, the Beatles, Gareth Morgan, Nelson Mandela, Madonna, Tom Peters, David Bowie etc

To make things even more accessible, he includes key points sprinkled liberally throughout as practical tips on making a positive difference. In addition the mix of visual and written styles along with the soundtrack from the music titles acts as a springboard to help bring together the intellectual and emotional aspects of business so we can take a whole brained, strategic approach to personal and business performance.

Who wouldn't like the book?
- The style may not be for everyone, particularly those who live in world where leadership is positional or feel things should be as they were in the past.
- Purists with a closed mindset about the one right way to do things

Why read the book?
- It is an engaging read about issues in leading and managing which made me laugh in parts as the messages hit home. For Dilbert fans this book is a must.
- To enthuse yourself about practical possibilities in raising your game for you, your team and your organisation
- Whilst several of the areas will be familiar to those who have done an MBA or other management development programmes, this is about the implementation rather than the theory
- It takes a fresh (accelerated learning) approach which gives permission to deal with the real issues facing people in organisations these days

So, in summary, for those who are prepared to take a 21st century approach to running organisations and their part of an organisation, why wouldn't you want to read it?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh, accessible approach to management
'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... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. John E. Purkiss

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Leadership & a Wonderful Approach to the Subject!
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. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. Francis

5.0 out of 5 stars At last! A refreshing look at Leadership! Stimulating...
This book is not what I expected at all.
But in the best possible way...
Peter Cook is a genius. Read more
Published 17 months ago by DB7

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Leadership and Rock 'n' Roll
This is a first class read with some fascinating insights and anologies as to how rock music and big business do the business successfully. Read more
Published on 3 Jul 2007 by Vincent Stevenson

5.0 out of 5 stars easy and different
This is very unusual book. Peter Cook successfully relates lots of principles about business, leadership and management to music performance, and especially to many esoteric rock... Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2007 by Alan Chapman

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