Why every company should be a rock band

- ZE EBOOK

Henriette Weber, March 2009

version 2 with design by the fenomenal Lene Aarup Vinther kortsagtdesign.dk

Partially edited by the wonderful Stephanie Booth

ps. this Ebook use my own handwriting(and is the first publication coming out of my publishing house Toothless Tiger press).

This eBook is inspired by a talk I gave at the conference SHiFT08.

People were really excited by the idea I exposed in my talk “why every company should be a rock band”, so I decided to put the idea into another format.

This eBook showcases my thoughts on why rock bands are the future of business.

I really hope you will enjoy it!

Rebuilding from the ground up!

DEfining a rOcK BanD:I want to emphasise that what I am pointing to are the feel-ings that you get when you think of yourself as a rock star. I know there are a lot of downsides to rockstardom as well, though a lot of people strive for it.

“rock band” is a metaphor for “coolness”, that individuals and companies can use to develop their business.

Definitions:an audience is a crowd of people listening to your songs.

your fans are the ones who loves you and follow your every move. You give your Audience something extraor-dinary and over time they become fans.

- Because they know how to engage an audience

- Because they know how to put on a show

- Because they make the audience feel special

- Because they publish stuff, reinvent themselves and find their own niche within a world of rock bands.

Why are some rock bands cool ?

I WONDER; WHEN DID A COMPANY REINVENT ITSELF

COMPLETELY?

Who wants to be in a sales meeting when he or she could be at a rock concert ?

A rock band, as I see it, is a gathering of rock stars: people doing what they are extremely good at. They do this in order to gain popularity and coolness from the audience. In the end, the rock band basically exists to make money by selling records and shows.

But the rock band approach to this is so much more giving than “business as usual”.

The rock band is where rock stars work

Rock stars could also be called something like “employees of a company” - but the phrase “rock stars” is so much cooler than “employees”. My view on rock bands is not all glossy and naive. Overall, what I am trying to bring to mind is the feeling that people get when you ask them to imagine themselves in a rock band.

People start to smile!

You can actually see that people are thinking:“Well if I were in a rock band - I would be cool.

Introducing Rockbandism

All I'm sayin' is: who wouldn't want to be in a rock band?

Being a rock star is a childhood dream that many of us have had.

We need to follow our dreams because it makes us happy and makes us feel respected and loved.

If we as companies facilitate childhood dreams and involve ourselves in the lives of our sur-roundings - the return on involvement will be huge..

Why are rock bands so important?

But I am one of those people who can’t sing very well.

And even though I used my childhood savings of 2000 dol-lars on a base guitar and an amplifier, I don’t really play the guitar...

However, I use the rock star approach all the time.

Why?

Because it makes me feel cool! A rock star approach also has a lot to do with self-esteem. If you feel and act like a rock star, you tend to look at yourself differently.

Just look at me: I still want to be in a rock band!

This idea of being a rock star really makes a lot of sense to me - how about you?

If we had the power to choose, would a day job be our weapon of choice?Don’t we want to be happy and make a difference in the world?

Wouldn’t it be great if the place where we worked actually made us feel more like a rock star and less like a cockroach ?

Musical lEssOn nO 1:

Why should we want a daytime job ?

WOULDN'T WE RATHER BE ROCK

STARS?

What I do know is that people want to be influential, en-gaged, and make a difference at their job.

The lack of these things is one of the reasons many of us are quitting our jobs.We simply want to be happy with what we are spending a lot of time on, day after day.

I know that a lot of people are happy, and a lot of compa-nies actually do act like rock bands - but this eBook is pri-marily destined to those who could use a changin’ hand.

sO if This is WhaT pEOplE WanT (WhaT ThEy rEally rEally WanT...)

Why don't you turn your company into a rock band? rEasOns fOr unhappinEss aT WOrK:

-OnE in fivE is unhappy aBOuT ThEir WOrK

- lacK Of cOMMunicaTiOn frOM ThE TOp

- uncOMpETiTivE salary - nO rEcOgniTiOn fOr achiEvE-MEnTs

- pOOr BOss/linE ManagEr - liTTlE pErsOnal DEvElOpMEnT - iDEas BEing ignOrED - lacK Of OppOrTuniTy fOr gOOD pErfOrMErs

- lacK Of BEnEfiTs - WOrK nOT EnjOyaBlE -nOT fEEling ThaT WhaT i DO MaKEs a DiffErEncE Source for information on this side arboraglobal.com - happiness index 2007

This blogpost by Euan Semple gave me inspiration to write this

Both musicians and manager know that every band member plays his or her own instrument the best. That means that you would never have the drummer play the base - or vice versa.

If you’re a musician: Find out what you do best and keep doing it. Leave the rest to the other musicians.

If you’re a manager: Let the musicians be the musicians and focus on managing the rock band. As a manager, you need to enjoy business and the chaos of the musi-cians and the audience.

This also means that you should practice a “no command and control mentality”.

Why?Because command and control does not make a great manager of rock stars.

Chaos and anarchy does… basically.

please... you may be the manager, but let the rock band be the rock band.

Musical lEssOn nO. 2:

The drummer ain't the bassist baby

* I know, stating that companies normally grow pol-lution and money is a bit - well, harsh. But think about it - It could also be stuff that people didn't really need or that didn't have any real val-ue to people but we as companies made them buy anyway...

Normally, companies grow money and pollution*.

The following case studies are of companies that grow good stuff in addition to money and deduct their pollution footprint, basically by changing the concept of growth.

he following cases are companies that make the business of business more than business. Or “busi-ness unusual” if that term suits you better.

Musical lEssOn nO 3:

You don't have to be like Bono...to make a difference as a rock band.

case 1: FordThe revitalisation of an industrial sustainable landscape: Ford Rouge plant.

In a collaborative effort, William Ford and Bill McDonough have started to remediate the landscape of one of our most historical and monumental factories in the automotive industry.Henry Ford built the plant to have coal coming in at one end, and a car came out at the other.William Clay Ford Jr. envisions the opportunity to transform the 20th century icon of the automotive industry into a 21st century model of sustainability...

Why i chose to analyse ford as a rock band:The above facts really makes me feel good about Ford. I really have a thing for companies doing the right thing, and in the meantime, being first movers and a good example to other companies within their own industry. Especially when the industry is old and terribly mainstream. When I am out speaking about social marketing and branding I always say that the values you need to get a great brand these days are authenticity, trust, and remarkability.I think Ford is an “elderly” company which is cool, innovative, and changing its industry by setting new standards as well.

Kilde: http://www.dirtstudio.com/projects_view_project.php?project_id=71412

case 2: Ben and Jerry'sBen and Jerry’s has teamed up with Penn State University to build green technology freezers which will replace existing ones inside its stores. Ben and Jerry’s has invested 600.000 dollars in the project, and the freezers have been up since 2004 in various of Ben and Jerry’s stores around the world.

Why i think that Ben and jerry’s can join the school of cool:I have been following Ben and Jerry’s progress for a while now, and this initiative is just like them. It fits like a foot in a sock with their overall brand, their involvement in society (they have been giving reports on their social and environ-mental assessments for the past 18 years) and the way they create and communicate their products – they are a remark-able ice cream manufacturer in every way.

Source: http://www.primidi.com/2004/04/15.html

case 3: innocent drinksInnocent drinks have a very simple policy - to produce 100% natural drinks that taste good and do you good. Innocent drinks want to be Europe’s favourite little juice company, even though they have a 71 % market share of the 169 million pound smoothie market, and sell more than 2 million smoothies per week.

all about the audienceInnocent drinks are another type of rock band because they have used social media in combination with events to sup-port their image. Even though they are a fairly large company now, the employees are still close to their customers and create preferences from (unclear what you mean) their slightly wacky ideas and down to earth communication. From day one, innocent drinks have been about their audience - starting out with a juice stall at a music festival in England and having people throwing the empty juice glasses in a “yes” or “no” container when the founders asked the question: “Should we give up our daytime job to make juices?” They did.

case 4: NokiaNokia is the first runner up to for the title of world’s first producer of green electronics, as stated by Greenpeace. If you talk to Nokia employees, they are proud to work for Nokia because the company “hasn’t got anything to hide”. There is nothing that the marketing or the PR department has to keep from the press.

Being highlighted by greenpeaceNokia is one of my favourite cases - simply because it seems to be winning the race of “world’s first green electronics producer”- and this is not self-declared brag, but an endorsement by Greenpeace.That in itself is quite extraordinary and a goal I personally would love to see more companies aspire to. It clearly shows that Nokia is a business whose business is more than business.

Kilde: http://www.dirtstudio.com/projects_view_project.php?project_id=71412

We have the purchasing power - we should use it!

I will strongly encourage anyone to actually buy stuff with their heart, and not with their minds somewhere else. As markets evolve, we should actually evolve our principals as consumers. All kinds of initiatives will do. Personally, I buy most of my clothes 2nd hand. I actually feel guilty if I don’t. I also support companies I think are doing good and heading in the direction I would like to see them go. I am proud to be a fan of the companies I buy from. I try to buy as local, unique and organic as possible.

How can we as consumers help?

What's your music?

They are about music! - that’s why they have group-ies and fans. What are you about? It’s increasingly difficult to “not be about anything” because it makes you sell less products. As a company, it’s a great idea to be passionate about something - and use every measure to actually support that passion.

Musical lEssOn nO 4:

rockbands are more than business

How do you create Rockbandism ?I have listed a couple of things you could do today to become a rockband, as a person or as a company.

– Give your support to companies that make a difference to their surroundings – if you are buying electronics look up what the electronic producers are doing of good in the world (check out the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics).

– Implement good karma in your everyday life (and do well by doing good). What you give out you get back at some point in some shape – this can also be implemented for business. – WWRD? – “what would a rockband do”? or if you are into Kenny Rogers – what would he do in any given situation? This will also show yourself where your business or personal integrity lies because you actually act as a person or a rockband you admire.

– Start leading instead of managing – If we can measure stuff why should we manage it? Leadership is key here instead of management. When you lead you tell people how to reach the stars, when you manage you keep them on the ground.

– Respect and confide in, that people are the best at what they do. If they aren’t, they won’t be around for long. If they are and you keep on buggin’ them, they won’t be around for long either.

– Don’t be arrogant – Because audiences can’t stand it – talk to people as a person not as a company. – Focus on your return on involvement – know that you get a return on, what you involve yourself in. No matter if it’s bingo, communities, talks, ornithology or un-conferences.

– Find out where you can make a difference and do it. Don’t leave it up to everybody else to save the world.

– Find out what you can do to become an authentic, trustworthy and remarkable company. Maybe you could even think about this a lot and make these thoughts into an actionplan.

– Last but not least – if you’re not happy – do something else, become another type of rockband, maybe a soloist of a sort, or an orchestra.

Musical lEssOn nO 5:

"return on involvement"

Being a rockband is being about the audience - inter-acting with the people and giving back to them. Your performance is measured in everyway when you’re on stage. As a company, you need to focus on “return on involvement” when it comes to interaction with people. This means that you have to imple-ment a golden rule in your business practices on which you simply have to rely: you get a “return” from your involvement – it also means that as the return gets bigger, the involvement gets larger too.

Musical lEssOn nO 6:

giving more and giving back

so people an

d the world

are chang

ing...

We are currently waking up to realise that everything we know is wrong, due to the financial crisis. All our systems are suffering.

Musical lEssOn nO 7:

why bother?

The organisation and leadership of companies hasn’t changed since the indus-trial revolution.

- Steen Hildebrandt

-and companies should change too.

business is still hierarchical and all about money

could it be about something else?

it is the companies that are the fastest to adapt and change, who are going to be succesful in the future.

the business unusuals

So why don't you:

- start thinking about how you can make a dif-ference as a company

- make a strategy on how to become more than business as usual

- make your employees feel like rockstars

so start changinglike you’ve never changed before

Thank you =)Made by Henriette Weber

Published by Toothless Tiger Press

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