Sex, Leadership and Rock’n’Roll
Author: Peter Cook
Price: £12.99
Publisher: Crown House Publishing
Pages: 224
ISBN: 1845900162
If you avoid books on management, assuming they are full of boring same-old-same-old theories, then try this one. It is different. Instead of business buzzwords, there are song lyrics. Instead of complex diagrams, there are pictures of guitars on fire.
The ‘sex’ in this book is about making and keeping business relationships, with some fairly obvious analogies about mutual satisfaction.
Another, more useful, analogy is on the team dynamics of a band. In any band there is likely to be a morose bass player, a mad drummer, and a lead guitarist who just wants to play solos. The bass players and drummers provide structure and keep things going, while the lead guitarists and singers do most of the innovation.
You need the right balance of personalities, and so it is in any work team.
The ‘drugs’ part of this book is certainly not condoning the use of drugs, but uses the word as a metaphor for energising ourselves and others. ‘Drugging yourself’ is the natural high of motivation and ‘drugging others’ is developing creativity through leadership.
Finally, the ‘rock’n’roll’ part is about reaching and sustaining high performance. Again, Peter Cook has a different spin on a familiar topic: he suggests watching a rock video for an example of a high-voltage presentation.
If you do take all of Cook’s advice, be prepared for some funny looks – for example, wearing earplugs to meetings to develop intuition. However, he delivers plenty more practical tips through the words of rock legends.
Useful? 3 out of 5
Well-written? 3 out of 5
Practical? 3 out of 5
Inspirational? 4 out of 5
Value for money? 3 out of 5
Overall 3 out of 5
Reviewed by Sally Hart, director, compensation and benefits, Europe and Asia, ArvinMeritor
