Start Me Up and Keep Me Growing: Management Learnings from the Rolling Stones

“A giant case study with hundreds of micro-scenarios that can be used and further developed as narratives in coaching and training!”—Sabine Baer Executive Coach Brussels coaching .sabinebaer @gmail .com. Many people know the Rolling Stones their famous songs their industrial-scale concerts and their enormous wealth. However what looks like a straightforward career path was in fact fraught with many threats and obstacles. There were many dramatic incidents where the Rolling Stones were on the verge of extinction and there was the constant risk of becoming obsolete. However through an infinite sequence of wise business decisions artistic and commercial adjustments and unbelievable painful efforts to overcome the centrifugal forces inherent in multi-person long-term interpersonal dynamics the Stones became the greatest societal influencers of the post-war world inspiring several generations as a model for perseverance effort creativity and fun.This easy-to-read book inspired by the Harvard Business School Case Study format narrates the band history with a focus on business aspects management learnings and the interpersonal dynamics that repeatedly threatened to end the greatest success story of rock ‘n’ roll but eventually culminated in an unrivalled planetary success. The short book is aimed at company founders talent managers in large corporates and executive coaches who seek inspiration for their own workplace want to hear how the Stones made it while still enjoying a good read.The world’s most famous and long-living band started out 60 years ago in London with the mission to bring American blues music to a European audience. The young band expected to last two years at best the rest is history. This easy-to-read and thoughtful book looks at how the Stones managed to last six decades in a rapidly changing world. How they relentlessly competed disrupted changed adapted innovated grew – artistically financially and as pillars of society – and how they manged to overcome the inevitable challenges of interpersonal dynamics in their life-spanning career. Written in the style of a chronological business school case study this book looks at the evolving decision-making processes of the Stones as a professional services firm. It emphasizes the commonality of all business collaborations where different temperaments must join forces to bring about lasting success. Corporate executives start-up founders and talent managers can find a wealth of inspiration during a flight (long-haul or delayed). Management school professors coaches and personal development trainers may use the book as a working tool and exploit its many narratives about hiring firing investing and spending. All readers will likely find that there is as much halo in between the lines as there is ink on paper.