21 Success Secrets of The Beatles

One thing I enjoy doing is studying excellence. There's something about unique, extraordinary human achievement that I find fascinating.

I love studying it, dissecting it, and extracting lessons from it. It's what attracted me to write about Napoleon. It's what led me to explore lessons from Einstein. And it's what leads me to dive into lessons from The Beatles.

Like them or not, nobody can argue that The Beatles didn't achieve amazing feats. I doubt there will ever be another musical group that could rival them for sheer impact on the music scene and the world.

They were the first pop artists to record in stereo. They were the first band to experiment in the studio. They were the first band to list lyrics on their album. The list goes on and on.

But what made them so successful? And are the lessons applicable to building successful and innovative individuals and teams in business? Here are 21 lessons that answer definitively "yes."

1) Focus on Strengths - They focused on their strengths, doing what they do best (songwriting and performing).

2) Engage a partner - They got help (from Brian Epstein, their manager, and George Martin, their producer). They couldn't have achieved such heights on their own.

3) Differentiate! - They dared to be different, whether it was their suits, their hair, the instruments they experimented with, their neverending search for new chords, and so on.

4) Have key values - They stuck to principle themes, such as love, peace, and the search for truth.

5) Adopt a cause - In the band and in their solo careers, they always had a cause that they were passionate about, whether peace, vegetarianism, eastern philosophy, or some other passion.

6) Worship change - They weren't afraid to change, even in the midst of success. At the top of the moptop craze, they changed their style, then they changed again with Sergeant Pepper, which was a virtual celebration of change.

7) Broaden your horizons - They continuously sought self-growth, learning new philosophies, new chords and instruments, etc.

8) Be passionate about everything you do. They treated each deliverable (i.e. song) as THE hit, which is why their "B-sides" did better than most people's A-sides.

9) Embrace conflict - They readily embraced creative conflict and friendly competition. It was precisely the conflict and competition between Lennon and McCartney that made each of them strive for new heights.

10) Keep moving - Fast! - They recorded constantly, always looking for some new and unique angle. They recorded first and asked questions later.

11) RMF (Risk Magnificent Failures) - They experimented with new chords, new concepts, and had some celebrated failures (Revolution #9-although some liked it; the Magical Mystery Tour Movie, in which they filmed everyone on a bus in the hopes that something neat would happen--nothing did). In a sense, each album was also an experiment in some way.

12) Aim for the Skies - They thought big ("To the toppermost!" they used to say) and they believed it! Similar to Napoleon Hill's principles in Think and Grow Rich, they aimed high and got there.

13) Talent matters - When all is said and done, they had the right talent. All the other elements wouldn't have helped if they didn't have a natural talent for music. Luck helps, but if you have the right talent in the right job, the luckier you get.

14) Use your whole brain - They used the left and right sides of their brain---using the right side when freeflowing creativity and innovation were needed, and the left side when the proper structure was important.

15) Have Fun!!! - Above all, they had plenty of fun, and even stressed the importance in the song "She's Leaving Home" (about a girl who left home to explore "something inside that was always denied for so many years---She's having fun, bye bye.")

16) Never Conform - They didn't conform to standard education, which led to their unorthodox style. In fact, I've noticed most great pop musicians hold their instruments "the wrong way." Tom Peters pointed the same thing out about great Tennis players and their rackets.

17) Field the right team - They were built for synergy -- each were different but shared the same values. The whole was truly greater than the sum of its parts.

18) Get noticed! - They wouldn't have gotten anywhere if they didn't get noticed in the first place. How did they get noticed? By playing in public, where they could get noticed. This should stress the importance of networking. Be seen.

19) Prototype and Test! - They prototyped and tested zillions of versions of their songs. For each hit, there were about 20 alternate takes in different styles and genres. And they practiced each version over and over.

20) Study the greats, Then forget them. - They didn't begin in a vacuum. They studied their idols, such as Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, and others. If you want to succeed at something, a good place to begin is studying those who have succeeded before. But then make your own way, just like The Beatles did. Carve your own niche.

21) Be Authentic - They were authentic to who they were - British lads from Liverpool.They could sing colorful lyrics about places like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, and could talk about TV shows like "Meet the Wife" ("It's time for tea and Meet the Wife" from "Good Morning"). They could sing about these things because it's who they were, not because they were trying to be cute or clever. It's important to be true to who you are, not who you'd rather be.

Einstein Project Management Tip #8: Think Simple

This is the last of our month long series on project management lessons from Albert Einstein. A summary will follow.

Einstein once said:

"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius---and a lot of courage---to move in the opposite direction."

This applies not only to our project plans, but to our communications, our dealings with stakeholders, the products we develop, our designs, and pretty much anything we do.

BUT... Einstein also cautioned, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

In our efforts to keep things simple, let's not forget that they also need to be clear and effective. The art is in finding the right balance.

Einstein Project Management Tip #7: Focus on Strengths

Marcus Buckingham said it in all three of his books. Peter Drucker said it. Warren Bennis said it. Dennis Littky said it. And Albert Einstein said it.

Specifically, Einstein said:

"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."

I think all the great thinkers agree that it's better to focus on strengths (yours and the individuals on your team) than it is to endure the futility of trying to correct weaknesses.

If we accept our limits and those of the people on our team (after all, as Marcus Buckingham points out, people's nature doesn't change all that much), then paradoxically we can rise beyond those limits.

If so many experts agree, then why do organizations persist in trying to develop people's weak areas to make "perfectly rounded people" instead of building on their strengths? If we instead worked around people's weaknesses, either with complementary partners, more fitting assignments, or support systems, we'd see much more productivity. Perhaps Peter Drucker said it best: "Make weaknesses irrelevant."

PM Lessons from Einstein: Summary

Here's a summary our project management lessons from Einstein (with links to the original posts) ...

1) Goals Rule ("Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age.")

2) Think Flexible ("As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.")

3) Silence is Golden ("If A=Success, then the formula is A=X+Y+Z. X is work. Y is play. Z is keeping your mouth shut.")

4) Think Value ("Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.")

5) Imagination Counts ("To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science.")

6) People Matter ("Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.")

7) Focus on Strengths ("Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.")

8) Think Simple ("Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius---and a lot of courage---to move in the opposite direction." BUT... ""Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.")

Einstein Project Management Tip #6: People Matter

Here's another installment in our series on project management lessons from Albert Einstein. With the recent news about Radio Shack's "mass termination (ooops, planned cutbacks) via e-mail" I couldn't help but think of this statement from Einstein:

"Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations."

It should serve as a constant reminder that we need to maintain 360-degree responsibility---to the organization, its customers, its employees, and the community. Call it mindful management or what you will. It's just common decency.

Einstein Project Management Tip #5: Imagination Counts

Our next project management tip from our Einstein series regards the need to challenge the status quo----to think out of the box. Consider this quote:

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science."

Of course, Einstein also famously said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." To a project manager, who's typically focused on things like scheduling, monitoring, reporting, and driving the team to completion, this can be a particular challenge. But it's important nonetheless.

Imagination is required in many situations, including (but not limited to):

• Achieving success when the odds are against you
• Conceptualizing ways to achieve the objectives more effectively
• Brainstorming solution ideas and possible risks
• Overcoming barriers, whether political, technical, or physical
• Improving the cusotmer experience

For some practical advice on building the right team for innovation, see my blog series on Tom Kelley's The Ten Faces of Innovation.

More to come.

Einstein Project Management Tip #4: Think Value

And so we continue our series on project management tips from Albert Einstein. Here's another...

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

This sums up perfectly the problem with most projects today. They focus on "success" without fully defining what success means. Project managers and PMOs track schedule and budget metrics. Then, at the end of the project, some capture customer satisfaction, almost as an afterthought.

What really needs to happen is to insure value to the customer, and this usually goes way beyond being on time and on budget. We spoke about the need for clear goals. Surely that's part of it. We also need to deliver in small, frequent iterations to provide the quickest value and get more immediate customer feedback.

Customer satisfaction should be measured and tagged as an index throughout the life of a project, just as Earned Value uses indices to track cost and schedule performance. This allows course correction to be made in areas such as goal clarification, communication, and other areas needed to provide good value.

And when the product has been delivered, be sure that the customer can maximize the benefits of the product through proper training, tips & techniques, next steps, or any other items that will help them get the value expected.

These are the very items I've attempted to address with my Service-Oriented Project Management (SOPM) framework, with its four phases of Understand, Prepare, Iterate, and Transform (UP-IT).

More Einstein tips coming soon...

Einstein Project Management Tip #3: Silence is Golden

Here's our next installment of project management tips from Albert Einstein, the ultimate "PMThinker."

Everyone knows Einstein's famous equation, E=MC2. But he had another one that was also enlightening...

"If A=Success, then the formula is A=X+Y+Z. X is work. Y is play. Z is keeping your mouth shut."

How true this is. Often, a project manager's natural tendency is to be vocal and forward. And sometimes, this is indeed warranted. But more often than not, it's a good idea to show restraint and wait to hear all sides before offering your views.

This should not be confused with the vital need to ask plenty of questions. Rather, this refers to the need to think through the issues and hear all sides before voicing definite opinions. Sometimes, silence is golden.

Einstein Project Management Tip #2: Think Flexible

In keeping with our Einstein theme, here's our next project management tip from the great thinker himself.

"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

While Albert Einstein was referring to the laws of mathematics, surely this applies equally to project plans. We lay out in fine detail what we think is the ultimate plan that supposedly reflects reality. We make what we think are valid assumptions. Then, the minute it is published, things change. Life has a habit of doing that, despite our best intentions.

But we still need to go through the act of planning if we are to think through the risks and have a good chance at success.

Therein lies the paradox. We need to plan, and then we need to constantly revise the plan to match reality. Then we need to plan again. It's a continuous iterative process of course-correction. Perhaps it's why Eisenhower said, "Plans are nothing. Planning is everything."

For most projects, the old adage,"Plan the work and work the plan" should be taken in a different context than its original intention. We need to plan the work, and then we need to "work the plan" (meaning "continuously adjust the plan so that it remains adaptable") , as opposed to merely working "to" the plan.

Stay tuned for more Einstein project management tips.

Einstein Project Management Tip #1: Goals Rule

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of PMThink (yep, we've passed the one-year mark and now have over 1,000 posts - meeting our goal for the first year), I've decided to have a little fun by tapping the mind of the greatest "thinker" of all time----Albert Einstein.

To many, Albert Einstein is synonymous with the word "genius," and rightfully so. In fact, the part of his brain responsible for mathematical and visual/spacial thinking was discovered to be 15% greater than the average human. In addition, it lacked the usual groove that runs through that area, which supposedly enabled his neurons to communicate more effectively. In other words, he's someone worth learning from.

Over the next few weeks, I'll enter some posts highlighting his quotes as they apply to project management. Think Einstein doesn't have anything to do with project management? Think again. Here's the first one...

"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age."

The same could be said for project management today. With all the focus on execution and delivery, many project managers fail because they make a huge assumption that the goals and requirements are clear. As we strive to perfect the ability to finish on-time and on-budget, let's not forget the need to make sure that the goals of the sponsor are crystal clear, since that's where most projects fall short.

Stay tuned for more "Einstein project management tips."

Sage Advice for New Project Managers

Mark Mullaly has a great editorial in Projects@Work, titled "What I Wish I'd Known." It's an honest, heartfelt answer to an inquiry from a reader asking what he wished he'd known before entering project management.

Mullaly makes some great points, especially around the importance of asking questions. A career project manager, he learned the ropes the hard way, through trial and error, and discovered what worked and what didn't.

As Albert Einstein said, "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

I recommend that those new to project management read the article, if for no other reason than to understand what the real paths to success are, such as communication, business acumen, and a true understanding of people and what makes them tick.

http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/Articles/232486.cfm

Innovation Ideas for Project Managers

Looking to increase innovative thinking when developing solutions for your project's customers?

I discovered an interesting organization called SolutionPeople. For one, they offer something called AcceleratedInnovation Training, which focuses on using advanced innovation techniques to get to the bottom of "real goals, challenges or problems."

But the real find is an offsite innovation facility in Chicago called The Thinkubator, which, in addition to the expected multi-media equipment, boasts such unusual thought-boosters as Karaoke machines, a rooftop sundeck, disco lighting, unique giant chair sculptures, and my personal favorite..... get this.... restroom themes inspired by Albert Einstein and John Travolta.

Yes, for those who do their best thinking in the bathroom, you too can be ------ wait a minute---- Albert Einstein and JohnTravolta??? I'm trying to get a vision in my head of this. Frizzy hair and a white suit comes to mind.

In all seriousness, there's something to be said for creating an environment that fosters creative thinking. Here's a writeup in Training Magazine on what Thinkubator founder and president Gerald Haman calls "the four Ps of innovative environments (in PDF format).

Hey, maybe they should start a franchise. Apparently they already have a few Thinkubator locations and created "innovation centers" for companies such as Capital One and Lucent. Maybe a specialty facility for project managers is in order. PMThinkubator, anyone?

Project Team Morale Makeover

Does your workplace and/or project team suffer from morale issues?
You may need a morale makeover. This article suggests the following:
1) Become clear on what you can control - you can control your attitude and set an example, when and how you communicate, etc.
2) Love the ones your with - appreciation is the #1 motivator (remember my blog on making a big deal out of being 50% complete - find a reason, any reason, to say thanks and good job and please make sure you are sincere or don't bother)
3) Communicate - listen up! Try saying, "tell me more". Listen to ideas for improvement. You might be surprised.
4) Create meaning, purpose and passion. Einstein observed we are the happiest when we are doing something exciting and meaningful. Happy people = productive team members. Make sure people know why their hard work matters.

Thanks to the Childcare Business for the great article, Morale Makeover and to http://schwendt.com/html/einstein.html for the photo!