.

web guru henriette weber (yes, i’m officially a disciple! she made an ism!) wrote the e-book: why every company should be a rockband. it’s cute, short, simple and with a powerful message that salutes passion-driven and sustainable companies. she asks:

Wouldn’t it be great if the place we worked made us feel more like rock stars and less as cockroaches?

and answers with the managerial advice; to embrace chaos and anarchy instead of being overseers & master mechanics… and that employees should start to think differently about their own instruments, so to speak. everyone wants to be happy. well, here connected to cool. acknowledged. worshipped. accepted… as part of the group. companies need to change their mindset, their ways of doing and understanding business. change… into being truly sustainable and to have a real wish to make a difference. not just clean up their own mess, but to give back to society. so much so, that the employees cockroaches rock star potential will shed their blood in the company’s name cause. that’s sustainable. amen!

the reason you should be bothered, henriette says, obviously, is that the more involvement you throw in, the better the result. i agree. and of course, henriette is not the only guru to sing this song; from aristotle to seth godin, the clever ones agree: strive to do the right thing and you will become excellent. if you bother to do it, you may as well do it to the utmost of your abilities. that’s what being a rock star means! and we should all sing in the clever people’s choir!

this makes me feel extra happy that the team building session i recently joined at my new work place evolved around singing. yes, singing. first we all sang together. then each person had to sing in front of everyone else, while the rest of us provided the rhythm, the beat, the support and the back-up vocals. everybody joined in with their voice, their feet, their hands, their good attitude. now, i’ve heard at least, the team has initiated a company choir. i am so in. they are so cool! work without passion means that your prime hours of the day is without passion. why save the energy for the sports results? why not let your work and the rest of your life ingredients nourish each other?

even if your boss is an idiot, or even worse/ better, if you are an idiotic boss yourself, i say raise your voice, unpack your instrument, play the “#¤% triangle as its never been played before, if that’s what you have! (although i today learned that every person holds a huge layered tool box and to not settle with just a few items from the top layer. one mighty fine metaphor. perhaps there’s an oversize drum set for each of us to bang right underneath!)

a rock band can be formed in many ways - sometimes it just takes one star to get the music going! yet stars shed light! download henriette’s why every company should be a rock band (it’s free, yeah!) for inspiration to go shine!

tags:henriette weber, modern management, passion, rockbandism, sustainability