If You Want To Lead A Company, Start A Rock Band

By Erik Barnlund:

As the leader and manager of the rock band, MAXLIDER, my goal was always to get signed. I mean, seriously, if you’re in a rock band, who wouldn’t?

As it turns out, plenty of people. For lots of personal reasons.

One guy didn’t because he had new priorities that were more important to him than touring the nation…a young son. Another member didn’t seem to completely agree with the direction we were taking with our music. Two guys just didn’t get along. Bottom line, as far as our group was concerned, the relationship was unhealthy and we were all on different pages.

So, because I was the leader, it became all about what I wanted. And nothing was going to stop me from achieving it…we seemed to be so close to living our my dream.

If we needed to get a new member to replace an old member, we were going to do that. If we needed to travel to a faraway land to make money for music, we we’re going to do that.

If it meant writing radio friendly music, we were going to make that happen.

Nothing was going to get in the way of me getting a record deal.

The result was tunnel vision and I lost a feel for what was going on around me.

Letting go.

Eventually I realized I couldn’t resolve the problems of the two people in the group who were having serious conflicts. And I couldn’t change the people with other life and music priorities.

It took time, but I came to understand that whole experience was all part of God’s plan. It was all meant – the delirious highs and the crushing lows – for a greater good. I cared about those guys very much…they were my brothers. And I still do.

It just happened that at that point in our lives, I wasn’t able to give us all the care and direction we all deserved. I could not save MAXLIDER and we would not get signed. Fortunately, a new chapter was about to begin.

Rising from the ashes.

Those who know me know I’m not smart enough to give up. The failure I felt in the aftermath of MAXLIDER’s demise fueled the beginning of the next venture I pursued:

Mavidea Technology Group.

That desire to succeed or conquer eventually manifested itself in all the plans and dreams of starting a new business.

The band was long gone. But I had earned an art degree, following once again the need I’ve always had to create.

Along the way I learned something else: that I’ve also always been an entrepreneur.

The business of the band.

The band for me was the business. I always ran it as a company. For a long time, I worked almost 100 hour weeks between my job at COUNTRY Insurance and the band.

But as it became clear that my time with the band was finished, I began to switch the focus to starting a business.

I did find, however, that a lot of the lessons I learned as a manager of a band translated easily to the challenges of being CEO to a new and growing business.

Lesson 1: Learning from losing key band members.

If a business loses a CEO, it would take a long time for the members of the staff to develop trust in a new CEO. It would similarly take a period of adjustment to adapt to the replacement of any key staff member.

I learned that lesson during our rock group’s hiatus when we tried to play as MAXLIDER with a couple of different members. It just wasn’t the same…and it didn’t work.

The new group didn’t have the same chemistry. And we didn’t have a working relationship built over hours and hours of working together.

Lesson 2: Becoming stuck when a good situation turns bad.

With MAXLIDER, we got stuck together because the overall success of the band was so good that we weren’t able to leave the situation or risk starting up with another group. Plus, no one member wanted to let the group down.

That stayed true even after the group dynamics went south.

It’s a very similar experience to a person stuck in a job. Even though you know it’s probably time and you suspect you might have better growth potential somewhere else, you stay.

Maybe because it’s comfortable or because changing jobs is too much of a risk. Either way, there’s a downside when we choose not to make hard choices.

Lesson 3: Understanding that good cultures are built intentionally.

With Mavidea, I knew we wanted to start the kind of company that everyone wants to work for. And I found other people who became partners who wanted to build that, too.

I knew I wanted to do it differently than how I had handled things with the band. And so far, I feel what we’ve been able to build is much healthier, from an organizational perspective, than the band.

We’ve been much more successful in resolving conflict. And when we need to work through issues, it builds to something more unifying. Over the years, we’ve sought out many tools to help us achieve that healthy outcome. Many of these tools, I’ve shared right here in other articles on our blog.

Lesson 4: Losing tunnel vision.

I’ve talked about the tools that Patrick Lencioni has created, especially in his work on the Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I think that’s what’s helped us crystallize a lot of what we’ve done here at Mavidea.

I hope that this means we’re moving ahead with less tunnel vision. First and foremost, our leadership team works hard to build a deep level of trust. We’re trying to lead this group in the kind of healthy and agile way that I wasn’t able to do in the band.

Lesson 5: Learning how to be humble.

Humility is hard. But we’re trying hard to humble ourselves so that as individuals, we can become a part of something bigger. We’re trying hard to make the sacrifices we need to make along the way.

As a result, I feel we can never go too far off course. And if we do, we have the working relationships to get back on track quickly.

My hope is that we’re able to retain the key people on our team longer because they get more out of their efforts than what they put in.

So from my own perspective, maybe I’m no longer the Michael Jordan who steps in singlehandedly to try to win the game. Because today, I’m part of something better.

At Mavidea, we have a system in place that lets us rely on our team to win the game.

It’s maybe not the easy way, but it’s a path full of valuable lessons. If you want to learn to run a successful company? Start a band!

Thank you for listening to my story. I pray that it inspires you on your own journey.

Share your story.

• Have you ever stayed in a situation longer than you thought was good for you? What plans could you put in place to make the necessary changes?
• What plans do you have in place to replace key leadership team and staff members if needed?
• What qualities do you believe are integral to building a strong, healthy culture in your organization?
• Have you ever been part of a music band? What lessons have you carried forward?

I hope you’ll share your experiences and insights in the comments below. Thanks for listening to my story. It means a lot. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, rock on!