Two articulate executives offer a lively explanation of how the creative skills of musicians can be applied to today’s businesses. Landon Woodson delivers this audiobook with urgency that fits the authors’ exciting ideas. His vocal tone, rhythms, and comfort with the music world make his performance sound hip. The musicians the authors interviewed offer many insights, such as Pharrell Williams’s comment that good musicians and executives both must follow their intuition, collaborate, trust their own voices, and explore creative outlets. They test their ideas with others and master the conflicts of all creative enterprises: blending improvisation with structure, individual creativity with teamwork, artistic expression with commercial strictures. This is a fun listen for musicians and executives alike, especially those in creative organizations. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

02/15/2021

The skills that give musicians their creativity and dedication are the same skills that business people need to get ahead, argue Berklee College of Music v-p Panay and designer Hendrix in their insightful debut. They survey a bevy musicians, producers, and songwriters who have succeeded both on the charts and in the business world: Björk, for example, was inspired by her practice of listening to the world around her to start a program with a venture capital fund in which they listened to their emotions as well as data to make decisions. Electropop songwriter Imogen Heap’s openness to experimentation led to her creation of the song “Hide and Seek” after all her album files were deleted, as well as to design the Mi.Mu smartgloves (which come with software that links gestures to music). Jimmy Iovine, Interscope Records founder, co-created high-end headphone company Beats by Dre thanks to his ability to “listen for gaps” in the market. While the authors give plenty of examples of how musical creativity applies to business (demo tracks in music are similar to prototypes in business, for example, while remixing songs is analogous to an innovator’s willingness to change a product), the metaphor loses its luster thanks to overuse. Still, there are enough takeaways here to make it worth the price of admission. (Apr.)

Two Beats Ahead is the first of its kind — a book that turns on its ear the popular myth that business and the arts are at odds with each other. There is so much we can learn from musicians about innovation and creativity in business, and in this groundbreaking and riveting book, Panos Panay and Michael Hendrix show us exactly what we’re missing.”—Amy Cuddy, social psychologist & bestselling author of Presence

“I have always believed that the best outcomes in life come from the discipline of business combined with the chaos of art. All successful musicians are entrepreneurs and all great business leaders are artists. In “Two Beats Ahead” Panos and Hendrix prove it. This is a must read if you want to enjoy finding the path of least resistance to the dream you are chasing!”—Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank Investor, Chairman O’Shares ETFs

“At its heart, this is a book about the creative journey. While the main ingredient is music, it is spiced with entrepreneurship, leadership and design and served through engaging stories. The result is one that will be of great inspiration to anyone looking to expand the reach of their creativity.”—Tim Brown, Chair of IDEO and author of Change by Design

“For a long time, researchers have known that musical intelligence can awaken the nonlinear whole mind to healing, creativity and innovation. This book is a roadmap for innovators, entrepreneurs and those seeking new avenues for exploring and reimagining the future evolution of human consciousness and its infinite possibilities.”—Deepak Chopra, MD

“How we perceive the world is the key to how we act in the world. Based on their course at Berklee, Michael and Panos show that a musician’s perspective, much like a designer’s perspective, can unlock inspiration and innovation, no matter who you are.”—David Kelley, Founder of IDEO & the Stanford d.school

“This book is not just about innovation. It may be the most provocative and thoughtful business book of its time, an approach to managing through the cacophony of fifty years of disruption.”—Jim Champy, Business Consultant and Co-Author of Reengineering the Corporation

“Great popular musicians must simultaneously master tight structures and freeform improvisation, selfless collaboration and solitary self-expression, artistry and commerce. What a treat to get an inside look at the creative process and enterprising spirit of some of the most talented people on the planet.”—Scott Dadich, creator of Abstract: The Art of Design and recipient of the National Design Award, former editor in chief of WIRED

“Being an artist isn't just a matter of having imaginative ideas—to make songs and put them out into the world, you have to use that imagination to problem-solve, collaborate, pivot, and hustle. This book shows how thinking like a musician can provide valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, educators, and anyone who's trying to create something new.”—Hrishikesh Hirway, creator and host of Song Exploder

“We all know that creativity plays a major role in the world of music, and that innovation plays a major role in the world of business.  But, are creativity and innovation two sides of a coin? Like the subjects it writes about, Two Beats Ahead is a highly creative, innovative and enjoyable book.”—Irving Wladawsky-Berger, former Chairman, Board of Governors, IBM Academy of Technology; Research Affiliate, MIT Sloan School of Management

“As both a professional musician and a business leader, I've always been fascinated by the surprising link between these two worlds.  Two Beats Ahead brilliantly connects the dots, helping innovators, leaders, and creators reach new heights.  Gripping stories, fresh insights, and deeply practical, this inspiring work is a must-read for anyone looking to boost creativity and innovation, both personally and professionally.”—Josh Linkner, 5-time tech entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, venture capital investor, and jazz guitarist

“Makes a sound case for why the arts should play as central a role in education as maths and science and that to meet the ever increasing complexity of the world’s challenges ‘it’s not about making the false choice between science or art, mathematics or music, but about emphasising both’.”—Financial Times

“The authors give plenty of examples of how musical creativity applies to business (demo tracks in music are similar to prototypes in business, for example, while remixing songs is analogous to an innovator’s willingness to change a product)… there are enough takeaways here to make it worth the price of admission.”—Publishers Weekly

“The book is strongest in the authors’ presentations of heady concepts in down-to-earth fashion…An intriguing…look at what recording artists can teach us about innovation.”—Kirkus Reviews

Two articulate executives offer a lively explanation of how the creative skills of musicians can be applied to today’s businesses. Landon Woodson delivers this audiobook with urgency that fits the authors’ exciting ideas. His vocal tone, rhythms, and comfort with the music world make his performance sound hip. The musicians the authors interviewed offer many insights, such as Pharrell Williams’s comment that good musicians and executives both must follow their intuition, collaborate, trust their own voices, and explore creative outlets. They test their ideas with others and master the conflicts of all creative enterprises: blending improvisation with structure, individual creativity with teamwork, artistic expression with commercial strictures. This is a fun listen for musicians and executives alike, especially those in creative organizations. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

2021-03-17
Connecting the dots between music and entrepreneurial inspiration.

How can music teach us—or at least teach musicians—about business innovation? That’s the question posed by Panay, the senior vice president for global strategy and innovation at Berklee College of Music, and Hendrix, global design director of design and innovation at the IDEO consultancy group. The authors chronicle their discussions with artists and entrepreneurs about qualities that both groups share. Among the subjects are some heavy hitters. Justin Timberlake lays down his guiding principle on experimentation: “I have only one rule in the studio, and it’s this: dare to suck. You may have a great idea in your head as somebody’s playing a riff on the guitar. Don’t hold it in.” Interscope head Jimmy Iovine weighs in on the act of listening, which isn’t as simple as you might think, by way of Beats headphones and a famous ad featuring the NBA’s Kevin Garnett walking into a rival arena and drowning out the hostility with his Beats. Wilco bassist John Stirratt discusses Tourists, a Massachusetts hotel “created to bring strangers together around shared experiences.” Stirratt makes the musical connection tangible as he shouts out the Austin hotel that gave him the idea: “I have the same feeling checking into the San Jose as I do listening to a Miles Davis record for the fiftieth time….It’s a visceral experience, a feeling of possibility.” The book is strongest in the authors’ presentations of heady concepts in down-to-earth fashion. But what if you’re not a musician, and what if your brain doesn’t yield the same starbursts of creativity as the likes of Pharrell, Björk, and Imogen Heap? Some of these lessons may still apply to you, but others may be out of reach. Other luminaries in the text include Dr. Dre, Steve Vai, and T Bone Burnett, and a series of “Interludes” offer soundtracks to illuminate the lessons.

An intriguing—yet not universally applicable—look at what recording artists can teach us about innovation.