“Let It Be” lessons
March 25th, 2009 | 1 Comment
In January 1969 the Beatles went into the studio to prepare for a live concert and a new album. Recording sessions were filmed and almost everything – from musical noodling to offhand comments to deep discussions – was captured on audio tapes. The resulting film and record were named after the song “Let It Be.”
A blow-by-blow account in the book Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of The Beatles’ Let It Be Disaster, documents the painful end of a decade-long relationship. It also offers lessons to business managers about paying attention to the changes their organizations are going through.
By “Let it Be,” George had become a major songwriting talent, but John and Paul refused to acknowledge his remarkable ascent. In many ways, he was still seen as the adolescent kid of the group. George reacted according to casting: bitter, sarcastic and uncooperative.
John, who formed the band and was its leader for most of its history, had become withdrawn and uncommunicative. His new obsessions: Yoko and hard drugs. He was barely an active participant in the sessions.
With John’s abdication as a leader and George’s recalcitrance, Paul had to take on too much responsibility. He pulled out every trick – cajoling, pleading, joking, challenging – but to no avail. He ended up coming off shrill and egotistical.
Ringo, well, was Ringo.
“Let it Be” was a train wreck. But, could it have been avoided?
Maybe — if someone had filled the leadership void left by Brian Epstein’s death.
Maybe — if someone could have figured out the now-conventional approach of letting individual members of a band record solo albums to give them a creative outlet for passions not shared by the rest of the group.
Maybe — if The Beatles could have taken a step back from their commitments and tried to define a common goal and sensible timetables.
What they did instead was to ignore much of what was happening around them and try to conduct business as usual.
The events leading up to The Beatles breakup are eerily familiar to anyone who has managed a business: Employees growing on divergent paths, at different rates, or not at all. Wasteful spending. Scattered priorities. The perceived need to do more, more, more. An organizational structure riddled with cracks. Without continuous monitoring, discussion and adjustments, companies can find themselves in the same situation as The Beatles in January 1969.
Let it be at your own risk.
