Innovations

Teamwork and the Beatles

by Anita Bingaman and Norm Englund

The crowd went wild. The applause was thunderous. Yells of “right on” and “alright” could be heard out on the street. The “Pigeons” had just finished playing a song at the first ever FM Talent show. As a live music aficionado I was truly impressed with the quality of this quickly-formed group.

There is something special about watching live music. When the music is really good the musicians have a special rapport with each other; they inspire one another, and they get energy from one another. There is synergy. The audience can sense it and also joins in the camaraderie. To me it is the ultimate demonstration of teamwork. When the team is good the outcome is good and the process is not obvious.

While the process may not be obvious, anyone who has been on a team knows that it takes dedication and collaboration to have a great outcome. To find out about the role of teamwork in a musical group, I turned to Norm Englund from Student Fiscal Services who is a musician and was one of the members of the group that played for the FM Talent show. Here is Norm’s description of how teamwork would look in the development of The Beatles.

The Beatles, John, Paul, George and Ringo, were a talented musical group, but behind their success was a well-planned business endeavor. The goal of this business was to make public to the world the musical and songwriting talents of these young Britons. A process was put in place that allowed for various stages of the production to flow smoothly from beginning to end. The process was well-coordinated, involving several individuals in key roles: it really was a team effort. Their team was broken down into members with three essential roles: the individual team members: John, Paul, George and Ringo; their facilitator, Producer George Martin; and their sponsor, Manager Brian Epstein.

The first stage of their process was for one of four musicians to compose a new song, writing down some basic lyrics and putting them to a basic tune. As the other group members did the same, eventually a number of possible songs would emerge. Each song would then be taken to their facilitator, George Martin, whose musical wisdom and sound engineering knowledge gained him the respected title by many as the “Fifth Beatle.” George would take the raw song, and through a process of brainstorming and collaboration the song would begin to take shape. The instrumentation and rhythms would be examined to see what would best set the mood for the lyrics to give each song its essence.

J,P,G, and R would then rehearse their individual instrumental and vocal parts to perfection and then bring each of these parts together in a group effort where further suggestions and collaboration would take place. When they felt that a song was ready, they would take what they had to George Martin in the recording studio, where he would bring all of the elements together. Then finally through a continued collaborative effort with John, Paul, George, Ringo and George Martin, the song would be refined in the studio until it met with the approval of all.

As songs were completed they would then be taken to the group’s sponsor and manager, Brian Epstein, who would then meet with the group’s marketing people. From there another collaborative effort would transpire to produce an album, develop graphics for marketing, and apply for copyrights.

As the group as a whole became more accomplished and their fame became known around the world, so did the demand for live performances. Here, their sponsor, Brian Epstein, showed his brilliance in the way he set this group apart from any others. The Beatles had unique haircuts, clothing, and stage presence along with a witty and humorous approach to press conferences.

The Beatles’ success story is a testament to the collaboration of individuals who were committed to perfection in their individual roles and who utilized the special talents of each member. A team effort that still lives today as one of the greatest musical success stories of our time.

As we look at what made this group successful we can see some of the same elements in long lasting teams in Financial Management. Two that come to mind are the Recognition Quality Team and the Recognition Awareness Training Team. Both teams have members who are dedicated. Both teams help to develop the talents of the individual members and the outcome of each team is valued throughout Financial Management.