This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press Austin, Texas www.gbgpress.com Copyright ©2018 Jeremy Dale All rights reserved Thank you for purchasing an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright law No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder Distributed by Greenleaf Book Group For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Greenleaf Book Group at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709, 512.891.6100 Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group Cover design by Benji Roebuck Cataloging-in-Publication data is available Print ISBN: 978-1-62634-453-2 eBook ISBN: 978-1-62634-454-9 Part of the Tree Neutral® program, which offsets the number of trees consumed in the production and printing of this book by taking proactive steps, such as planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees used: www.treeneutral.com Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 18 19 20 21 22 23 First Edition 10 To all those who have been with me on my journey so far, thank you for the experiences we enjoyed, the lessons you taught me, and—most of all—the friendship we have shared To my family, Gerry, Alex, Maddie, and Francesca, thank you for your support, your love, and keeping me grounded—you mean the world to me This book is also dedicated to Andy Biddle “Bids” was the best friend anyone could ever wish for So many memories, so many laughs, so very special, so badly missed Love you, Bids CONTENTS FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION THE EIGHT ELEMENTS OF PUNK ROCK BUSINESS ELEMENT 1: Have a Cause ELEMENT 2: Build a Movement ELEMENT 3: Create New and Radically Different Ideas ELEMENT 4: Drive Speed and Action ELEMENT 5: Say It as It Is ELEMENT 6: Be Authentic ELEMENT 7: Put Yourself Out There ELEMENT 8: Reject Conformity THE KEY REQUIREMENTS TO IMPLEMENTING A PUNK ROCK ATTITUDE IN BUSINESS THE FINAL WORD INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR FOREWORD F or far too long, companies have been hamstrung by endless meetings, bureaucratic processes, and corporate politics Like the music scene of the 1970s, when punk rock burst onto the scene and pressed the reset button, many businesses today need the same dose of punk attitude What we need today is some pure, stripped down, no bullshit business leadership The Punk Rock of Business is about adopting an attitude that echoes many of the attributes of punk The punk rock businessperson says, “I am not okay with the current status quo,” and vows to something about it “I detest mediocrity, as I want to amazing things I loathe playing things safe, because it’s dull and there is no such thing as job security anymore.” The Punk Rock of Business is a call to arms for businesspeople who despise the constraining bullshit that is far too prevalent in the business world Applying a punk rock attitude in business is for those who want to make a difference, who love to dare greatly, who strive for excellence—characteristics that are far too rare This is a change that is long overdue in many organizations Welcome to the revolution! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have been privileged to work at many great companies; thank you for the opportunity I have been fortunate to work alongside many amazing people at those companies or in our business partners; thank you for all that I learned from you and the success we shared I have been blessed to share my working life with people who became firm friends, where a laugh and a smile were never far away; thank you for the experiences we shared and the bond that will forever exist To all those who contributed to creating the stories in this book, thank you for your inspiration I have documented these stories as faithfully as I remember them, and I’ve checked my recollection with others, but forgive me if some minor details differ from yours Thank you to the team at Greenleaf for your patience and humanity as you navigated me through my first book INTRODUCTION I n 2006 Motorola joined the Product (RED) campaign Bono and Bobby Shriver (the nephew of John F Kennedy) had founded (RED) with a simple mission—to make it easy for people and businesses to join the fight against the deadly AIDS virus Companies would make (RED) versions of their products, and consumers would choose to buy them because a portion of the profits would go to help eliminate AIDS in Africa As Motorola’s Retail Global Marketing leader, I was leading the (RED) initiative for Motorola The (RED) campaign was to be launched in Chicago on The Oprah Winfrey Show Bono was to explain the concept to Oprah on air, and then the two of them would go shopping down the Magnificent Mile of North Michigan Avenue They would buy a (RED) watch in the Armani store, (RED) clothes in the Gap store, and then they’d close their trip by buying a (RED) RAZR phone from Motorola Twelve days before the show my phone rang It was Motorola’s Chairman and CEO, Ed Zander “I’ve just had Bono on the phone, Jeremy He told me all about the PR launch plans and the Oprah show.” “Yes, it’s really cool, Ed It’ll be great,” I assured him “But Jeremy, where are they going to buy our phone from? Because we don’t have our own stores,” he pressed “Don’t worry, Ed,” I said reassuringly, “The Gap has given us some space in their store, and we’re building a shop-in-shop It will look just like we’re in our own store on television.” “That’s not good enough! We need our own store!” he barked “I know, Ed It would be great if we had a store, but we don’t have one yet.” “Well, we need to get one,” Ed demanded “I know, Ed But the show is in twelve days’ time, and it takes twelve months to build a store, so this is all I can give you.” At that time, we were actively working on a plan to build a Motorola retail store in Chicago We had been on it for about three months trying to find a suitable location, with the prospect of us opening one in about nine months I am sure Ed knew of this concept and the sort of timescale we were talking about, so I was stunned by the absurdity of his demand “Well that’s not good enough! You’re going to build me a store.” Ed up on me I rushed around to Ron Garriques’ office (Ron was President of the Mobile Phone business and worked directly for Ed) to try to get him to talk some sense into Ed Ron headed up the mobile devices business He was on the phone and shooed me out of his office doorway A couple of minutes later he called me in “I’ve just had Ed on the phone, Ron,” I started “I know, that was him.” “Good, did you tell him?” I asked hopefully, meaning Ron did you tell him he is insane and there is no way on this planet he can have a store in twelve days? “Yes, I told him.” “Good,” I said, relieved “I told him you would build him a store,” Ron clarified the matter “Ron, I can’t build a store in twelve days,” I pleaded No response “Ron, I can’t build a store in twelve days Ron, it’s impossible! Ron?” No answer Ron was back typing away on his PC He looked up and said in a very perplexed tone, “Are you still here? Haven’t you got a store to build?” So, I found Guto Andrade (my head designer) and quickly explained to him my sudden predicament Minutes later, we were driving down North Michigan Avenue looking for an empty storefront On the best and busiest shopping street in America’s Midwest, they just don’t exist I would rather have been looking for a unicorn or the abominable snowman As expected, there were no empty stores—nor unicorns nor abominable snowmen, for that matter We did, however, find a museum, opposite the Nike and Apple stores and just down the road from the Gap store, that was closed for refurbishment After a few hasty phone calls, we found out that the refurbishment work was limited to the second and third floors, and the street level floor was not affected We managed to secure a temporary lease of the ground floor for the next four months so that we could build a pop-up store for the duration of the key holiday selling season Somehow, miracle of miracles, we now had a location But how were we going to turn a museum lobby into a retail store in twelve days? This is where Guto’s genius came in The (RED) logo is a pair of parentheses Guto’s idea was to build false walls by stretching printed cloth over a curved wooden frame, so the walls would literally mirror the shape of the logo With these curved walls, the concept was that people entering the store would literally be walking into the brand Suddenly there was an air of excitement, a glimpse that the impossible could actually be possible But the question now was: How we make this space great? How could we use it to inspire Chicagoans to act in the fight against AIDS? In the following few hours, my team came up with great idea after great idea Most tellingly, the entrance needed to explain the extent of the grim reality of the AIDS crisis, the magnitude of which I had been blissfully unaware of until two months earlier The entrance would be a plain red background displaying nothing more than the statistics telling the horrific story of the pandemic unfolding in Africa One read, “Every day in Africa 5,500 people die from a preventable treatable disease.” That was the equivalent of two 9/11s every single day We all know how traumatizing that day was for us, witnessing that loss of life Well, the equivalent of two of those tragedies was happening every single day in Africa, and we were oblivious to it Another read, “Today in Africa 1,200 babies will be born with HIV.” Every single day over one thousand babies’ lives were destined to be cut short before they were even born The entranceway stated the problem in cold hard facts Once inside the store we would unveil how we all could be part of the solution We created a glass underfloor space where we would display all (RED) products from all (RED) partners Beautiful images of Africa were on the canvas walls together with an explanation of the (RED) concept We created a hall-of-fame wall where we would celebrate those who joined our cause, and people who bought a (RED) product would be asked to sign their name Workers started appearing, and building work was soon under way Eleven days later, on the evening before the show, I walked into the store and was blown away by the transformation and the beauty of the space In the store was Kanye West He was going to be the store sales representative who would sell the RAZR phones to Bono and Oprah the next day, and my team was busy briefing him on the product But I hardly noticed Kanye (I know that sounds insane, but it is true) I was mesmerized by the transformation of this museum lobby into not just a retail store but a work of art that told a story that needed telling Where had all these pieces of furniture been manufactured? How did they get produced? Who did all this? It was incomprehensible how this had been achieved in such a short span of time I was feeling a mixture of pride in my team, confusion at how it could be so, and a sense that a little bit of magic dust must have been sprinkled by someone As I have often found in my career, there is that special power in the universe that makes all things work together for good Crazy ideas cause crazy coincidences I couldn’t wait to see people’s reaction the following day It was going to blow their minds I hadn’t shown anyone the store, I hadn’t even shown anyone the designs (I think they were nothing more than hand-drawn scribbles anyway), and I don’t think anyone had even told Bobby or Bono of our change of plan, mostly because we hadn’t been sure we could pull it off Filming started around eight a.m the next day in Oprah’s studio About an hour and a half later, Oprah, Bono, and their entourage arrived at Motorola’s brand new store—their very last stop having already purchased a (RED) Armani watch and a collection of (RED) t-shirts—and they bought ten phones from Kanye to give to their friends Filming stopped, and everyone buzzed around excitedly on the shop floor—a space that hadn’t even been an idea two weeks earlier When Bono saw me from across the store, he hurried over, hugged me, and whispered in my ear, “twelve ******* days, twelve ******* days.” That was all he said—and it was all I needed to hear Over the next four months, the store attracted tens of thousands of visitors, and we sold thousands of phones Remarkably (and a great testimony to Guto and his team), it was nominated for and won several North American Retail Store of the Year awards Unbelievable At the end of a very long day and an even longer week, I arrived home, and my wife Gerry, who had been at the filming of the Oprah show and seen it all unfold, was buzzing It had been a very special day for everyone She said, “I assume you heard what Bono said about you on Oprah?” “What are you on about? What did he say?” She was surprised I hadn’t heard, but all our people had been in the store, so we had no idea what Ballmer, Steve, 73–75, 89, 241, 345–346 Bangs, Lester, 192 bantering, 203–204 Barcelona football club, 37–38 Barra, Evita, 305 Beckham, David, 255 behavior, demonstrating, 93–94 Beinner, Steve, 229–230 Bell, Gregg, 258 Berman, Diana, 105 betting, 277–280 Bezos, Jeff, 99 Black Flag band, 140 Black Friday, 288–291 Blank, Steven Gary, 155 blipverts, 121–122 Bono, 1, 5–6, 14, 44, 56–58, 172, 300, 362 books, 345–348 Booth, Tim, 258 bosses, bad, 320–321 Bright Orange initiative, 48–50 Bromley Contingent, 347 Brown, Brené, 223 brown-nosing, 272–274 Buffett, Warren, 180 bureaucracy, 17 Burg, Bob, 349 Burns, Allan, 173–174 business model, intimately understanding, 152–153 business summarization, 336–339 Byrne, Niamh, 104–105 C Cake PR agency, 267–270 calling out others, 198–200 yourself, 201–202 Cameron, William Bruce, 88 Campless.com, 316 Canessa, Roberto, 160 Capital Radio, 308–311 career See job caring, 69–72 Carroll, Pete, 8–9, 258 cause, 29–60 See also manifestos; mission statements action behind, 48–49 articulating, 56–58 choosing, 30–31 defining, 41–43 deviation from, 52–55 effort and fortitude inspired by, 34 importance of, 34–35 movements and, 66–68 overview, 22, 365 in punk rock music, 29–30 cautiousness, 14 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, 352–355 championing ideas, through the organization, 124–127 Chandiramani, Ravi, 135 changing direction, when wrong, 285–287 check-ins, daily, 169 Christensen, Clay, 41 Churchill, W., 283 Cinema Marketing Agency (CMA), 103–105 Clarkson, Jeremy, 139 The Clash (music group), 30, 192, 221, 238 Cobain, Kurt, 220–221 Columbo, Silvano, 305–307 commendation, giving, 314 commitment, to initiatives, 69–72 complacency, 16 confidence, 159–162 conflict, resolving, 257–260 conformity, apathy and, 31 See also nonconformity Conrad, Joseph, 340 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, 352–355 controlling others, avoiding, 322–325 conversations, difficult, 252–253 conviction, 69–72 Cook, James R., 96 corporate facades, 267–271 corporate life, normal, vs Punk Rock Business, 366–368 Cracknell, James, 87–88 creative geniuses, 135–136 creativity See ideas, new and radically different Creator role, 357 criticism critic outside arena doesn’t count, 240–241 expecting, 254–256 of self, 201–202 culture, measuring not important, 86–88 curiosity, 345–348 customer benefits, 46–51 new/different ideas and, 102–107 value of, 50–51 customers See also movements problems of, solving, 108–115 ratings and reviews by, 64 turning into fans, 64 Cyber Monday, 288 D daily action plans and check-ins, 169 Dale, Alex, 229 Dale, Francesca, 331–334 Dale, Gerry, 5, 39, 177–178 Dale, Jeremy, 1–2, 11, 71, 135, 173, 178, 193–194, 207, 225, 277–278, 350 Dale, Maddie, 82 Dancing with Myself (Idol), 242–243 daring greatly, 241–242 Davis, Nicole, 182 Day, Charlie, 239 deadlines accountability for hitting, 166–171 tight, speed of action and, 145–150 Dead Poets Society (film), 296 decision-making analysis paralysis, avoiding, 141–142 anxiety/fear as enemies of, 159–162 confidence in, 159–162 fast, despite mistakes, 151–153 listening mechanisms and, 157–158 defeat, managing, 244–248 Delaney, Leagas, 268 differentiation, 102–107 digital revolution, 18 dilution of ideas, avoiding, 128–131 direction, changing when wrong, 285–287 disappointment, managing, 244–248 Disney, Walt, 99 disruption, 15, 100 do-it-yourself mentality, 24 dramatic transformation, 163–165 DRIs (Directly Responsible Individuals), 185 Dunstone, Charles, 172–175, 179 E Edelstein, Andrew J., 14 education, Windows licenses for, 42 effort, inspired by cause, 34 Einstein, Albert, 190, 224, 336, 338 elements of Punk Rock Business concept, 22–25 See also authenticity; cause; ideas, new and radically different; movements; nonconformity; putting yourself out; speed of action; straight talk Elle, Alexandra, 312 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 34 emotions, movements and, 73–76 employment See job empowering others, 326–330 energizing team, 100 energy, 312–315 enthusiasm See passion entrepreneurship, 16, 99 example, setting, 93–94 excellence, 360–363 F family members, employees as, 74 fans, turning customers into, 64 fear as enemies of decisiveness, 190–191 mediocrity and, 14 flattery, avoiding, 272–274 focus, 180–181, 185–186 football clubs, mission statements of, 37–38 fortitude, inspired by cause, 34 Foster, Tim, 87 Fox (company), 308–311 friends, 352–355 Frost, Geoffrey, 100, 129–131 full potential, 17–18 Fyfe, Rob, 124, 148 G Galbraith, John Kenneth, 61 Game (retailer), 80 Gardner, Melissa, 353 Garriques, Katrina, 178 Garriques, Ron, 2–3, 56, 57, 66, 67, 151–155, 172–179 Gates, Bill, 41, 99, 180, 345–346 Gervais, Michael, 8–11, 13–14, 180–182, 249–250, 261, 318 Gibbs, Martyn, 80 Giving Campaign, Microsoft, 42 Gizmodogate, 354 goals, unifying, 66–68 See also cause “God Save the Queen” (Sex Pistols), 191 Google, mission statement of, 36 Grimes, Jon, 210 Grossman, Lev, 64 guarantees, personal, 69–72 Guevara, Che, 61 H Hard-Nosed Businessman advert, 254–256 Hemingway, Ernest, 143 Hit Refresh (Nadella), Hodder, Dave, 282 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 96 Holmstrom, John, 23 Holstee Manifesto, 228–230 honesty, 23, 205–206, 214–215 humility, 300–304 humor, 203–204 I ideas, new and radically different, 96–138 championing through the organization, 124–127 considering all involved in accepting, 132–134 customer benefits and, 102–107 dedicating time to, 115–118 differentiation at heart of, 102–107 dilution of, avoiding, 128–131 disruptive, 100 energizing team with, 100 overview, 365 punk rockers and, 96–98 showing, 119–123 solving customer problems, 108–115 from teams, not individuals, 135–136 by young people, 99 Idol, Billy, 24, 242, 243, 347, 369 innovation, 18 See also ideas, new and radically different internal negotiations, from sales team, 294–295 “The Internet Tidal Wave” (Gates), 346 ITV Digital, 124–126, 145–149, 371 J Jacobs, Peter, 239 Jarmusch, Jim, 17 JD.com, 349–350 Jean, Wyclef, 225–227 Jenkins, Barry, 105 job choosing, 30–32, 34–38 quitting, 35 Jobs, Steve, 29, 32, 35, 234 John, Elton, 14 Jones, Mick, 326 Jones, Steve, 15, 63 K Katona, Kerry, 308 Kaufman, Alexander C., 290 Keith, Drew, 300–301 Kennedy, John F., 263 Killer Instinct game, 281–283 Kings of Thin mantra, 128–131 Koch, Mitch, 205, 336 L Lalla, Steve, 225–227 Laurie, Hugh, 124–125 leaders acting as, 257–260 energy-giving, 313–314 everyone in movements as, 63–64, 65 roles of, 356–359 learning action and, 20 importance of, 345–348 legacy, for day, 116–117 legendary stories, telling, 89–92 Lencioni, Patrick, 181, 300, 302 Lennon, John, 24 Life is Good (T-shirt company), 36 lighthouse brand, 55 listening mechanisms, decision-making and, 157–158 Lombardi, Vince, 362 London Calling album, 30 loyalty, promoted by cause, 34 Luker, Julia, 245 Lydon, John, 16, 153, 220–221, 300, 316, 320 M Malcolm, Hadley, 290 manifestos, 44–45 See also cause; mission statements mannequin, as representation of customers, 53–54 Manzarek, Ray, 248 Maslin, Katie, 226 McCarthy, Analese, 217 McCarthy, Kevin, 216–217 McDonough, Kevin, 14 McIlrath, Tim, 15 McLaren, Malcolm, 62, 96, 220–221, 235 mediocrity, 14, 15 apathy and, 31 excellence instead of, 362, 363 meetings, productivity of, 184–188 meritocracy, 209–211 Michael’s Fine Dry Cleaning, 39–40 Microsoft, 11, 372 changing vendors to staff, 69–72 gift cards to employees from, 326–329 Global eXchange meeting (MGX), 73–75 global summits, 82–83 mission statement of, 36, 41–43 Office Attach motion, 115 overproduced/over-organized activities, 292–293 Miracle in the Andes (Parrado), 159 mission See cause mission statements See also cause; manifestos of company you work for, 36 examples of, 36–38, 41–43 manifestos’ relation to, 45 mistakes, changing direction after, 285–287 Miyamoto, Shigeru, 302–303 momentum, exploiting, 154–156 Monkey puppet, 124–126, 147, 149, 275–276, 308–311, 371 Moore, Nick, 109–112, 361 Moore, Robert L., 356 Moss, Chris, 166–167, 273 Mother (creative agency), 145–149, 270–271, 275–276, 285 Motorola, 372 See also Product (RED) campaign “#1 in 1,000 days” initiative, 66–67 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), 352–355 Kings of Thin mantra, 128–131 mission statement of, 36 MotoZine, 352–355 RAZR2 phone, 201–202 RAZR phone, 1, 4, 56, 67, 128–131, 154–155, 372 MotoZine, 352–355 movements, 22, 61–95 customers, turning into fans, 64 enthusiasm in, 73–76 family members, making employees feel like, 74 first followers in, 65 leaders in, 63–64, 65 legendary stories, telling, 89–92 measuring of not important, 86–88 multiple protagonists in, 77–79 one follower at a time, 80–81 opportunities for, 80–81 overview, 365 people/relationships as priority, 86–88 personal guarantees and, 69–72 personal presence, 82–83 setting example, 93–94 unifying purpose or goal, 66–68 Mulally, Alan, 181 Murdoch, Rupert, 52, 308–310 Murr, John, 327 Muse role, 357 Musk, Elon, 37, 99 N Nadella, Satya, 9, 41, 187, 346 negative energy, 312–315 Nicklaus, Jack, 261–262 Nielson, Scott, 328 Nintendo, 77, 119–120, 267–270, 272, 281, 302, 371 Nippon airplanes, Pokémon and, 77–78 no-compromise mentality, 128–131 nonconformity, 24, 263–296 appearances, avoiding concern over, 275–276 ass-kissing, avoiding, 272–274 changing direction when wrong, 285–287 corporate facades, ignoring, 267–271 need for, 265–266 overview, 366 punk rockers and, 263–265 ruffling feathers, 281–283 sales team, avoiding internal negotiations from, 294–295 spontaneity, 292–293 trusting your gut, 277–280 unexpected, doing, 288–291 nonparticipating moral majority, 16 North American Retail Store of the Year awards, O offending, talking straight without, 192 Office Attach motion, Microsoft, 115 ONdigital, 52–54, 124–126, 145–149 “#1 in 1,000 days” initiative, of Motorola, 66–67 “12,525 People Work in the Brand Team at Orange” presentation, 89 optics, avoiding concern over, 275–276 optimism, 30, 305–307, 312–315 #OptOutside campaign, REI, 290–291 Orange (telecommunications company), 46–50, 372 “12,525 People Work in the Brand Team at Orange” presentation, 89 Hard-Nosed Businessman advert, 254–256 Orange Gold Spots, 285–287 Orange Wednesdays program, 102–107 Phone Trainers, 108–115, 341–342 overproduced/over-organized activities, 292–293 P Paddy, 166–170, 185 Parrado, Nando, 159–162 Parrado, Veronique, 160 passion in articulating cause, 56–58 finding, 30–32, 34–38 when building movements, 73–76 Patton, George S., 141 paying it forward, 93–94 Peedy, Ralph, 128 people See relationships Peres, Shimon, 222 performance bar, for giving praise, 207–208 personal guarantees, 69–72 personality, showing, 232–233 personal philosophy, 9–13 author’s experience developing, 9–11 benefits of, 12 sharing with others, 10 team and, 13 written, 13 personal presence, 82–83 pessimism, 14 Peters, Tom, 356 Phelps, Stan, 45 Philpott, Ray, 221 Phone Trainers, Orange, 108–115, 341–342 physical reminders, 281–283 Pinsent, Matthew, 87 Planet of the Apes (film), 308–311 Poehler, Amy, 237 Pokémon, 77–79, 119–123 competition, 132–133 presentation about, 270–271 politics, during punk rock rebellion, 30 Pop, Iggy, 368 positive attitude, 30, 305–307, 312–315 potential, 17–18 praise, false/exaggerated, 207–208 Prebble, Stuart, 52–54, 124, 148 predictability, 224 presence, personal, 82–83 presentations, 340–344 press releases, testing consumer initiatives with, 106 problems of customers, solving, 108–115 process managers, 169 Product (RED) campaign, 1–7 articulating cause, 56–58 Brett Ratner ads, 277–280 mission statement of, 36 Motorola securing participation in, 172–179 project managers, 168–169 protagonists in movements, 77–79 Punk Rock attitude, requirements for implementing bad bosses, never working for, 320–321 business summarization, 336–339 context, providing, 322–325 empowering others, 326–330 energy, 312–315 excellence, 360–363 friends, 352–355 humility, 300–304 learning, 345–348 mature leaders, 356–359 optimism, 305–307 relationships, 349–351 self-confidence/self-belief, 316–319 selling, 331–335 storytelling, 340–344 Punk Rock Business concept elements of, 22–25, 365–366 See also authenticity; cause; ideas, new and radically different; movements; nonconformity; putting yourself out; speed of action; straight talk vs normal corporate life, 366–368 purpose, stating, 193–196 putting yourself out, 237–262 See also criticism accountability, accepting, 252–253 difficult conversations or circumstances, 252–253 expecting criticism when, 254–256 managing defeat or disappointment, 244–248 overview, 366 punk rockers and, 237–238 volunteering first, 249–251 R R., Frannie, 326 radically different ideas See ideas, new and radically different raising stakes, 172–179 Ramone, Joey, 14, 29, 293 Ramone, Johnny, 238 Ramone, Tommy, 14–15 Ramones (music group), 14–15, 30, 238 ratings, by customers, 64 Ratner, Brett, 277, 280 RAZR2 phone, 201–202 RAZR phone, 1, 4, 56, 67, 128–131, 154–155, 372 reading, 345–348 rebelliousness, 17, 29–30, 96–98 (RED) campaign See Product (RED) campaign Redgrave, Steve, 87 REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.), 288–291 relationships calling upon, 172–179 friends, 352–355 importance of, 86–88 as requirement for Punk Rock attitude, 349–351 straight talk and, 216–218 resigning, if initiative fails, 69–72 reviews, by customers, 64 Riordan, Christine M., 354–355 Rollins, Henry, 139, 364 Roman, Ray, 201, 356 Rooke, Pamela, 347 Roosevelt, Theodore, 239, 242243 Ruault, Franỗois, 93, 212 S sales forecast, 294–295 Saville, Robert, 135 Seattle Seahawks, 8–9, 257–260 Secretan, Lance, 220 self-awareness See personal philosophy self-confidence/self-belief, 316–319 self-criticism, 201–202 selling, 331–335 senior business leaders, 19 settling, 31, 32, 35, 38 Severin, Steven, 347 Sewell, Thomas, 184 Sex Pistols (music group), 62–63, 190–191, 220–221, 347 Sherman, Richard, 257–260 showing new ideas, 119–123 Shriver, Bobby, 1, 5, 44, 56, 172–177, 179, 277–280, 362 Shriver, Eunice Kennedy, 277 Shriver, Sargent, 277 Silverman, Ami, 59, 70 Simon, Paul, 238 Simplifier role, 357 sincerity, 223 Siouxsie Sioux, 347 Sivers, Derek, 65 Sky Television, 52, 308–311 Smith, Will, 362 SM:tv (TV show), 77–78 sneakers, 316–318 Snook, Hans, 255 solving customer problems, 108–115 speaking presentations, 340–344 speed of action, 139–189 analysis paralysis, avoiding, 141–142 anxiety and fear as enemies of, 159–162 calling upon relationships, 172–179 deadlines and, 145–150, 166–171 despite mistakes, 151–153 focus and, 180–181, 185–186 listening mechanisms and, 154–156 meeting productivity and, 184–188 momentum of, exploiting, 154–156 overview, 23 special people involved in, 142–143 time usage and, 181–183 zero-tolerance mentality and, 163–165 Spencer, Neil, 15 spontaneity, 292–293 Starbucks, mission statement of, 36–37 Stevenson, Robert Louis, 331, 334 stories, telling, 89–92 storytelling, 340–344 straight talk advice, 214–215 bantering, 203–204 calling people out, 198–200 calling yourself out, 201–202 false/exaggerated praise, avoiding, 207–208 honesty, 205–206, 214–215 overview, 365 of punk rockers, 190–191 purpose, stating, 193–196 strong personal relationships and, 216–218 without offending, 192 Stritzke, Jerry, 290–291 Strongman, Phil, 23 Strummer, Joe, 30, 192, 237, 360, 364 Super Bowl, symbolism, 281–283 T talent, attracted by cause, 34 Tarmac (company), 370 teams ideas from, new and radically different, 135–136 providing context for, 322–325 united by cause, 34 teasing, 203–204 technology, 18 Tesla, mission statement of, 37 Think Weeks, 345–346 Thompson, Neil, 348 Thornton, Jim, 147, 270 Tiananmen Square, Beijing, 98 time usage, 181–183 transformation dramatic, 163–165 while performing, 116–117 trusting your gut, 277–280 Twain, Mark, 338, 343 U Unay, Deniz, 71 unexpected, doing, 288–291 unifying purpose or goal, 66–68 unity of teams, promoted by cause, 34 V value, more important than “new,” 50–51 Vegas, Johnny, 124–125 Vicious, Sid, 263 Victory, Alison, 145–147 volunteering first, 249–251 vulnerability, 223 W Wagner, Bobby, 258 Waites, Mark, 147–148 Walsh, Steve, 326 Warrior role, 356, 357–358 Watson, Thomas J., 263 Watt, Mike, 364 Welch, Jack, 312–313 Westwood, Vivienne, 59 Whelan, Mark, 108–109, 267–271 Whitehouse, Paul, 124 Whoa! projects, 100 Wicks, Jim, 56, 178, 257, 353 Wicks, Sue, 178 Wilde, Oscar, 127, 242 Williamson, Marianne, 35 Wilson, Eric, 60 Windows licenses for education, 42 Winfrey, Oprah, 305 Wizard role, 357, 358 Woodsworth, W., 232 Wright, K J., 258 Y young people, as entrepreneurs, 99 Z Zander, Ed, 1–2, 66, 172–173, 175, 177–179 Zander, Monica, 178 Zaytseva, Inna, 193–195 zero-tolerance mentality, 163–165 Zuckerberg, Mark, 99 ABOUT THE AUTHOR This Is Me This book is not about me It is not an autobiography But I tell lessons from my career to highlight the attributes of a punk rock attitude in business Some of you may want to understand the chronology of my career, so that you can place the stories on some imaginary timeline in your head And maybe you want to know a bit more about me as a person If so, read these four pages If you don’t care about these things, move on ahead My Career TARMAC (1983–1991) I trained as an accountant at Tarmac, a building conglomerate in the industrial Black Country of England Ready-mixed concrete was exciting to me back then This is where I learned the flow of money, the critical skill of understanding the dynamics between sales, costs, and cash flow that always determines your success I worked with honest and good people who talked straight and wouldn’t put up with any arrogance ANC (1991–1995) ANC was a franchised express parcel delivery service that was subsequently sold to FedEx I joined the finance team, and my first piece of work showed that their pricing strategy was counterproductive The Managing Director sent me home while he considered my report The next morning, to my surprise, I arrived to hear that the Managing Director had fired the Commercial Director and appointed me in his place That was the start of my real business career NINTENDO (1995–2000) A headhunter was trying to find a Commercial Director for the video games industry He would never have found me at ANC through his normal searches; however, I knew a friend of his, and he introduced me So, good fortune gave me my first foray into the world of consumer tech, which would become my home from then on I loved the brands and products I now worked with: GameBoy, Mario, Donkey Kong, GoldenEye for N64, Zelda, Tetris, and—the ultimate—Pokémon The last of these I suffered serious addiction to, but I have been clean for over fifteen years now ONDIGITAL/ITV DIGITAL (2000–2002) The story at ITV Digital was all about how we used a knitted monkey, imaginatively called Monkey, and a larger-than-life stand-up comedian with a gruff accent to rebrand the company and transform our sales The campaign gained huge attention and notoriety, and demonstrated the power of marketing in a way I had never seen before Our success was ultimately destroyed by a number of things, including some dark forces ORANGE (2002–2004) The task at Orange was all about helping it to rediscover its mojo It had lost its substance and points of differentiation We created Orange Wednesdays (a membership benefit with all the UK cinemas) and Orange Phone Trainers to once again make us stand out from the rest MOTOROLA (2005–2009) I have been lucky and blessed to join companies at just the right time, none more so than Motorola A few weeks after I arrived, we unveiled the iconic RAZR that would generate a fortune for Motorola and establish it as one of the coolest brands on the planet at that time As they say, “It’s better to be lucky than good.” MICROSOFT (2009–2017) It was a privilege to work for Microsoft, one of the enduring all-time-great companies that changed the world for the better When I first joined, there were moments when I thought I had joined a cult But then I realized that, although it was huge, it still had a true sense of family and its employees cared deeply It was fascinating because of its complexity and breadth We operated in all four corners of the world; we competed in the video games arena against PlayStation, in computers against Apple, and in productivity software against Google and free competitors MY NEXT CHAPTER (2017+) I have been working as CEO with a start-up in the football, entertainment, and digital world, and I finished writing my first book—this one I hope the start-up will grow, the book will be appreciated, and they will fill my working life for the next few years My Life Location: I was raised in Sutton Coldfield, one of the nice parts of Birmingham, England (there are nice parts) I lived in the far-from-glamorous towns of Cannock and Hednesford before moving to Southampton and working in London Motorola took me to the Chicago suburbs Microsoft initially took me home to the UK where we settled in Ascot (walking distance to the Queen’s horse racecourse and an hour’s commute to London) Microsoft then took me back to America, where we made our home in Bellevue (near Seattle) We now split our time between Chicago and Ascot Family: I was blessed with amazing grandparents and fabulous parents I became friends with a beautiful young lady named Geraldine (Gerry) whom I was fortunate enough to convince to be my wife We have three amazing daughters, Alex, Maddie, and Francesca, who inspire me with their talents and humanity They know who I really am, and they ensure that I stay grounded Interests: I love sports I played football and cricket at a decent level Technically, I played football semi-professionally—if you count receiving £5 per game being paid I am still an avid golfer I go to a vibrant and exciting church I am involved with a children’s orphanage in Kenya Education: I went to an English comprehensive school and achieved good grades but didn’t study for a degree as I wanted to get on with my career Shortsighted, perhaps Little-known facts: I survived cancer I was DNA tested as part of a murder investigation I stole toilet paper from Buckingham Palace I own a BAFTA I made a citizen’s arrest when someone tried to steal my neighbor’s car One of my ancestors is supposedly Abraham Lincoln I was named one of the Top 100 most influential people in the movies by Total Film magazine, between Tom Cruise and Matt Damon (It was in alphabetical order.) I had to inject my future mother-in-law’s tortoise with antibiotics daily for three months because it had a cold and couldn’t hibernate (My wife and I were still dating at that time and obviously I was still trying to impress.) I lifted a car off a woman (not singlehandedly) who was having a cardiac arrest It’s been far from dull ... origin of the phrase The Punk Rock of Business, but in many ways, it also contextualizes the whole book and is a great example of Punk Rock Business put into practice That experience was a defining... leadership The Punk Rock of Business is about adopting an attitude that echoes many of the attributes of punk The punk rock businessperson says, “I am not okay with the current status quo,” and vows... rebelled against everything and nothing; they liked the anarchy of it all But real punk rock was focused on rebelling against the sterile music of the time and the bleakness the youth saw in their