"You ask four guys how it happened, you get four different versions. And this is where all of them start. A thousand years ago. Eisenhower. Rocky Marciano. And a few guys under a streetlamp singing somebody else's latest hit." - Tommy DeVito
Recently I watched a movie - 'Jersey Boys', The story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. It was a great story, and the movie put it together well.
Jersey Boys helped me reflect on few things, giving a perspective, so was able to relate to the movie in my own way. If you are part of a team/ startup/ community/ any group that create/ build/ make things or has set to create things, you may relate as well.
A few takeaways:
* What makes a great team?
-- There is something central to any successful team - the passion for what they love. In Jersey Boys it's 'Music'. The 'Music' brought the boys under a streetlamp together. That is it. To create music. For some the core is music, for some its a product, for some its building a car.
-- Great music is made when all the band members give their best. The Guitarist, The Drummer, The Singer, everyone has a role when making a master piece. You can still do great music without some, but that is not the same.
-- It starts with doing things for fun, out of passion, with no external influence or no direction. It continues for a long time, for years, even if there are ups and down. Then you see what may be called as 'the bigger picture'. All the things you made out of passion, for fun all the days, years starts to deliver in magical ways, giving the 'over night success'. A new world opens-up.
-- Now there is fun, passion and also other influences. Your music is now not just for your group, it is for the world out there, they have expectations.
-- When you are on a bigger picture, like entertaining the world, you need to find relevance in the team. Things move fast in this phase. Everyone in the team would have their own ups & down, but the focus should be on music, that is what ties the team, that is what the team is there for, to create music.
-- If we are talking about machines, machines can be expected to function in a way any given time. The people in the team can be expected to perform in a way based on their skills. People have a lot more than 'skills' that define how they perform/function. People have emotions, positive and negative. People have influences, from with-in and outside(family, friends, the world).
-- Being in the spotlight for too long, 'blurs' one's vision. Power, fame changes the equation. If one start losing their relevance in the team, in making music. They start bringing their insecurities to the team. Some crack under pressure.
-- Do not let one's personal baggage effect the team. The team needs to remove 'negativity' to keep making the music. It is tough to do this with someone who was there with you on a longer journey, you either stop making music or move-on and keep making music.
"Like that bunny on TV, it just keeps going and going and going. Chasing the music. Trying to find our way home." - Frankie Valli
