The Rolling Stones Secrets For Breakthrough Success

The founding team made the difference between my successful exits and dismal failures. Understanding that led me to research unicorns in multiple industries, including rock bands.

There are four strengths that every team must have to break away from their peers. These are as follows:

1. Communicator

2. Builder

3. Strategist

4. Closer

In the case of the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger is the communicator, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the builders, Andrew Oldham, the band's manager, is the strategist, and Charlie Watts, the band's drummer, is the closer.

We see the same for bands like Van Hallen, The Beatles, and Fleetwood Mac. The record companies understand this and have assigned teams to replace organic formations.

The myth of one

While Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison are credited as the founders of their respective companies, the truth is they were just the frontmen of a larger team. Like Jagger to the Stones, Steve Jobs could not have created Apple Computer alone. Gates could only launch Microsoft with Paul Allen.

Partial formations

Some companies and bands started without having all four of the required team characteristics. For example, Van Hallen and Facebook initially started without a communicator. David Lee Roth for Van Hallen and Cheryl Sandberg for Facebook quickly filled in the missing attribute.

Replacements

When an organization leader with one of the four characteristics leaves, they must be replaced for the group to continue successfully. We saw this successfully with Van Hallen when Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth and unsuccessfully when Steve Perry left Journey.