Two Beats Ahead, Panos A. Panay
Two Beats Ahead, Panos A. Panay
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Two Beats Ahead
What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation

Author: Panos A. Panay, R. Michael Hendrix

Narrator: Landon Woodson

Unabridged: 7 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 04/06/2021


Synopsis

Discover what the musical mind has to teach us about innovation in this fascinating book, featuring interviews with Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, T Bone Burnett, Gloria Estefan, Imogen Heap, and many more.  
 
Musicians may just hold the keys to innovation in business. They don’t think like we do, and in the creative process, they don’t act like we do. It’s no coincidence that some of the world’s most respected creators are also entrepreneurs.
 
In Two Beats Ahead, Panos A. Panay, senior vice president for strategy at Berklee College of Music, and R. Michael Hendrix, global design director at IDEO, interview some of the nation’s top musicians and business leaders about how they approach innovation differently. They speak with hit maker Desmond Child about the importance of demoing and with industry legend Jimmy Iovine about listening and knowing your audience. Readers will learn the secrets of collaboration from Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams, about “daring to suck” from Justin Timberlake, about the power of reinvention from Gloria Estefan, and the importance of experimentation from Imogen Heap and Radiohead. And they’ll learn the value of finding and producing talent with T Bone Burnett and Hank Shocklee, cofounder of Public Enemy.
 
A window into these brilliant mindsets, this book equips any entrepreneur or innovative thinker with tools they can put into practice to thrive in an evolving world.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David

What has been missing from the canon of management books is, apparently, music. Panos Panay and Michael Hendrix have attempted to fill that gap with Two Beats Ahead. Musicians, in their eyes, are just as creative in business. Maybe more so. They have filled their book with endless examples of musicia......more

Goodreads review by Rajiv S

Excellent and accurate thesis. For too long we have treated the traditional leadership archtypes of athletes and warriors with disproportional respect; whereas in the modern era, the best leaders are collaborators, listeners, and creatives who add value, not throw force of personality, but in their......more

Goodreads review by B.

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. These two fellas wrote a really spiffy book. It's mostly about innovation by musical minds, but it also reads a lot like a creative writing textbook due to the storytelling components, composition, and the like. A great many of the recommendations m......more

Goodreads review by H

Like a long form resume, filled with name dropping and an odd use of pronouns, switching back and forth between the third and first person. Could have been condensed into a pamphlet a fifth the size of the book.......more


Quotes

Two Beats Ahead is the first of its kind — a book that turns on its ear the popular myth that business and the arts are at odds with each other. There is so much we can learn from musicians about innovation and creativity in business, and in this groundbreaking and riveting book, Panos Panay and Michael Hendrix show us exactly what we’re missing.”—Amy Cuddy, social psychologist & bestselling author of Presence

“I have always believed that the best outcomes in life come from the discipline of business combined with the chaos of art. All successful musicians are entrepreneurs and all great business leaders are artists. In “Two Beats Ahead” Panos and Hendrix prove it. This is a must read if you want to enjoy finding the path of least resistance to the dream you are chasing!”—Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank Investor, Chairman O’Shares ETFs

“At its heart, this is a book about the creative journey. While the main ingredient is music, it is spiced with entrepreneurship, leadership and design and served through engaging stories. The result is one that will be of great inspiration to anyone looking to expand the reach of their creativity.”—Tim Brown, Chair of IDEO and author of Change by Design

“For a long time, researchers have known that musical intelligence can awaken the nonlinear whole mind to healing, creativity and innovation. This book is a roadmap for innovators, entrepreneurs and those seeking new avenues for exploring and reimagining the future evolution of human consciousness and its infinite possibilities.”—Deepak Chopra, MD

“How we perceive the world is the key to how we act in the world. Based on their course at Berklee, Michael and Panos show that a musician’s perspective, much like a designer’s perspective, can unlock inspiration and innovation, no matter who you are.”—David Kelley, Founder of IDEO & the Stanford d.school

“This book is not just about innovation. It may be the most provocative and thoughtful business book of its time, an approach to managing through the cacophony of fifty years of disruption.”—Jim Champy, Business Consultant and Co-Author of Reengineering the Corporation

“Great popular musicians must simultaneously master tight structures and freeform improvisation, selfless collaboration and solitary self-expression, artistry and commerce. What a treat to get an inside look at the creative process and enterprising spirit of some of the most talented people on the planet.”—Scott Dadich, creator of Abstract: The Art of Design and recipient of the National Design Award, former editor in chief of WIRED

“Being an artist isn't just a matter of having imaginative ideas—to make songs and put them out into the world, you have to use that imagination to problem-solve, collaborate, pivot, and hustle. This book shows how thinking like a musician can provide valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, educators, and anyone who's trying to create something new.”—Hrishikesh Hirway, creator and host of Song Exploder

“We all know that creativity plays a major role in the world of music, and that innovation plays a major role in the world of business.  But, are creativity and innovation two sides of a coin? Like the subjects it writes about, Two Beats Ahead is a highly creative, innovative and enjoyable book.”—Irving Wladawsky-Berger, former Chairman, Board of Governors, IBM Academy of Technology; Research Affiliate, MIT Sloan School of Management