Motivation with Mark Knopfler

The word universe means the song or poem one: uni-one and verse-sound or poetry. So sound (so music, so poetry) has an inherent ability to change our moods, and hence our motivational energies. What we hear and when is significant. As Shakespeare wrote in The Merchant of Venice, “The man that has no music in himself, nor is moved by the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treachery, stratagem, and spoil.” So all highly motivated people listen to music often, and should do so more.

I personally love the music of JS Bach, which I listen to almost daily, but I also love a small number of great rock/pop stars from the last 40 years. I wonder who your heroes are.

For me, Mark Knopfler, the former Dire Straits (with as many great solo tracks as he had in those earlier halcyon days) is one of the greats. His music is at once melodic, intricate and epic. The epic comes from those great guitar endings that he plays, he thinks, ‘Tunnel of Love’. A few years ago at the Bournemouth International Center I had the pleasure of seeing him live. My wife, son Joe and I were blown away by an incredible musical performance that left us spellbound. His live version of ‘Farmer Blues’, for example, was amazingly great. I could go on, but you understand me.

As we walked back to the car, I said to my son, Joe, well what are the three important lessons from Mark Knopfler that anyone could apply to become mega successful and possibly mega happy? If being a member of a rock and roll band is similar to running a business, what do you think they might be?

Before outlining the three core lessons, we’d like to reflect that even doing everything right doesn’t necessarily lead to success: things go wrong whether you like it or not. As the good book says, Time and chance happen to all men. In Mark’s case when I saw him live he revealed to us why he wasn’t up and playing guitar: he had torn a nerve in his back and it had plagued him for five weeks. Now that’s what you call irritating – and life!

The lesson of seeing Mark is the lesson of creativity: all the songs were his songs, so everyone followed his tune. Being creative is an essential component of being human: essential – of the essence. Peter Drucker observed that only two things made money for a business: marketing and innovation; everything else was a cost. We need to run businesses where we give full scope to human creativity, especially our own. In the long run, it helps us to be more resistant to stress.

Second: be an expert in whatever you do! Watch Mark play that guitar (several guitars, in fact) and you’ll see an expert at work. Without exaggeration they had cameras that for brief moments allowed us to see Mark on stage, and behind him a close-up of his fingering and fretwork. And it wasn’t just Mark who was an excellent musician, they all were. So if he’s going to be a plumber, a nurse, a director, a manager, a shop assistant, he’s the best. He amused and impressed me recently when the plumber fixing a problem in our house said, “My brother is the best plumber in Dorset.” I said, Well, bring him here then – I don’t want second best!

Finally, get a compact team around you. Towards the end, Mark introduced his team and we learned that almost all of them went back to 15 years of playing with him, and one even to the 80’s. He trusted them and they trusted him; the synergy and teamwork were evident: the great Knopfler could achieve much more by harnessing his talents alongside his own. Where are the key players on your team? Who is with you on a journey to change the world with your product or service?

Yes, you can learn a lot from watching a rock and roll band. Music is great too!