The Beatles' Documentary "Get Back": A Mirror of Sorts for Startups
The Beatles: Get Back, a compelling documentary by famed director Peter Jackson, offers insights into team dynamics, spontaneous musical inventiveness, business styles, relationships, cooperation, and opposition.
Fred Wilson, managing partner of Union Square Ventures and a VC I much admire, blogged about it here. He saw within the doc a metaphor for the working ethos of a VC partnership. It was, according to Fred, “a reminder that when we sacrifice a little bit of our self and commit to a team dynamic, wonderful things can and do result.”
I love this insight and agree with it wholeheartedly.
When I watched, I saw additional elements: The effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), burnout from drugs and a 1960’s lifestyle, and what I’ll call the “last stand.”
The Beatles were undoubtedly the best-selling rock ‘n roll group of all time and remain among the most famous people on the planet. Their TV and concert tours were characterized by out-of-control levels of hysteria and legions of screaming fans who followed the band with a near deity-like worship and quasi-religious fervor. The Beatles were the object of intense adulation wherever they went.
The documentary itself covers the days before their final live performance on Jan. 30, 1969, a concert filmed atop the roof of the Apple Corps building in London.
In the doc, we find the group in a state of physical and mental exhaustion. They’re clearly burned out. But viewers also see interpersonal interactions bent on creativeness, individual innovation, and inventiveness. What you don’t see is the hard work, preparation, meetings (long and short), and creative sessions that take place outside the studio. While the documentary rightly explores the genius behind the music, it doesn’t spend much time on the drudgery that made the epiphanies possible.
PTSD is triggered by either experiencing or witnessing an event that creates strong, often permanent, emotional responses. In this case it was a live Beatles show. Some of the symptoms of PTSD on display in the documentary include:
intense psychological detachment or estrangement
irritability or angry outbursts
problems concentrating
Many rockers, celebrities and famous people have suffered from PTSD. People at risk or susceptible to PTSD have generally been exposed to chronic stress, among many other factors. It can be a crippling condition.
Much of the documentary’s greatness is its insistence on probing some of the darker corners of the Beatles’ issues, both individually and as a group.
The same can be said about startup entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs (most of all), ELT (also in particular), managers, dev teams and staff.
The best way to face highly stressful and demanding startup situations is to offer yourself the grace you would give others, and to seek help from board members, advisors, family, friends, and trained professionals. Keeping these feelings to yourself is the worst option. A friend or loved one who knows about the situation and understands you, who acknowledges the stress you’re feeling can be invaluable. Insights from someone you trust will help you perform better under pressure. These concerted discussions will enable you can face the situation with more strength and insights.