Admittedly, I still find something new each time I watch it. This time, I realized that there are actual nuggets of wisdom in the deadpan humor I fell in love with when I was a teenager myself. While not meant to be comprehensive, scientific or necessarily that original, I provide for you below 5 leadership lessons I saw in the movie (there are more but LinkedIn suggests 5 is the limit of business people’s attention span, and I have to admit that I match that description). I also included some links if you want to enjoy this as a multi-media experience (another recommendation):

1) Take Responsibility. The band is well past its prime and is touring to support a new album they hope puts them back on top. Standard for the time, they are scheduled to autograph copies of the album at a record store, but unfortunately, no one shows up. It’s a humiliating failure for them. However, Artie Fufkin, the local record rep who organized the event, quickly takes responsibility. He offers himself up in dramatic fashion, but the band shakes their heads magnanimously. At that moment, there is a sense of growing camaraderie through adversity rather than finger-pointing and defensiveness. Well played, Artie. (WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE): TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

2) Expect Change. For those of us who grew up listening to Classic Rock, we’re familiar with the tragic number of drummers who died way too young. In the movie, we find out that Spinal Tap went through quite a few percussionists themselves. According to the definitive source of all truth, Wikipedia, here is the list of rhythmic gifted casualties:

• John “Stumpy” Pepys (1964–1966) (Portrayed by Ed Begley, Jr. in the video “Gimme Some Money”) Died in a bizarre gardening accident that the authorities said was “best left unsolved.”

• Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs (1966–1967) Choked on vomit of unknown origin, perhaps but not necessarily his own, because “you can’t really dust for vomit.”

• Peter “James” Bond (1967–1977) (Portrayed by Russ Kunkel whose character was mistakenly credited as the name of the previous drummer) Spontaneously combusted on stage during a jazz-blues or blues-jazz festival on the Isle of Lucy, leaving behind what has been described alternately as a “globule” or a “stain”.

• Mick Shrimpton (1977–1982) (Portrayed by R. J. “Ric” Parnell) Exploded onstage.

• Joe “Mama” Besser (1982) (Portrayed by Fred Asparagus). Claimed he “couldn’t take this 4/4 sh!t”; according to an MTV interview with Spinal Tap in November 1991, he disappeared along with his equipment during their Japanese tour. He is either dead or playing jazz.

• Richard “Ric” Shrimpton (1982–1999) Allegedly sold his dialysis machine for drugs; presumed dead.

• Sammy “Stumpy” Bateman (1999–2001) Died trying to jump over a tank full of sharks while on a tricycle in a freak show.

• Scott “Skippy” Scuffleton (2001–2007) Fate unknown.

• Chris “Poppa” Cadeau (2007–2008) Eaten by his pet python Cleopatra.

• Billy Murgatroyd (1996) Murgatroyd is the only Tambourine player of the band to be killed, having overdosed on coffee creamer.

• Plus 9 other drummers at various times (Probably between 1970 and 1981) all of whom are dead.

For us leaders, it’s hard to imagine this kind of turnover. It is especially hard to lose folks whose role and/or personality helps keep the rest of the team “playing in sync” with each other. But we should expect it. Whether key people move on voluntarily or (hopefully not) spontaneously combust, the band must play on. If other challenges hit us, same answer. 

We need to remain steady and calm and open to the opportunity that the newest band member represents. It could lead to a reinvigorated and more on-trend direction of the band. Perhaps that’s why Spinal Tap could stay relevant by evolving their musical styles as they also changed their name (they started as The Originals then The New Originals then The Thamesmen then The Dutchmen then back to The Thamesmen then to 13 other monikers before arriving at Spinal Tap). Here’s the band talking about some of their fallen bandmates: EXPECT CHANGE 

3) Build Possibilities. A hallmark of a leader is in their ability to see the way things can be (should be) and work to create a platform for that to happen. Part inspiration, part pragmatism, plus a little bit of illogic, a leader’s vision should project confidence in the seemingly audacious. All the while, we should also allow for some slack in the machine. We should build not just the possibilities of tomorrow but the possibilities of today. A brilliant client of mine once said: “Heroism isn’t a business model.” Agreed. We should build in capacity for moments of escalation. More inspiration, more production, more uncertainty will be the rule some days. Where can you go if you’re already maxed out? For Spinal Tap, they can “go to 11.” They modified their amplifiers so that they don’t stop at 10 – when the moment strikes they can get even louder. This is especially important for a band whose brand is entirely based on being loud (as opposed to being melodic, lyrical or having the basic talent to play their instruments). Forget the false logic in the following clip – think about the message “going to 11” sends to their fans and even to the band itself: BUILD POSSIBILITIES 

4) Details Matter. In my observation, the accelerated pace of change combined with an overwhelming push to adopt agile methodologies for solving most problems risks an unacceptable increase in critical errors and re-work. When determining a “minimum viable product,” the operative word needs to remain “viable.” This means that leaders must become more adept at determining the details that truly matter and not accept the idea that dooms many films: ‘We’ll just clean it up in post-production.’ 

As much as visionary leadership is celebrated, the ability to get in the weeds occasionally is the only way to avoid disaster. For our favorite band, disaster nearly struck when a back of a napkin sketch (i.e., a wireframe) for a new stage prop was mislabeled 18 inches tall when it was supposed to be 18 feet tall. In less than politically correct terms, they shouted afterwards that, “We had a replica of Stone Hedge in danger of actually being crushed by —“ Well, I’ll just refer you to the link: DETAILS MATTER

5) Solve the Real Problem. The band’s new album is called “Smell the Glove.” While the actual music from the album undoubtedly has little redeeming value, that name is obviously a real problem. It’s hard to miss that misogyny. However, when confronted by the fact that major retailers are rightly refusing to carry the offensive album, the focus was placed on the photo on the cover (I’ll avoid the details here but trust me, it’s not good). 

The attempted solution therefore was in changing the cover. As you’ll see, the fix was a disaster even as several members tried to put a happy spin on it all. First, let’s celebrate the person who has the courage to resist group-think rationalization; but real lesson is leaders need to figure out how to fix a bad decision, not a bad outcome from that bad decision. For Spinal Tap, the offensive photo accurately depicted the offensive name. When first challenged and told that it was sexist, lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel asks: “What’s wrong with being sexy.” That should have been the first clue. Double clip bonus: SOLVE THE REAL PROBLEM 1 | SOLVE THE REAL PROBLEM 2

One final thought on leadership and This is Spinal Tap – the movie itself was a risk. It created a new genre called the mockumentary by taking what was a known narrative (about rock and roll bands) and creating parody. However, it generated more than just an iconic movie. It launched Rob Reiner as one of the great directors of his generation and inspired others to following in his footsteps (Best in Show anyone?). For us, maybe a lesson is that sometimes it’s good to take our own narrative, be it “what is a bank” “what is management consulting” “what is an ice cream shop” and allowing for self-parody and humor. We might actually discover something new and compelling. Or, we might just laugh and have a moment of levity. Not such a bad thing in either case.

Interested in learning more about how your leadership impacts your organization’s growth strategy and firm culture? Contact The Abaco Group and a practice lead will be in touch to see how we can assist you and your team.