When Bob Dylan was a Scrum Master

A couple more thoughts about Martin Scorsese's Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story.

(Strange place for a movie review, I hear you thinking... but like the great Dylan himself sang: Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow, things should start to get interesting right about now...)

So, firstly, for those of you unfamiliar with the remarkable events on which the film is based, here's a little background: 

The Rolling Thunder Revue was conceptualized by Dylan as a sort of alternative to the large-scale, big-budget music tours that had become the norm in the ’70s rock-star culture.

One of his main goals was to "play for the people" - those fans in the small towns who wouldn't otherwise have been able to hear him because the larger shows were in the big cities with expensive tickets.

So Dylan assembled a team - consisting mostly of musicians but also other creative folk such as poets, production designers, film-makers, and a reporter - and they hit the road.

The whole concept was built around low budgets, small audiences, no over-planning, no fixed set-lists, no fixed route, focus on the journey rather than the destination, deliver a minimum viable product, prioritize experience over perfection, be comfortable with failure, and most importantly- innovation, re-invention and experimentation. 

Takeaway 1:

This wasn't just rock 'n' roll, this was AGILE rock 'n' roll and Dylan was Scrum Master.

At one point in the film, one of the characters is asked - "Is Bob Dylan a genius?"

In response, he says:

"I don't know, that's a strange word. I think the most brilliant thing he did was put a group of highly motivated and ambitious people on a bus with no supervision, and then gave them the freedom to become the most extreme versions of themselves."

Takeaway 2:

Bob Dylan was an amazing Line Manager.

Finally, at one point when Bob Dylan was asked about why the tour had a sort of circus / carnival vibe, he replied (and I'm paraphrasing) -- I just want it to be fun- for the performers, for the crowds, for everyone involved. Because it's important to have fun, you know?

Takeaway 3:

The odds of success on a project dramatically improve if having fun is clearly defined within the scope. (Fairly obvious point, but one that we easily forget in the pursuit of optimization.)

And so to conclude-

Rock on, people- and let Bob Dylan and the spirit of the Rolling Thunder Revue thrill and inspire you.