Sir George Martin, The Beatles and Innovation

Throughout a long career, I've been lucky enough to see and hear all kinds of fascinating people in-person - and many of them have been ahead of their time.



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One of the most engaging and enthralling people I ever had the chance to hear was the now-late Sir George Martin, the famous music producer of The Beatles. I encountered him at a conference organized by Cisco - the computer network equipment maker - in Vancouver in April of 2005.
To start with, he was a real contrast to Cisco CEO John Chambers - who had kicked the conference off with a keynote speech during which he roved through the crowd with a wireless microphone and aimed to whip his techie audience into an evangelism fervor about Cisco, its vision and its products. And, make no mistake, he was good. I'd had the opportunity to interview him a couple of times - and Chambers has the charm and charisma of a southern Baptist preacher at his most eloquent.

So when Chambers was followed by a quiet, understated, 79-year-old Englishman, it was like walking into a chamber music concert after attending a classic rock music festival. And the irony, of course, is that I can of no-one who has produced more classic rock than Sir George Martin - the producer behind albums such as Rubber Soul, Help!, Abbey Road and, of course, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The first thing that became clear to me is what a wonderful raconteur Sir George was. Every story was delivered with wit, a sense of insight - and usually a good punch line. The theme was the talk was all about how he and The Beatles worked to innovate music forms in creating the Sgt. Pepper album - with a description of how every song was made to meet the unique vision that Lennon and McCartney envisioned for it.

He talked about how, for example, the classical musicians assembled to record parts of "A Day in the Life" were initially supposed to be instructed by John Lennon to "play anything they liked" as long as they ended up at a particular note in the crescendo that precedes the final - now classic - piano chord ending the song.

Sir George said he explained to John that classical musicals are trained to play anything except "what they liked" and would need clearer direction. So, instead, he instructed them each to run up a scale starting at one specific note and ending on another - but, if they were playing the same note as the person sitting next to them, it was the wrong note.

Dozens of other great stories abounded, but the main thing I took away from it was that innovation often comes best from keeping one foot in the real world, while being willing to let the other take a step into creative, uncharted waters that can carry you to a new and wonderful place.

Thanks for the Long and Winding Road, Sir George! May you rest in peace.

Updated on March 9, 2016.

The Jetsons

When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was Hanna Barbara's cartoon sitcom about family life in the future - complete with flying cars, a robot maid, a conveyor belt that helps you get dressed in the morning - and 'picture phones' that let you see people that you're talking to on the 'phone.

As a teenager, my fascination with gadgets drew me to the James Bond movies, Star Trek and then Star Wars.

I wanted to live in that future and I wanted to use those gadgets. So a decade or so later, when I was a young journalist looking for a job, I naturally gravitated to one where I could test and play with the latest Jetson-like technologies. And play with them I did. I tested and wrote about early laptop computers, mobile phones, email, online news, online banking - as well as really basic robots and electric cars - and did all of that back in the 1980s.

At the time, I felt that I was getting a peek into the future - a glimpse of what everyone's lives might be like only a few years hence. I felt that I was living "ten minutes into the future". The biggest surprise to me in all of this, however, was not the gadgets. It was the people who dreamed them up.

And that's - as much as anything else - what this blog is about. It's about the many fascinating characters I've met over the years who came up with the ideas, technologies, gadgets and innovations that have changed our lives. Some of those people are well-known. Many are not.

I wonder how many people have heard of Martin Cooper, inventor of the cellphone? Or Seymour Rubenstein - the man behind the first popular word-processor (WordStar) - or Dan Bricklin, who pioneered the spreadsheet with VisiCalc?

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to meet and talk to many of these fascinating people. In this blog, I'll give you my take on some of the insights they've given me - about the future, about technology - and about what makes a great entrepreneur or inventor (they're rarely the same thing).

And I'd like to invite you to comment with any stories and insights you have about great inventors, innovators or entrepreneurs that you've had the chance to meet or work with.

My first story - which you'll have to wait until the next post to read - is about Sir George Martin, producer of The Beatles staggering volume of work (and still very much a keeper of the flame). Some years ago, I had the chance to hear him speak about invention and innovation in the context of the classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It was - and still is - an inspiring tale..