Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead cover art

Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead

The Ten Most Innovative Lessons from a Long, Strange Trip

Pre-order free with Premium Plus
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead

By: Barry Barnes PhD, John Perry Barlow - foreword
Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
Pre-order free with Premium Plus

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order for $68.25

Pre-order for $68.25

About this listen

The Grateful Dead is one of the most popular bands of all time and they have enjoyed incredible relevance to this day. But let's admit it, they were not exactly poster boys for corporate America. In Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead, Deadhead and business scholar Barry Barnes proves that the Dead's influence on the business world will turn out to be a significant part of their legacy. Without intending to, the band pioneered ideas and practices that were subsequently embraced by American corporations. And in this book Barnes shares the ten most innovative business lessons from the Dead's illustrious career, including:

  • Creating and delivering superior customer value
  • Incorporating and establishing a board of directors early on
  • Founding a merchandising division
  • Giving away your product for free to increase demand

Above all, Barnes explains how the Dead were masters of what he calls "strategic improvisation"—the ability to adapt to changing times and circumstances—and that their success lay precisely in their commitment to constant change and relentless variation.

For an extraordinary thirty years, the Dead improvised a business plan and realized their vision—all while making huge profits. Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead will show you how they did it—and what your business can learn from their long, strange trip.

This audiobook is expertly read by Nick Sullivan, with audio engineering by Blake Rook. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, LLC, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

©2011 Barry Barnes (P)2026 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.