Steve Farber photo

Party Like a Rock Star

04.26.12

You may not have heard the name, John Segall; you may know him as Jay Jay French.

Still doesn’t ring a bell?

OK, how about the band, Twisted Sister? Or their songs, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” or “I Wanna Rock”?

There you go!

Twisted’s famed front-man, Dee Snider is the guy…well…out front, but Jay Jay is the founder of the band, the manager of the brand, and one hell of a guitarist, to boot. He is, when all is said and done, a savvy business guy, a philanthropist (have a look at his Pinkburst Project) and the consummate entrepreneur.

And, does he have some stories to tell?  What do you think?

And he happens to be a great guy, too.

That’s why, for all of the above reasons, I invited him to be a part of The Extreme Leadership Summit.

Says Jay Jay,

“At the end of the day, Rock and roll is a business with universal business rules. You need to posses the ability to look inside yourself, be honest with what you see, re-invent, and then re-apply. And be fully prepared to be knocked down again.”

A good rule for the rest of us, right?

I hope you can join Jay Jay and me, along with Sally Hogshead, Tommy Spaulding, Brian Mayne, Simon Billsberry, and Loren Slocum at The Summit in August–but for now, here’s a taste.

Surrounded by Platinum and Gold Records, music memorabilia, and a phenomenal vintage guitar collection, Jay Jay sat down with our video crew at his place in New York City for a chat about business, life, and Extreme Leadership.

Ladies and Gentlemen…here’s my friend, Jay Jay French:

Filed Under: business, Events, Leadership, Professional Development

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  • http://www.talentinnovations.com/ 360 feedback

    “Rock and roll is a business with universal business rules. You need to posses the ability to look inside yourself, be honest with what you see, re-invent, and then re-apply. And be fully prepared to be knocked down again.” This is a very good insight. I also believe that a universal business rule is to give more to the customers before expecting any in return.

  • Kimberly Williams

    My take away is his insight and advice about dealing with rejection.  I think avoiding the ‘rejection’ feeling is probably the biggest culprit holding all of us back from being ‘Rock Stars’ ourselves, wherever that maybe.  There’s the ‘fear of failing’ which is #1, but coupled with that is ’fear of rejection’.  So, since that rang a bell for me, that’s the thing I’m going to be ‘leaning into my discomfort’ on the most.  I’ll start by taking a practical approach of not being offended, when someone doesn’t like me, or what I do.  It’s illogical.  My belief is, not all people are made for all people, meaning we’re here for the people we’re here for and that’s it.  That’s not to say we can’t all get along.  Just that our confirmation will and can only come from those who are on the same frequency as us, and that’s Ok.  As long as we know and understand that, we can accept rejection from those who march to the beats of different drummers.  I’m thinking it’s not really rejection, it’s ‘I don’t get you’ — and that should be Ok.  We’re all great an unique creatures. 

  • Victoria Pynchon

    Smartest guy I know and I know a lot of smart guys – an hour with John is like a semester at Harvard on the road.