Here is a link to an article in the New York Times Business section today. The illustration featured in the piece (both in the print edition and online) is worth seeing; it shows the heads of Mick, Ron, Charlie and Keith on a Mount Rushmore-like mountainside.

[nytimes.com]

Here are the first few paragraphs of the piece, in which the Stones are mentioned.

ARMCHAIR M.B.A.
Innovation, Leadership and Still No Satisfaction
By WILLIAM J. HOLSTEIN

Published: December 19, 2004

WHAT do the Rolling Stones and the Salvation Army have in common? They are both among the world's 10 most enduring institutions, according to a study commissioned by Booz Allen Hamilton. The others on this very select list are Dartmouth College, Oxford University, the modern Olympic Games, General Electric, Sony, the United States Constitution, the International Telecommunications Forum and the Rockefeller Foundation. Here are excerpts from a conversation about the study with Ralph W. Shrader, Booz Allen's chief executive:

Q. How did you pick these organizations?

A. We put together a set of seven criteria, such as innovation and legitimacy, and then bought in a group of academics to make the picks.

Q. Are the Rolling Stones really in the same league as Oxford University and the United States Constitution?

A. Clearly, the Rolling Stones is the most provocative name on the list because of their image. The reality is, they weren't just lucky. It was a very studied group that actually did a lot of homework and understood how to make themselves successful. They cultivated the bad-boy image in a way that allowed them to keep having relevance and resonance to their audience. The fact that they can come to the United States today at their age and still attract sellout crowds is testament to the fact that they found a great formula.



Paul Serchia

That's what I need, a FORMULA for $ucce$$

Nice.

Interesting...

cool...