Be More Pirate by Sam Conniff Allende
Review by Alison Jones
When you’re a business book publisher hosting a business book podcast, you read a LOT of business books. I’m not complaining: that’s the gig and I love it. I usually find something of value in every book, but I can’t hand on heart say I get a kick out of all of them.
This one, however, delivered an extraordinary kicks-per-page ratio.
First off, it’s a great premise. The stories that really grab us, after all, are those that speak to the child in us. But it’s not one of those books that have a great core idea then labour it to death over 200+ pages. It turns out that there is SO much in the pirate idea that speaks to the disrupted, disaffected world in which we find ourselves that the concept didn’t feel at all overworked. In fact, Conniff Allende himself admitted he was surprised by just how much there was to say that related directly to business in the 21st century.
When I interviewed him for The Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast, he revealed how what had begun as a cool idea — ooh look, pirates! — developed and deepened as he did the research:
‘The momentum of the metaphor became something completely otherworldly. Every single page I turned, I discovered that these really were the millennials of the 18th century, and actually it’s completely true. A group of 20-somethings didn’t just reject the broken rules of society, but they rewrote them… I couldn’t believe what I was uncovering, a history that we don’t know, a history that was so relevant to what I was writing, that the metaphor kind of fell away and became a very, very clear manifesto.’
The 17th-century pirates, it turns out, were pioneers of democracy, diversity, equality and agility. They had transparent reward systems, compensation for injured workers, and in some cases at least an equal regard for women and ethnic minorities that would shame many 21st-century workplaces. Most of all, though, they were skilled professionals who had the vision and energy to reject a system that wasn’t working for them (aka the Royal Navy) and subvert it. What’s startling for modern readers is the self-awareness and idealism of the pirate leaders, as revealed in their articles or codes. Conniff Allende suggests that modern-day business pirates — disruptors, innovators, idealists — also consciously create a ‘pirate code’, a set of principles that define the character and culture of the organisation, a conscious statement of intent and a benchmark against which decisions can be tested.
If you’re drowning in dull-but-worthy business books, this is a breath of fresh, salty sea air. The writing is punchy and persuasive, and there’s an energising balance of history/story with modern examples and challenges inviting you to apply the principles might apply in your own situation.
Conniff Allende credits pirates as the original brand strategists:
‘Pirates didn’t just tell stories, they creatively weaponized the art of storytelling.’
Which is pretty much what he has done here.
“Be More Pirate” is available from Blackwell’s here.
Alison Jones (@bookstothesky) is a publishing partner for businesses and organizations with something to say. Formerly Director of Innovation Strategy with Palgrave Macmillan, she hosts The Extraordinary Business Book Clubpodcast, regularly speaks and blogs on publishing, business and writing, sits on the board of the IPG, and is the author of This Book Means Business (2018).
