By now anyone who’s got even a faint interest in the Beatles has seen Peter Jackson’s incredible documentary, “Get Back.” Being a bit of a Beatles nut, I’ve now seen it five times and I notice something different in it every time. But there’s an important theme in the narrative that is instructive for creative teamwork—particularly in teams of four. When Paul tries to tell his three bandmates what to do, what to play, what to sing, he suffocates the group dynamic that made the Beatles the Beatles.

The flower Pot scene.

The first act of the documentary is tense. Even when they are all joking around singing an old song and laughing, I noticed Paul seems to be only playing along. Like he’s gotta joke around in order to get to what he wants to do, which is the serious business of music making. You can see it in his eyes sometimes that he’s pretending to be silly and not actually believing in his own silliness.

Related, Paul is orchestrating the others on his songs. He even barks at one point at John Lennon to stop playing so he can explain the arrangement to him. George Harrison gets frustrated and that leads to an argument between Paul and George, where Paul explains he’s only trying to help George, and George seems to surrender by saying he’ll play whatever Paul wants him to play. But we soon find out George doesn’t mean it.

George quits the band. Quits! And tells the lads, “I’ll see you around in the clubs.” Which leads us to the now famous “flower pot scene,” where a hidden microphone is placed in a pot of flowers in the kitchen and it picks up a tense argument between John and Paul regarding George.

John: “It’s like George said he didn’t get enough satisfaction anymore, because of the compromise he had to make to be together. It’s a festering wound that we’ve allowed to…And yesterday we allowed it to go even deeper and we didn’t him any bandages, and when it is that far in, we have egos.”

There was more, but then Paul seems to really get it.

Paul: “That’s why I think we’ve got the problem now, you know, the four of us. You go one way, George one way, and me another. But I know it’ll apply to all of us, if one day you can all be singing like you sing. George can be really playing, I mean like he plays, not like I keep trying to make him play.”

This conversation may have changed the course of Beatles history, at least for a year or so.

Four perspectives, now liberated, recaptured the beatles magic.

Eventually George rejoins the band and the vibe is very different. Paul is more open to the other Beatles’ contributions. The fun moments seem to be actually fun for Paul. And the magic of what made the Beatles the Beatles seems to be found again.

All because Paul backed off and allowed the perspectives of his bandmates back into the creative process. I do think the added element of Bill Preston in the room on keyboards accelerated this new dynamic, as there was an outside creative influence they all respected in the room. Nonetheless, the Beatles proved during this documentary (and throughout the 1970s) that they were better when they were together and allowing each other’s individual contributions.

With Ideasicle X the team of four is greater than the sum of its parts.

Because the creative teams work virtually, it is very difficult for one person to dominate in a way that pollutes the well or demotivates the others. In fact, I find that the team of four may or may not know each other and even this helps because it’s then ALL about the ideas.

When someone wants to post an idea, the button doesn’t say “Post An Idea” - it says “Start An Idea.” When the team gets an email notification that an idea has been started, they are given a link to it and encouraged to, “Now go make it even better.” That’s the vibe of these teams, always building on each other’s ideas. And that’s what unlocks the gestalt-effect, or a team that becomes an intellectual organism more potent than the sum of its parts and aligned behind a singular assignment.

The Beatles rode that new collaborative vibe through their final recording, “Abbey Road.” A masterpiece to be sure. But sadly the end of what can only be called magic between these four incredible talents.

How lucky we are to be flies on the wall of those “Get Back” sessions. How lucky we are to continue to learn fifty years later from the greatest band of all time. Imagine that.

Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of Ideasicle X. Email him at willb@ideasiclex.com.