Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk … and Paul McCartney

“The Beatles: Get Back” documentary, which is my pick for best movie of the year, showcases an underappreciated aspect of Paul McCartney: He’s more than just an artistic genius — he’s one of the greatest managerial talents of the last century.

In a recent interview, Ringo Starr put it well: “If Paul hadn’t been in the band, we’d probably have made two albums, because we were lazy boogers. But Paul’s a workaholic. John and I would be sitting in the garden taking in the color green from the tree, and the phone would ring, and we would know, ‘Hey lads, you want to come in? Let’s go in the studio!’”

“Get Back” presents a reality-TV show version of this process in action. Almost everything that gets done goes through Paul. He is energetically testing and trying to improve musical ideas, whether his own or those of the group. He always seems focused. In one scene, while experimenting on the bass guitar for a few minutes, he seems to conjure up the song “Get Back” from virtually nothing.

He has what Silicon Valley venture capitalists call “founder energy.” Chris Dixon, a partner at the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and a professional judge of (non-musical) talent, tweeted how much respect he gained for McCartney by watching the documentary. The Beatles were one of the greatest startups of their generation: In addition to making music, they revolutionized social mores on a wide range of issues, including sex, drugs, fashion and politics.