Introduction: What Creative Leaders Can Learn from Miles Davis

Miles Davis didn’t just play jazz—he reinvented it, again and again. His time in Paris, a city that embraced him when his home country often did not, transformed his art, elevated his confidence, and inspired some of his greatest innovations. Davis’s life is a parable for creative leaders: don’t settle for one style, one era, or one version of yourself. Embrace reinvention, seek new voices, feed off unlikely collaborations, and insist on authenticity—not just for yourself, but for your team.

Miles teaches us that your life and leadership are an improvisation. You are the author—the soloist—in your own story. Will you play it safe, or will you keep searching for new notes, new collaborators, and new ways to move the world?

Timeline: Miles Davis’s Hero’s Journey in Paris

Time	Stage / Archetype	Location	Reflection Focus
09:00	Ordinary World / The Innocent	Hôtel La Louisiane (Miles’s Paris home)	Beginnings, first impressions, new worlds
10:30	Call to Adventure / The Rebel	Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Le Tabou jazz club)	Pushing boundaries, finding your scene
12:00	Mentor / The Sage	Café de Flore (Simone de Beauvoir & intellectual circle)	Inspiration, new perspectives
14:00	Tests, Allies & Enemies / The Creator	Salle Pleyel (where Miles played iconic concerts)	Adversity, innovation, performance under pressure
16:00	Return with the Elixir / The Magician	Rue Pierre-Sarrazin (recording sessions for “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud”)	Legacy, fusion, storytelling

The Walking Tour

09:00 – Hôtel La Louisiane (Ordinary World / The Innocent)

Address: 60 rue de Seine, 6th arrondissement

Where Miles Davis lived during his early Paris sojourn, absorbing the energy and freedom of the city.

Reflection:

• What “new cities” or opportunities have reignited your passion?
• How do you recapture the innocence and wonder of new beginnings in your work?

Miles’s Lesson:
Starting fresh in a new context can reveal hidden strengths and inspire reinvention.
Question: How can changing your environment or perspective help you grow as a leader?

10:30 – Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Le Tabou Jazz Club – Call to Adventure / The Rebel)

Address: 33 rue Dauphine

Here, Miles dove into Paris’s revolutionary jazz scene, playing with expatriates, breaking musical and social barriers.

Reflection:

• When have you joined a new community or movement and what did you discover?
• How do you challenge the status quo in your field?

Miles’s Lesson:
Growth begins when you step into new scenes and dare to play your own sound.
Question: Where are you ready to break the mold and stand out?

12:00 – Café de Flore (Mentor / The Sage)

Address: 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain

A legendary café where Miles met French intellectuals and Simone de Beauvoir, gaining new ideas and confidence.

Reflection:

• Who expands your thinking and challenges your assumptions?
• How do you mix ideas from outside your usual circles?

Miles’s Lesson:
Creative leaps happen when you seek wisdom and perspective beyond your craft.
Question: Who are your unexpected mentors?

14:00 – Salle Pleyel (Tests, Allies & Enemies / The Creator)

Address: 252 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

A storied concert hall where Miles Davis faced French audiences, critics, and the pressure to innovate live.

Reflection:

• How do you perform when it matters most—especially under scrutiny?
• What “improvisations” have saved you in a crisis?

Miles’s Lesson:
Mastery is revealed onstage, through challenge, teamwork, and bold improvisation.
Question: How do you trust your instincts and team when everything is on the line?

16:00 – Rue Pierre-Sarrazin (Return with the Elixir / The Magician)

Address: Studio Le Poste Parisien (near 12 Rue Pierre-Sarrazin)

Here, Miles improvised the soundtrack to Louis Malle’s film “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud,” fusing jazz and cinéma in a legendary recording session.

Reflection:

• What is your “masterpiece”—the innovation or story you’ll leave behind?
• How will you mix your past and present to create something new for others?

Miles’s Lesson:
True leadership echoes long after the final note—through legacy, collaboration, and creative storytelling.
Question: What new story are you composing that will inspire the next generation?

Conclusion: Lessons from Davis’s Hero’s Journey

Miles Davis’s Paris teaches us to reinvent, collaborate, improvise, and persist until we find our unmistakable sound. By telling himself the story of a relentless seeker—a man never content to play the same tune twice—Miles found his flow and changed music forever.

Final Reflections:

• Where are you in your own journey: beginner, rebel, creator, or mentor?
• What “solo” are you afraid to play?
• How will you keep reimagining your legend, so your life becomes a kind of blue?

You are the author of your own improvisation. Make it unforgettable.

Tour Details:

• Duration: 1 day
• Start Time: 09:00 AM
• End Time: 05:00 PM
• Cost: € 595 per person excluding VAT per person

You can book this tour by sending Peter an email with details at peter@wearesomeone.nl

Your Tour Guide

Peter de Kuster is the founder of The Heroine’s Journey & Hero’s Journey project,  a storytelling firm which helps creative professionals to create careers and lives based on whatever story is most integral to their lives and careers (values, traits, skills and experiences). Peter’s approach combines in-depth storytelling and marketing expertise, and for over 20 years clients have found it effective with a wide range of creative business issues.

Peter is writer of the series The Heroine’s Journey and Hero’s Journey books, he has an MBA in Marketing,  MBA in Financial Economics and graduated at university in Sociology and Communication Sciences.