Many of our parents and even some of our students have seen Bruce Springsteen on his incredible 2009 tour. Few people can walk away from a Bruce show without being inspired. Coming from Adventure Treks where we pride ourselves in our professionalism, there are many take away moments from a Springsteen concert that we can all hope to emulate in our quests to be more professional and become better leaders.
Here are a few conclusions from a Bruce show:
1) Bruce works harder than anybody else in his band and does this without hogging the limelight. He encourages his other band members to shine.
2) The relationships between Bruce and his band members are deep and the band truly looks like they love playing together and deeply respect each other. Bruce has been playing with the same “E” Street Band for over 35 years! His staff retention is incredible – in an ego driven business I would doubt that there is another band where everyone form the original band (still alive) is still playing together regularly, 35 yeas later.
3) Even though he has been playing some of the same songs for over 35 years – Bruce’s passion is evident. Though he might be saying “I can’t believe I have to put on another show tonight” – He knows it’s a special night for his fans and he puts his heart and soul into every performance. He seems as eager to be performing now as he was in his early days. His energy at 60 blows away most young musicians in their 20’s!
4) Bruce’s respect for his audience is deep and this translates into their huge respect for him. Bruce surfs the crowd with ease – singing away, appearing perfectly relaxed while his safety is in the hands of the crowd – The trust he shows in his audience translates into their further respect for them. Bruce’s offstage behavior also engenders the respect of his audience. He remains true to his roots. He doesn’t charge more than $100 for a ticket (still outrageous but inexpensive compared to other big names.) He releases 1000 tickets on the day of the show to make sure that scalpers can’t profit on his customers. He stands up for issues he believes in and issues that affect the demographics of his audience.
5) Bruce is as good at 60 as he was in his thirties. His recent tour is anything but a revival tour as his band may right now be producing their best music ever! As a professional, Bruce has taken care of his voice and can sing every bit as well as he did years ago. His last album – Working on a Dream is one of the better albums he has ever produced. Watching his energy on stage, it’s clear he is still in excellent physical condition. (Did you see his knee slide during his Super bowl halftime performance?) Unlike many musicians it’s clear that Bruce has chosen to live a healthy lifestyle and it has paid off in spades!
6) Bruce is a tremendous role model who exemplifies professionalism.
As a wilderness program director, it is important for me to be a role model to my students and instructors. Watching Bruce as a leader is inspirational I hope I can approach my life’s work with the same camaraderie, passion and energy at age 60 – ten years from now as Bruce currently does. He is an inspiration. If he is coming to your city in the next two weeks – don’t miss him! His actions speak more loudly than his voice!
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