I’m a long time Springsteen fan. Over the holidays, I read Dave Marsh’s book, “Two Hearts” which is a biography of Bruce through 2003. This book left quite an impression on me. That impression wasn’t about Bruce’s musical ability. I already knew he was one of the greatest musicians of the last few generations. It had to do with his leadership. There are some key lessons from Bruce Springsteen as a leader that are worth our attention. His critical and industry successes coupled with his longevity and relevance make him a very credible role model.

Never phone it in
At last year’s Superbowl, the band had twelve minutes to play during halftime. They decided on a four-song set-list: Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Born to Run, Working on a Dream, and Glory Days. The band has probably played three of those songs over 1,000 times each. Yet, according to Clarence Clemons in his book, Big Man, the band rehearsed four hours a day for the two weeks prior to the show.

One reporter commented that in one rehearsal the band finished at eleven minutes, forty-six seconds. Bruce’s response was, “We have fourteen more seconds to fill”. When it comes to his message, Bruce is unwilling to give up even one second.

Bruce does not go on autopilot. He sees every event as a new and unique opportunity to tell his story. He maximizes every moment.

Don’t settle for the first good idea
Born in the USA has twelve tracks. In making the album, Bruce wrote and the band recorded over sixty songs. Some songs that didn’t make the cut went on to success on future albums. Half of the songs on the Born in the USA album (including the title track) were written when he was working on Nebraska. Bruce doesn’t stop at his first good idea (or his first twelve in the case of an album). He continues generate even more good ideas. Then he steps back to determine which of those ideas are right for the moment. He’ll keep a blockbuster song off an album if it doesn’t fit. It’s no wonder that Born In the USA had seven top ten singles (which ties him for the most single from an album with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation) and was in the Billboard 200 for over two years.

Make every interaction a new opportunity to connect
Bruce’s reputation was built on his on-stage performance. His three plus hour concerts have been called everything from parties to revivals. As the ad on E-Street Radio says, “if you don’t remember every concert you’ve been to, you haven’t been to a concert.” This isn’t just due to their length. It’s due to the meticulous attention and energy that Bruce puts in to every moment of the concert. He regularly changes the set list on the fly and often waits until the intermission to write the set list for the second half of the show. No two concerts are the same.

Regardless of the number of times he’s played a song, he approaches each one as if it were new. He doesn’t let his message, his song, or his performance become rote. He keeps it alive by adapting to what is happening around him.

Have confidence in your vision and stick to it
Nebraska is a dark, acoustic album. He wrote it at the tail end of the disco era and during the emergence of techno-rock. Most people told him that it would be a commercial bust. Yet, he persisted. While Nebraska might not have sold as many copies as some of his other albums, it is one of his most critically acclaimed albums. It helped build his reputation as a master storyteller. Bruce doesn’t measure his success based on the short-term sales of an album. He measures it on his collective body of work and the impact it has. As a result, he is able to maintain the integrity of his vision and his relevance regardless of the current trends.

Tell a story/stay on message
Bruce doesn’t consider himself merely an entertainer. He has a message to convey to his audience. He works painstakingly on his lyrics to ensure that he is telling his story properly. Then he will experiment with different arrangements (sometimes quite different) until he finds the music that best carries those lyrics and the story. An example of Bruce’s attention to detail to his story is the saxophone solo in Jungleland. The two and a half minute solo took sixteen hours to record. Bruce and Clarence went over it note by note until it finally told its part of the Jungleland story.

Even in sequencing songs on an album Bruce focus on telling a story. Even now, with “albums” being delivered on CD or via download, Bruce thinks about his album as a front side and backside ensuring there is a coherent theme on each and integration between them.

He once said, “I’m not worried about how many people get the record in their hands – I’m concerned with how many people get it.” He treats his message as a bond between him and his audience. He nurtures that message and thus that bond.

Don’t let your message get co-opted
The hard-rocking anthem, Born in the USA confused many people. The song was a statement about the country’s betrayal of the Vietnam Vets. Yet, some people couldn’t get past the beat. Politicians on both the left and the right (most notably Ronald Regan) tried to link themselves to Bruce Springsteen and the song. At the time, Bruce wasn’t very political. However, although he wasn’t as interested in making his politics public, he was very concerned about his message. He made a specific point of publically clarifying his positions, the meaning of the song, and even his level of support (or lack of support) for the people trying to use his message. He even changed to a playing it in a dark, bitter, acoustic style which could not be misinterpreted. He did revert to the album’s original arrangement years later. However, at the beginning of the Gulf War he went back to the acoustic version. He manages his message very carefully.

Continue to grow and evolve
Bruce’s music has changed significantly over the years often at the risk of alienating his fan base. He doesn’t simply take a wining “formula” and continue it. Rather, he looks for the next message or the next opportunity that he wants to conquer. He said that the life experiences that influenced the characters he wrote about in his 20s were now different. He knew that in real life those characters would grow up and face different challenges just as he did. His music reflects that. He has done almost as much work on his own as he has with the E Street Band – another opportunity for him to grow and develop as a person and an artist.

As a leader Bruce wasn’t scared to let go of the tried and true. He knew that he must grow if he was going to remain relevant. Despite warning to the contrary, his old fans (and many of his new fans) chose to take that journey with him. Wouldn’t it be great if all leaders could say that about their people or their customers?

It’s your turn to be the Boss
Not every leader wears a suit or sits in a big office. Bruce Springsteen has led a band, a very successful and lucrative musical enterprise, and has inspired millions of people worldwide. Perhaps there is something we can learn. Of course, in some ways this post violates some of the lessons it proposes. There is no way to capture the full story with a smattering of examples and stories. For the real story and for what I believe to be a fascinating study of leadership, read Dave Marsh’s book, “Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, The Story“