Ok, so this is one of my favorite lyrics, from one of my favorite lyricists, so maybe it’s a stretch if I’m trying to a leadership lesson from Bruce.
But I think not. I think there are leadership lessons in a multitude of song lyrics, and titles. They’re there for us, if we’re only willing to look:
- Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny – Could it possibly be that Bruce knew we needed perspective. That time would heal all wounds. That even the things that seem insurmountable now, that most upset us now, would be easier in a few months (or years). That the horrendous boss would make great stories in days to come. The client project that blew up in your face would teach you something that you could use on your next project. That the job you lost would keep you available for the job you really wanted. Look back at the things that seemed unsurvivable years ago, and see if there is humor (and learning) in at least some of them.
- Slow down you move too fast – Need I say more. I was gardening the other day – well actually I was clearing out hanging baskets for the winter. Only I was in hurry. And as I rushed through I didn’t notice that I was bending down to tend the baskets next to a prickly bush…with burrs…that got caught in my hair. So that’s a personal example, but we all know that we can move too fast, and moving too fast can nearly, if not totally, wreck relationships, teams, reports, projects… just to name a few.
- You May Be Right – So perhaps Billy Joel wasn’t offering a leadership lesson with his lyrics, and yet the title of this song is worth repeating over and over. Especially when we know that we’re right and whoever that “you” is, is entirely wrong. It helps to remember that all of us may be right, at the same time. That the truth is often slippery and there are many ways to view nearly everything. When I remind myself, “Hey, Lisa, you may be right,” I also remind myself that I may not be.
- You’ve Got a Friend – When we feel at our worst, our loneliest. When we’re stuck in that issue, that circumstance, that we need to look back on in a few years and hopefully find it funny. When we’re first promoted into management and we have no idea what to do. These are the times when we need to know we’re not alone. When it helps to remember that we’ve got a friend.
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – Still working on this one, what do you think? Although I get the “life goes on” part.
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