What Bruce can teach CEOs

27 April 1994 is remembered by some as the date that Richard Nixon was put to rest, and also the day that South Africans voted in the first all-race elections. 27 April 2008 is when I experienced Bruce Springsteen and the boys on E Street for the first time in concert.

OK, dork alert… yes, I grew up in the Northeast, with my Dad growing up in Jersey. I am an unabashed Springsteen fan, and have been known to drop lyric references into conversation. No, our next son will not be named Bruce, but Clarence… we shall see. What does this have to do with me and my approach to what I do?

Last October, Rick Newman blogged on S’News’ site about “What Springsteen can teach CEOs.” Some very salient points about marketing a brand which is getting more seasoned. In any case… here’s what I learned from watching Bruce and the band:

Change is good… opening the show with a powerful “Souls of the Departed” which took on a heavier meaning in the wake of Danny Federici’s death.

Paying attention to what the customers / fans wanted: The show was in Charlotte, so a reference to Darlington County was not unexpected. However… Bruce went into the song after a young girl held up a sign that said “I like you more than Hannah Montana. Darlington County Please!!” So, for the chorus of “sha-la-las,” said young lass was pulled on stage to sing with the man who was 5 decades older than she was. Very sweet, very touching, I got verklempt.

And the man can still move around a ton at 58. Amazing. Inspiring. Freaky. Since it’s release in 1975, I can only imagine that “Born to Run” has been sung thousands of times. But for me, and for anybody else who tossed a Franklin into the coffers for a seat, it did not matter what had come before. This was the first, and possibly last time I would hear it live.

How does this affect what I do? Each wedding is different. Each portrait I shoot, or each family I work with is unique. I do not have a set formula, preferring to let the natural moments tell the stories. But the time that I spend with each couple, or family, or group, or private commission must be thought as a one off, existing only in it’s own universe… not compared to what I have shot before.

My style will remain consistent… just as Bruce will not expect tramps like us to sit through Born to Run on bagpipes. But what has come before should be seen as the basis for understanding from where the work will evolve. OK, it’s late and I may not have made any sense.

But here’s the nut of the theme: Give it your all, love what you do, and then what you create will be the best that is possible. We only get one shot at life, and that is something I force myself to remember each morning.