Leadership 101—wait, no, 1st Day of Kindergarten: Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right. Do you remember that oldie but goodie? Me, too! OK, good, because I am about to, respectfully, disagree with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. But before you get your knickers in a knot, let me add, I absolutely understand his side of the argument.

If you are unfamiliar with the story, Springsteen agreed to use Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” which meant, due to obvious demand for his tour, some ticket prices skyrocketed to over $5,000 each. To be fair, for the past 50 years he has tried to keep his ticket prices under market value which completely aligns with his brand, right? But now, when he’s arguably the most financially secure, he decided to, “do what everybody else is doing, my peers.” And to his point, I would add, “Yes, but…”. Back to Kindergarten—just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right. And if anyone can stand up to the broken system called Tickemaster, it could almost only be Springsteen. 

Look, I like Springsteen and I don’t begrudge him all the money he can earn when going on tour, but I didn’t expect this of him. He and his fan base are fiercely loyal to each other, but not on this one. His actions reminded me of that lesson we discussed- Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right. Look around you. What are you doing simply because everyone else is doing it? How are you leading at home or at work? Some decisions are really hard because they will put us in a very lonely place—but it’s often the right place, because it’s the right thing to do. 

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
Beth