Browse by Band, Artist, or Leadership Theme
Each week we feature a different band or artist, sometimes a few. Read articles covering the bands or topics below.
Bands & Artists
Your brain wants what it knows… and craves to learn things it doesn’t. Music is the perfect vehicle for both of those. We select a combination of proven artists with cuts from deeper on the albums or playlists that you may not know, and we challenge us all to try genres we are not familiar with, to see what we can learn that is both familiar and different. Every artist below is a week (sometimes two) of short leadership articles built on that artist’s story and songs. Pick a genre, pick a band, and start reading.
Start with the most-read series
- The Partridge Family — was it a real band? A week on Healing, from a TV family that made real records
- Styx — the Chicago band’s story and a week of articles on Goals
- The Avett Brothers — yes, they really are brothers; two weeks on Thanks and Promise
- The Moody Blues — how the band got its name, and a series on leading from The Middle
- Lester Young — “Prez” and a week on Power
- Benny Goodman — the King of Swing on Diversity, and on being Right vs Effective
- Sammy Davis Jr — a week on Performance and executive presence
- Van Halen — two weeks on Guts and Opportunity
- Van Morrison — two weeks on Differences and Happiness
- Cat Stevens — a week on Decisions, and a 2025 series on Outcomes
Rock
The deepest bench on the site: Styx, the Moody Blues, U2, Van Halen, Santana, Eric Clapton and more — each band gets a week, sometimes two, of leadership articles built on its story and its songs.
Jazz
Bandleaders and soloists — Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Art Blakey, Weather Report, Return to Forever — on listening, timing, and knowing when to let someone else take the solo.
Soul
Ray Charles, the Staple Singers, Sly and the Family Stone and the Fifth Dimension: conviction, community and finding a voice of your own.
Singers
Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr — presence, craft and carrying a room on your own.
Blues
Bo Diddley and Son House — the roots of everything else here: honesty, persistence and building something from very little.
Bluegrass / Americana
The Avett Brothers — a family band on gratitude, promises and the discipline of playing together.
Classical
J. S. Bach and Handel on structure, patience and the long game of building something that outlasts you.
Leadership Themes
Topics for each week are selected from challenges that have been experienced by leaders at all levels of various organizations. They come from actual life experiences, and are often highlighted with personal stories that are “anonymous” for everyone but the author 😉 They are built around best practices and approaches that have been proven to work, mostly because the opposite is what was tried. Each article can stand alone, and also fits into a framework of 7 articles that stick together on a topic and group to illustrate it from those different perspectives.
For a deeper dive into the empower framework, visit this page.