I love to teach leadership lessons inspired by pop culture references. Last week I drew leadership lessons from Napoleon Dynamite. That lesson was targeted at people my age and younger. Some of my older readers may not have gotten much out of it. I’d like to balance that out with an article that will likely resonate with people my age and older.

In 1976, Boston released their debut self-titled album, with the hit, “Peace of Mind.” Fast forward 20 years, this song was a regular on every classic rock station. To me and everyone else my age, Boston is on the shortlist of the best classic rock bands.

Unfortunately, if you tune into a classic rock station nowadays, you get the rude awakening of late 90s and early 2000s music. That never ceases to irritate me, mostly because it means I am now old, which I cannot yet accept.

Now, onto the song.

Tom Scholz wrote the song reflecting on his engineering career at a large corporation. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, then worked as a senior product design engineer at Polaroid before his music career took off.

Tom would fit right in with us. Many of my readers are highly trained engineers working in big corporations. What did he experience 50 years ago, and how does it apply to us today?

Now if you’re feeling kind of low about the dues you’ve been paying
Future’s coming much too slow
And you want to run, but somehow you just keep on staying
Can’t decide on which way to go

Everyone knows that working in large corporations can be a soul-sucking experience. You feel like a cog in a machine. You’re “paying your dues,” but you’re never sure what you’ll get in return. At times, you dream about leaving, but you don’t.

I think most of us highly relate to this problem statement. In fact, if I were to boil down my leadership calling to just one thing, it would be to render this condition obsolete. If you’d like to read more about my origin story on this line of thinking, read this article.

Tom gets to the point in the chorus:

I understand about indecision
But I don’t care if I get behind
People living in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind

I understand those dilemmas. It’s demoralizing if you feel like you can’t get ahead. Your efforts go unnoticed. Meanwhile, you watch your conniving coworkers sabotaging each other to get promoted, and you see that it actually works. You’re left questioning the whole system, and rightly so.

He goes even deeper in the next verse:

Now you’re climbing to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn’t take too long
Can’t you see there’ll come a day when it won’t matter
Come a day when you’ll be gone

As a guy who has climbed more than a few of those rungs, this hits hard. I want my career to count for something. It’s not more important than my family or my wellbeing, but it’s still important to me.

In the 3^rd verse, he makes his closing argument:

Now everybody’s got advice, they just keep on giving
Doesn’t mean too much to me
Lots of people out to make believe they’re living
Can’t decide who they should be

People give useless advice and live in a fake world with no sense of identity. Well, it just so happens that I’m one of those guys that gives leadership advice. But Zach on Leadership didn’t exist in 1976, so I don’t take Tom’s criticism personally.

What’s the solution? Quit your job and become a famous rockstar. Then you can enjoy your peace of mind. Any advice for the rest of us working stiffs? That’s where I come in.

Peace of Mind: Zach on Leadership Edition

Is ambition bad? Sometimes. Are you driven by wealth, status, and ego? If so, that’s not going to satisfy you. Are you driven by a worthy purpose? If so, that’s worth fighting for.

Is competition bad? Sometimes. Some corporate cultures create an environment of scarcity where employees need to undercut each other to succeed. Other companies recognize that how employees work is just as important as the work itself. The ends don’t justify the means. The means matter too. I’ve got a competitive streak in me. I like to succeed, but not at the expense of my relationships with my colleagues.

Is it wrong to climb the corporate ladder? No, as long as you don’t do so at the expense of your family. I’ve written many times on this blog that I prioritize time with my family. Has that cost me career advancement? Not as far as I can tell. Why? Because I do my best work when I’m rested and have a healthy family life.

Should I fake it until I make it? No. Not ever. This world needs more authentic leaders. Be yourself. Grow, but don’t ever change.

Peace of mind

The end goal of this is peace of mind. In 2024, we call that mental health. Can you have it and be a working professional at a large corporation? Yes. How is that possible? Leadership. I want everyone who works for me to have peace of mind. I want them to have a sense of purpose. I want them to be authentic. I want them to succeed while working collaboratively with their coworkers. I want them to build their careers while making a remarkable life with their families. I want them to look back with a sense of satisfaction, not regret.

That takes leaders. I cannot do it alone. That’s why I write this blog. We need more leaders who can solve this problem so clearly identified nearly 50 years ago.

Take a look ahead. The future is bright.

If you have yet to rock out to Boston’s “Peace of Mind” today, click here.

If you enjoy leadership lessons from music, check out Jon Beattie’s blog, “Music & Management Musings.”

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