A Leadership Observation from the Richmond Folk Festival
The 2025 Richmond Folk Festival
We met friends in Richmond, Virginia, to attend the 21st Richmond Folk Festival. The event draws nearly 200,000 people each year and gave me a chance to listen to music I rarely or have never heard before. I listened to musical genres that were entirely new for me.
Here are a few highlights.
Zydeco: Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys – It is impossible to listen to zydeco and not smile.
Québécois: Cécilia – This was my first time hearing this genre, which blends French, Scottish, and Irish influences. The group impressed me even more Because their lead fiddle player was replaced last-minute, and they didn’t miss a beat.
Juré: The Broussard Sisters – Juré is a form of a cappella music that includes clapping and stomping. It dates back to antebellum Louisiana and draws from West African, Caribbean, and Gullah traditions.
Bluegrass: The Amanda Cook Band – I've followed Amanda’s for a while. This was my first time seeing her live.
Squares & Two Steps: This session was a collaboration between Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, Cécilia, and Villa 5 (Northern Mexican Music). Watching talented musicians from very different backgrounds collaborate and play together was a treat.
You might wonder how this connects to leadership. I don’t expect to become a regular listener of these genres, but it was refreshing to stretch my horizons. I noticed how elements of these styles influence the music I usually enjoy.
From a leadership perspective, the festival reminded me how valuable it is to explore what lies beyond. In Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein explores the importance and power of broad knowledge across many. We all have a core specialty. To use it well, we have to understand how that domain impacts and is impacted by the world around us.
The Biltmore Estate
To break up the drive, we stopped in Asheville, North Carolina, to tour the Biltmore Estate. George Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius, began construction of the house in 1889. It opened in 1895, but parts of the estate were not finished in George’s lifetime.
The scale of this kind of wealth his hard for me to imagine. The super wealthy have always made what most of us would call extravagant purchases. Today, they build bunkers and buy mega yachts. I wrote this section because a newsletter I received over the weekend had this quote.
“The thing that is least perceived about wealth is that all pleasure in money ends at the point where economy becomes unnecessary. The man who can buy anything he covets, without any consultation with his banker, values nothing that he buys.” – William James Dawson
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts
Here is an interesting exploration of lobbying in the Federal government.
Six-Chart Sunday – Influence | Bruce Mehlman's Age of Disruption
The impact observation has on behavior has long been a topic of discussion. In business, the adage has been that you get what you measure and reward. Sometimes with unintended consequences.
Are observers fundamental to physics, or simply byproducts of it? | Aeon
Take time to enjoy the world around you. Be present. Do not multitask. Put the phone down.
I didn’t understand these 7 simple pleasures—until I saw how much boomers cherish them | VegOut
Drones will quickly become a nuisance. I fear drone pollution. When Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, Pizza Hut, and other retailers start delivering to our neighborhoods, we'll feel like we live in a beehive.
I like the idea of the reverse bucket list. It’s Marie Kondo for ideas.
Happiness researcher explains how making a 'reverse bucket list' can change your life | Upworthy
We need to think more about small grid solutions.
This roof is hiding a secret: sleek new wind turbines you can barely see | Fast Company
Quotes
“The world is incomprehensibly beautiful.”
- Ansel Adams
“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”
- Stephen R. Covey
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
- Albert Einstein
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I write about leadership in business and life. I am a certified M&A Specialist and Leadership coach. My perspectives are based on my 40+ year career working with leaders from around the world at over 100 companies.
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