Ripple

I've always enjoyed music by the American rock band, The Grateful Dead, even if I am nowhere near to being called a "Deadhead" (I never once saw them play live, which I think is a requirement).  I owned at least three Grateful Dead albums over the years - American Beauty (one of their greatest), Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of the Grateful Dead, and What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been.  Their fifth studio album American Beauty was released in November 1970, and it is fantastic!  The song "Ripple" is one of my favorite songs on the album.  It was originally released as the B-side single of "Truckin'", and it has grown in popularity over the years, even though the band rarely played it live (I read somewhere that they have only played the song live just 40 times over their many years of touring).  The song was written by long-time lyricist and former member Robert Hunter.  Founding member and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia added the melody, and the song debuted on August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

In 2024, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Ripple" at number 334 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  It really is a great song.  More importantly, it's a great song with an even greater message.  The song has been called a meditation (some have even called the song a spiritual hymn) on the journey through life, wisdom, and relevant to this blog, leadership.  Here are the lyrics to the song:

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine

And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung

Would you hear my voice come through the music?

Would you hold it near as it were your own?

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken

Perhaps they're better left unsung

I don't know, don't really care

Let there be songs to fill the air

Ripple in still water

When there is no pebble tossed

Nor wind to blow

Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty

If your cup is full, may it be again

Let it be known there is a fountain

That was not made by the hands of men

There is a road, no simple highway

Between the dawn, and the dark of night

And if you go, no one may follow

That path is for your steps alone

Ripple in still water

When there is no pebble tossed

Nor wind to blow

You who choose to lead must follow

But if you fall you fall alone

If you should stand then who's to guide you?

If I knew the way I would take you home.

The late Jerry Garcia once suggested that he felt like a Presbyterian minister whenever he was singing this song.  The late Bob Weir, founding member, songwriter, and guitarist, said that he was frequently asked by Deadheads to sing and play the song "on their way out" when they were on their deathbeds.  Longtime Deadhead, NBA basketball player, and Hall of Fame NBA Coach Phil Jackson used lines from the song ("There is a road, no simple highway...") in his philosophy of basketball and life (see his great book, Eleven Rings - see also my posts, "White Elephants and Wheelwrights" and "Chop wood, carry water").

The title of the song ("Ripple") is often interpreted as the idea that small actions, words, or moments of kindness spread outward, influencing others in ways we may never fully see—like ripples on the water.  I think that same sentiment applies to leadership.  The impact that we have as leaders spreads outward like ripples on the water.  One of the lines in the song ("You who choose to lead must follow...But if you fall you fall alone...If you should stand then who's to guide you?") speaks to a theme that I've often referred to in this blog, the so-called loneliness of leadership (see "12 O'Clock High", "Reflections on leadership", "It's lonely at the top", and "Now is the time to lead").  Leaders often stand alone and bear the ultimate responsibility for many, if not all, of their decisions.

There is apparently an additional verse from an earlier draft of the song that wasn't used in the final recorded and released version.  The line speaks to two of the most important leadership characteristics, wisdom and humility.  As I've stated in the past, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates said of wisdom, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."  The narrator in "Ripple" would agree ("The wisest man is but a pilgrim, he will not claim to know the way").  However, in order to recognize that you can't know everything requires a certain degree of humility as well, which is why humility is one of the most important leadership traits of all (see my posts, "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble...", "Lessons in humility" and "Be humble").

The wisest man is but a pilgrim

He will not claim to know the way

He will not promise dreams of glory

His words are few and his ways are kind.

The song's lyrics suggest that some of life's deepest truths can't just be taught, but they rather have to be experienced firsthand. For example, the line used by Phil Jackson in his coaching philosophy ("There is a road, no simple highway") implies that each person has to find their own path.  Again, I think that this also applies to leadership.  I've stated many times that I do not believe that we are born with a ready-made set of traits, characteristics, and skills that make for great leadership (see, for example, "Once again...are leaders born or made?" and "Why do giraffes have long necks?").  However, genetics definitely play a role - some studies suggest that approximately 30% of leadership probably comes from the traits and personalities that we inherit.  The majority of leadership development, however, occurs through our experience - we gain "leadership wisdom" all along the way.  There is a well-known model of leadership development called the "70-20-10" rule that states that leadership development is 70% experiential ("learning by doing"), 20% social ("learning from coaching and mentorship"), and 10% didactic ("learning through formalized education).  

The song ends on a hopeful note ("If I knew the way I would take you home").  Even though the road is difficult and uncertain, there is beauty, guidance, and companionship along the way.  Life is a journey, just like leadership.  Trust the journey, rather than fear it.  Finally, the song suggests that there is a higher power ("Let it be known there is a fountain...That was not made by the hands of men") that is always there to help guide us through life, and that too is an amazing, reassuring, and beautiful thing.  Check out and enjoy the song, "Ripple" by the Grateful Dead.