The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Night in Pop

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

In 1985, forty-six of the biggest names in music walked into a studio on Sunset Boulevard after the American Music Awards. No press, no leaks, just purpose.We Are the World was not just a song, it was a project. A one-night mission to create something that would feed millions of people suffering from famine in Africa.In this episode of People, Process, Progress, Kevin revisits the story he first explored in a March 2024 Hope is NOT a Plan episode, this time through the lens of leadership, culture, and the Seven Project Pillars.Through the calm and clarity of Quincy Jones and the creativity of Lionel Richie, this team turned ego into empathy and chaos into collaboration.You will learn how thought leadership, intentional communication, and structured coordination helped them pull off one of the greatest overnight projects in history, and how those same lessons apply to your projects and teams today.Episode Quote:“Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie did not lead through control, they led through trust, and they showed us that people will rise to the mission when the purpose is clear and the tone is right.”

Imagine this. It's late at night in Los Angeles. The American Music Awards have just wrapped up and instead of heading to after parties, 46 of the biggest names in music quietly head to a recording studio on Sunset Boulevard. No headlines, no posts, no leaks, just whispers. Spring sing flies in straight from a concert, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Cindy Lauper, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie all under one roof. Every one of them used to being the star and the mission, record one song and one night for one cause to help save lives in Africa. This isn't a concert, it's a project. A massive high-stakes overnight effort run in total secrecy led by a producer and a songwriter who turned ego and chaos into harmony and impact. Welcome to People Process Progress. I'm Kevin Pennell, author of The Stability Equation and The People Process and Progress.

progress of project management. On this podcast and the People Process Progress YouTube channel, I share lessons from life, leadership, training, and exercise ideas to help you own your growth, align your work, and anchor your teams through practical steps. Now let's get into it. Some of you might remember when I first talked about We Are the World back in March 24 on my hope is not a plan podcast. Today, I'm going to revisit that moment, but through a fresh lens. Because what Quincy Jones and Lionel Richly pulled off that night wasn't just art, It was thought leadership in action. It was project management at the human level, intent, communication, calm under pressure.

If you've seen the greatest night and pop on Netflix, and if you haven't, I highly recommend that you do, you know how easily this could have fallen apart, but it didn't. And that's because they lived out what I call the seven project pillars, the foundation for how we plan, lead, and deliver. Pillar one started with purpose, right? The intent was clear, unite the biggest artists in the world to bring attention, compassion, and real help to millions of people starving in Africa. Quincy Jones made it even clearer with the sign he hung on the studio door. Check your ego at the door.

How awesome is that? It wanted a suggestion either. It was a cultural contract. Intent drives alignment, and that's what separated this project from chaos. Everyone knew why they were there. and then we get the pillar two the definition of done done wasn't about perfection in this case it was about purpose they had one night the goal was simple record the song mix it and deliver something the world could feel in our work done can easily drift the project reminds us

that success isn't always about polish it's about impact imagine the impact we other world has had pillar three is smart objectives they didn't call them smart goals back then but that's exactly what they had right they were specific record a song in one session they were measurable capture every vocal harmony achievable simplify the structure to fit the room's energy relevant tie it all to humanitarian relief time bound be finished before sunrise when we make our objectives that clear our teams can move faster stay aligned even the middle of a night even in a room loaded with the biggest stars in music pillar four functional structure With that many stars, the structure held.

Quincy Jones led as the producer, Lana Ritchie, supported as a songwriter and a guide, and the engineers served as quiet facilitators. And if you watch the episode, you can see everybody moving around. There's so many people in this room, right? They're like scrum masters, keeping flow without stealing the focus. And no one fought for the spotlight because leadership created space for everyone to contribute, and they identified when stars maybe were uncomfortable, didn't fit their part or weren't sure, and they would move people around, right?

Functional organization done right. Pillar 5, resource coordination. Think about what it took to coordinate this. 46 artists, dozens of sound engineers, global recording rights, logistics, and an overnight timeline. We didn't have Slack or Teams or email. It was phones and trust and word of mouth, right?

That is raw project management and it was super effective. And this was resource coordination built on relationships, not any kind of software. Politics communication, this was pivotal, right? Quincy and Lionel didn't command. They communicated. They give direction through calm and confidence, not volume.

They didn't tell people what to do. They invited them to be part of something bigger. Right? That's thought leadership. Not about control, about making those connections, and you can see it in the faces and the emotions of everybody that wanted to be and was involved in this project. In our world, in project management, program management, leadership, the same principle applies, right? how we speak shapes how people respond calm is contagious but so is clarity and pillar seven

handoff right when the night ended and the final note faded they did it the song was ready for the world right the handoff was powerful share it sell it save lives the result more than 60 million dollars was raised for family relief and that legacy still inspires right there were many more fundraisers after that and good projects deliver outputs right Great ones deliver outcomes that echo for decades that have lasting impact that people can see that they care about. Quincy Jones and Lana Ritchie didn't lead through spreadsheets. They didn't have time for Gant charts. They led through trust, culture, presence, the essence of thought leadership, right?

Seeing the bigger picture, bringing others into it and helping them believe that it's possible. They showed us that people will rise to the mission when the purpose is clear and the tone is right. So as you think about your next project, your next meeting, your next meeting, your next chance to bring people together, remember that sign that said, check your ego at the door. Set intent before you set tasks, create order that fuels creativity, and leading a way that lets others shine. That's how you can turn the pressure into progress. Thank you for listening to People Process Progress. This episode helped or resonated with you. Share it with your team or fellow leader. And if you haven't, go watch The Greatest Night in Pop. It's one of the best leadership

case studies you'll ever see. And just keep people first. process align, progress together. You can get in touch with me and follow and learn more at peopleprocessprogress.com. Godspeed, y'all.