What corporate America can learn from Lady Gaga
It’s my personal opinion that corporate America – whether product or service – can learn a lesson from Lady Gaga. I believe she is one of the most compelling brands of this decade. I think those who criticize her do so based solely upon her public persona and how the media portrays her. I challenge them to at least listen to her latest albums, The Fame and Fame Monster. I think they would be surprised at her versatility and find her a true impresario/phenom.
That being said, I am impressed with the person and the brand and here I’ve compiled my top 10 reasons why corporate America can take a page from her example.
1. Be something people talk about. If they’re not talking about you then you’re dead in the water.
2. Be original. Despite criticism of drawing from others, no one has ever seen this kind of persona before. Some have come close: Madonna, Elton John, Annie Lennox, but none have risen to her level of performance art in my opinion. Sure Grace Jones has been out on a limb, but she has never captured the commercial appeal of LG.
3. Be respectful. LG admits that she readily draws upon her inspirations, many mentioned above. She’s not trying to fool anyone. All great talent draws upon other great talent for inspiration. None of us operate in a vacuum.
4. Know who you are, but evolve. This woman knows exactly who she is and does not apologize to anyone.
5. Be daring. Dangling from a wire covered in blood? Smashing a glass box holding a piano on fire? Most artists would be afraid to go to this extreme, and instead pander to a mainstream audience and the media. Not her. In every interview I’ve seen, she tells her truth. Period.
6. Back up your claims with talent. This woman can sing. She can play a mean piano too. Just when you think you know what kind of artist she is, she becomes someone else surprising.
7. Know where you came from. She constantly acknowledges her “little monsters,” and her gay supporters and in my opinion, will never abandon them.
8. Be humble. Have you ever seen her in an interview? She is genuine and humble in the face of enormous popularity and fame.
9. Have a purpose. She is dedicated to “love and art” in her own words and in the past “felt like a freak.” Her goal she says “is to reach out to her younger audience who also feel like freaks and help them know that “it is possible for them to carve out their own place in the world.”
10. Rock. Life is a party. Show up. Have a good time. Don’t take it all so seriously and find the magic in your own existence. It’s that simple. Now fly.
