All I Need to Know About Business I Learned From Lady Gaga

On 60 Minutes a couple of weeks ago, Anderson Cooper interviewed Lady Gaga before the Grammys. Lady Gaga is an intriguing person to say the least and I expected nothing less than an interesting interview. Even if you know nothing about her music, you likely know who she is or would recognize an image of her. In a short two years, she has become an icon of a generation and continues to captivate audiences around the world. She’s not doing too shabby financially either: Forbes expects her to cash in to the tune of $100 million over the next year. Besides wearing dresses made completely of meat, often donning headpieces that completely cover her face, and rarely wearing pants, Lady Gaga has some insightful life lessons for all of us that can be applied in the context of any business venture:

1. Start with talent and vision.
2. Draw a lot of attention to the things that you want people to pay attention to, so they won’t pay attention to the things you don’t want them to pay attention to.
3. Be fiercely loyal to your supporters.
4. Don’t lie.
5. Periodically reinvent yourself to continue to be relevant.
6. Thank your management, all the time.
7. Don’t just think big, think huge.
8. Acknowledge those who have inspired you.
9. Don’t forget where you came from.
10. Be a student of what you are producing. Study and become an expert in your product and in your image.

The next time I see a picture of Lady Gaga with a ridiculous outfit, or walking through the streets of London in January with no pants, I will stop and think about what her strategy was, what her next move might be, and what we could all learn from it.