Five Lessons And A Playlist
I don’t own a friendship bracelet. I’ve never been to one of her concerts. I hadn’t been following her career. But sometime in 2022, Taylor Swift walked up a side door ramp and took up residence in my brain. I’m not sure how or why she did that, but there she is, sometimes at three in the morning.
It’s not about the $740 million in earnings that made her America’s 34th-ranked female CEO in that year, even before the latest tour launched.
It’s not just because Facebook’s algorithm keeps sending me video clips of her Eras tour that my infinitely-distractible ADHD brain gobbles up like potato chips. It’s not just because I like the costume designs, the esprit de corps of her dancers (and Kam!), the dynamic sets, the visual effects, the under-stage pulley system, the cleaning-cart entry.
I like the way she creates lyrics out of perfectly ordinary words. I like her relentless determination to be a professional musician. I admire her resilience in the face of harsh criticism and tough experiences. I admire her courage and vulnerability in sharing the stories of her heart, and I’m in awe of what happens when she does. I admire her ability to choose and lead a creative team bound by profound trust to deliver the thousands of small things that have to go right on a massive tour.
“I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you.” ~ Taylor Swift, The Archer
As her record-breaking Eras tour wraps up this week, I’m cheering for Taylor Swift. Rather than keep all that fangirling to myself, I thought I’d take a moment to share with those who care to hear them…
1: Live in Gratitude
Remember that you owe everything you achieve to the people who said yes, who keep saying yes. Taylor’s customers are her fans. Your fans are your customers. Keep finding ways to listen to them, honor them, recognize them, see and hear them for who they are, find yourself in their challenges and their stories. Right this moment, as the owner of your own business, no matter how tough your day is, their support is letting you live a life you only dreamed of.
Know — really notice — all the things that your team, your partners, and your clients do for you that make your success possible. You might not have a hundred thousand dollars apiece in bonuses to give your team members, like Taylor gave to her road crew drivers on the Eras Tour, but you do have ways to show your profound appreciation for everything they bring to the game every day. Find those things and do those things.
2: Bring Your Resilience.
Loss happens. What matters is what you do next. In 2018, after many years of prestigious awards and recognition, Taylor Swift did not win a single Grammy. “#TaylorSwiftIsOverParty was the number one trend on Twitter worldwide. Do you know how many people have to be tweeting that they hate you for that to happen?” Can you even imagine? She didn’t complain that it wasn’t fair. “I just need to make a better record. I’m making a better record,” she said. She stepped out of the limelight for a while and regrouped. She went on to make, and then break, extraordinary records between 2018 and 2024.
The average Govcon has a 25% win rate: they lose 3 for every one they win. Expect to lose; when you do, embrace and embody the lessons that come with the loss. Then move forward with grace and power.
3: Invest In A Great GovCon Lawyer.
Ensure that you safeguard your interests, including your intellectual property, right from the start. If you make mistakes – and you will – regroup, and recover. Persist. I guarantee you’ll make fewer mistakes if you engage the right experienced GovCon attorney before you have problems.
When Taylor lost ownership of the rights to the masters of her first six albums, she figured out a way to regain her IP. She committed the time and resources – including while on tour ! – to record and release “Taylor’s Version” of new masters. She’s now recreating her entire catalog of over a decade of music to regain her IP. As if she didn’t have enough to do.
While you probably don’t have the kind of resources to do something like that, the investment in the right GovCon attorney makes it much less likely that you’ll ever need to. It always costs less to do it right the first time.
4: Prepare For (& Own Up To) Mistakes, And Respond With Grace
We’ve all had Powerpoint failures and dropped WIFI signals, and had to push through days when personal events nearly overtake professional ones.
Take a lesson from one of the “Errors Tour” video compilations. Rain’s gonna happen and you need to be ready with your own equivalent of waterproof electronics and non-slip Louboutins. Admit up front when things aren’t going according to plan and enlist support and understanding while you pivot.
Short-circuiting auto-playing piano? Switch to guitar. Stage parts that don’t open for you to dive into a big transition? Hold your ground…or run to your next mark. If your battery pack runs out, can your team unzip you and slip in a new one while you don’t miss a beat?
Whether it’s for a shortlist presentation or actual contract performance, can you “do it with a broken heart”? Remember that pushing through pain isn’t always the right move. Do you have a backup plan and the courage to know when use it, so that you can hand off the big role with confidence to someone else?
5: Build Connection Through Vulnerability
Life happens to us: sometimes because of things we control, and sometimes not. When we have the courage to be vulnerable, no matter how heartbreaking our losses, no matter how much shame we might feel from our mistakes, we realize we are not alone. When we want to “uncover pain,” we also have to be willing to share our own mistakes. When Taylor shared the raw aching pain of being bullied in school, about missing her grandmother, about her breakups, about being bullied again on social media, gave millions of people the sense of being connected with her and, through her, each other.
She didn’t set out to create community, but that’s part of why it happened. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world, from four year olds dancing to her videos in their living rooms to dads who bring singalong lyric books as they sway next to their daughters at her concerts, are sure she is telling their story.
Our stories, bumps and all, brings us to where we are right now. And our stories are as unique as they are universal. Own your story and tell your story, your way. Never fear your imperfections: embrace them. Remember that the cracks are where the light gets in. Our courage and our honesty, our willingness to take risks and be vulnerable and talk about our pain and our mistakes, opens the door to build deep, trusting relationships.
My Taylor Swift Playlist For GovCons
I put together this mix of thirteen songs with no explanations. Make of it what you will – and I hope you enjoy. What would make your “Taylor for GovCons” playlist? No explanations needed, but always welcomed.
In Closing…
A long time ago, I learned that the only people who should ever sing in a business presentation are people who are actual professional singers (I will save for another day the story of the cringe-worthy moment I picked up the mic and sang “Let’s Fall In Love” a capella to a bus full of weary business owners who were desperate for twenty minutes of silence on their way to yet another matchmaking event).
So, I give the last words to Taylor, whose song “Long Live” so eloquently expresses how I feel about the privilege of working with you.
Long live the walls we crashed through
How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming, “Long live all the magic we made”
And bring on all the pretenders, I’m not afraid
Long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you
I was screaming, “Long live that look on your face”
And bring on all the pretenders
One day we will be remembered
P.S.: And, Taylor, congratulations on an amazing tour that brought so much joy to millions of people worldwide. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to sink through the stage on closing night in Vancouver after your final bows on show number 149. I hope you’ve planned a soft landing for yourself and your team, some serious rest and recovery surrounded by loved ones before you launch into your next adventure.
Get in front of the right people sooner
Learn more about the Federal Business Intensive
- A private Federal Capture Growth Program
- A proven system: over $350M of Federal contracts
- 10 Times Return on Investment Guaranteed
- Earn While You Learn