David: Hello there. Welcome to another edition of Lexicon Late Night, where me and my colleague Justin after hours get together to discuss some of the greatest storytellers of all time. Now this one. Let’s see. But it’s Taylor Swift. I know very little about Taylor Swift, so I’m hoping to learn from Justin in this one too. Justin, look what you made me do.

Justin: David: You’re making it seem like this was my idea. This was actually your idea. Making it seem like I’m some kind of Swiftie. I do actually know a few things about Taylor Swift, and she’s been like one of the most successful pop stars in the world for 20 years at this point. So she’s just been, it’s weird, she’s a bit younger than I am, but I feel like I’ve grown up with her because, like, my grandma used to play the country station on the radio at home, and it was always just kind of in the background. And that was like when I was still in high school and now she’s still super famous. There’s a few reasons, like why we’re talking about her. She is like the most successful female recording artist of all time, her Eras Tour is the first to crack $1 billion for a music tour. She’s the first billionaire with music as their primary income. And she’s pretty business savvy as well.

David: Is she Bejeweled?

Justin: She. Yes. Yes she is. He’s got a bunch of the song titles and he’s crossing them off. This is going to be hard to focus during this. Yeah. So anyway, there was some dispute with her record company. She changed companies and then didn’t own the masters, so she just, like, rerecorded them all and made Taylor’s version, which is kind of a clever way to get around the the record company. But, I mean, okay, so why has she been successful for all this time?

David: So my knowledge of her is a bit of a blank space, right? So could you tell us what’s the first lesson, Justin?

Justin: Well, like I said, she’s been famous since she was like 16 and she’s like mid 30s now. Okay. And she’s been fairly consistent throughout that time. A lot of similar themes. Always talking about a Love Story. Cross that one off, too. But yeah, so similar themes of like broken hearts and relationships and all of that typical pop stuff. But she has kind of evolved over the years. Like when she started out, it was pure country. Like she was in Nashville for the early parts of her career, and it was really country sound. So there was, you know, good banjo picking and fiddles and all of that good stuff. And like, our song is a slamming screen door. She sounds different than that. But that kind of music and then maintaining the same themes throughout the years, she’s evolved. She went from that kind of pure country sound to more pop, to more like indie rock, even some like electro pop, 80s sounding synth stuff. And we’d have to ask Champ (our video editor) what she’s doing these days, but she has evolved over the years. Mhm.

David: So she’s gone kind of, she was a hero when she got started. Then she’s a bit of an Anti-Hero for a little bit. And now she’s a hero again. So. All right. So she’s evolved a lot over her career. So she’s kept refreshing her brand.

Justin: Right. So staying true to her personal brand but then evolving it over the years and yes refreshing it. She went through many brand refreshes.

David: Yeah. And I guess from a marketing perspective, technology’s like that too, right? You can’t just stay the same. You have to evolve with the technology. You know, we’re old enough to have seen when LinkedIn just got started. Facebook just got started. Facebook ads, ChatGPT. So you’ve got to keep your brand fresh, fresh and resonating with the target audience, right? Wherever they may be.

Justin: Correct. Is that that’s the lesson for business leaders?

David: Well, I’m a bit of an old man, so, you know, I should probably wear a cardigan during this section, but, have you got anything to add to that?

Justin: No, that’s pretty much it. Just kind of stay true to what made you successful in the first place. But but don’t be afraid to evolve with the times and try new things.

David: Yeah, like I believe Fortnite is a popular game with the kids these days as well. So those kind…It’s a song.

Justin: Oh, okay. Good. How many more on your list there?

David: So obviously Justin in storytelling. As a singer, she’s a writer, she’s an artist. So big topic for us. What’s her storytelling all about?

Justin: Well, it’s really just taking things from her personal life, and then making her music accessible that way. I think that’s part of the reason why she’s so popular is she’s kind of vulnerable. She talks about her relationships. She even names people in her relationships. So it’s like if you start dating her careful if you break her heart, you’re gonna end up in a song. Mhm. And that theme has recurred over and over and over again. I actually, the song Blank Space is probably my favorite Taylor Swift song because she admits that she might be the problem. She might be the crazy one. Oh, dear. Yeah.

David: Okay. That’s good. Self-awareness.

Justin: There’s some evolution there. But, yeah.

David: She’s owning her failings.

Justin: That’s right, yeah. She’s taking a little bit of accountability there. But, yeah, I mean, that’s basically the point. I don’t have that much more to say on this. It’s just she is vulnerable and accessible and authentic. All right.

David: All right. Well, I think I can work with this one a little bit. Sure. So she also had beef with Katy Perry, I believe, which is what ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is all about.

Justin: Oh, really? I didn’t know about this.

David: That’s all I know about her, pretty much. Yeah. But yeah, just like when we’re talking about communication on LinkedIn, obviously you want the serious stuff, the white papers, the business stuff. But if you can really share your failings and lessons that you’ve learned. Hiring mistakes that you’ve made, lessons you’ve learned as you develop your career, people who have mentored you and helped you. People who’ve let you down. Sharing those insights on LinkedIn as part of your personal brand, telling those stories of your progression in your career and your down points. It does really build vulnerability. Like people don’t want to engage with AI or empty cold rhetoric. They want to see that you’re human. And the best way to convey that is to show that you’ve got flaws and you’ve learned lessons the hard way.

Justin: Right. Yeah, absolutely. That is a good lesson for business leaders. Like, don’t be afraid to admit that you’ve made mistakes, just that you’ve learned from them. And then, yeah, you can tell your audience, okay, look, like I’ve been through this. Here’s what you can expect and here’s how you avoid making those mistakes. I think that’s good guidance.

David: Yeah, we all have successful winters, Cruel Summers. Our careers go in many directions as we grow. But, you know, if you’re an expert, there’s no way you got to be a successful business leader without making some mistakes. So people are at different stages of their journey. And it’s not always about just selling, right. You want to actually help people and give something back. So a strong persona where you give and not just take. That’s good. She’s obviously, she’s getting a lot from it in terms of record sales, but she’s probably sharing some lessons for young ladies on on how to navigate the the dating world.

Justin: Right.

David: I don’t know, maybe.

Justin: With her, you know, dozens of boyfriends that she’s had over the years. I don’t know if you want to listen to her.

David: That’s something of a personal brand.

Justin: Yeah, sure. The point you were making there, it kind of leads into the third and final point here on Taylor Swift, though, is she does do a lot for her fans. So there’s, you know, community building, you could almost call it like CSR work or whatever. But so she does do a lot of of stuff for her fans. She’ll like do a lot of autograph signings.  She’ll throw in like little Easter eggs and inside jokes in her songs for the people that have followed her, they’ll pick up on these things. But she does also a lot of work with like, sick kids and stuff. Actually, I think we could show a clip real quick of her singing to some kid at a children’s hospital and all right, let’s hit it.

Taylor Swift: I shake it. Are you ready? My man brought his new girlfriend. She’s like, oh my God. But I’m just gonna shake it to the fella over there with the hella good hair. Won’t you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake. Perfect. Ooooh! Hey hey hey hey. I’m just gonna shake, shake. Shake shake shake, shake it off and shake it off. Heartbreakers gonna break, break break break break, break is gonna. Fake fake fake fake fake. I’m just gonna. Shake, shake. Shake, shake shake shake it off, shake it off. Shake it off and shake it off. I shake it off, shake it off, shake it off, shake it off. I shake it off, shake it off. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Thank you so much. You were so good at that middle part..

Employee: Have you played in concerts?

Justin: Yeah. And so anyway, you see that? That’s pretty heartwarming. She really made the kid’s day. And as much as, like, you can make fun of these silly pop stars and stuff and think that they’re kind of frivolous, and they may be. You see something like that. And it is kind of. It’s just heartwarming. So good on her. Yeah, absolutely.

David: So it’s focusing on, again, giving back to the community.

Justin: Yeah, exactly. So the lesson for business leaders would be…

David: Well, something we know all too well Lexicon is that you’ve got to- communication is a two way thing, especially on social media. It’s not just you broadcasting, it is trying to start a conversation and to learn from it too. So if you want to be a successful LinkedIn person, have a personal brand, have a good community, have a business brand, then we have to look at the kind of content that’s performing well, what gets the best results, engagement, KPIs, comments. Make sure you’re replying to those comments. Make sure you’re learning from the feedback that you get and you’re helping others succeed. There’s no substitute for genuinely looking to help people with your wisdom, your guidance, your advice. Perhaps you can put together a late night show to share that insight with them.

Justin: Yes, that would be a good idea. I think so. Yeah. I don’t think there’s all that much more we could say about Taylor Swift. We’ve exhausted our knowledge here.

David: Swifties, please be nice to us on YouTube.

Justin: By the way, two of our colleagues went to see her live in Singapore last year, right. And they had a fantastic time. So, she’s definitely doing something right. And there’s something for business leaders to learn from out there. She did it all using only four chords. Yes, apparently.

David: Thank you. Bye bye.