One of the most fascinating music interviews I heard was Howard Stern interviewing Billy Joel.

Billy was talking about the songwriting process, and how sometimes – when he’s stuck for a song – he’ll write a song as if he is someone else.

For example, his 1989 song “Down Easter Alexa”, was written in the voice and perspective of famous folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. When you listen to the song now, you can absolutely hear how this could have been a Gordon Lightfoot folk song, yet it is undeniably a Billy Joel song. He wrote the song in the voice of Gordon Lightfoot.

The next time you get stuck on a problem, do what Billy Joel would do.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Look at those you admire or those you have learned from, and consider how your situation would look from their point of view. What would they do? How would they act?

It is a little bit like watching a football game. When you are on the field, you see and feel the game from an entirely different perspective than if you had seats on the 50 yard-line or if you were sitting in the nosebleeds in the end zone.

If you don’t like the view from where you sit, change seats. You can sit anywhere in the stadium, so why do you always sit in the same damn seat?

The game looks very different if you change your point of view.

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Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Howard Stern is a rock star brand.

The so-called “shock jock” from SiriusXM is now prominent on mainstream network TV as one of the judges of America’s Got Talent. He’s replacing Piers Morgan, who moved over to replace Larry King at CNN last year. And I have no doubt that in a few years Howard Stern will be beating Piers Morgan in ratings as the host of an interview program of his own. Howard’s fans know from experience what a brilliant interviewer he is.

Even if you think Howard Stern is abhorent (and many people do!), there are still some valuable lessons you can learn from him that can make your business more successful.

1. Be larger than life. Getting noticed isn’t a secondary priority. Getting noticed is job #1. Howard has always been larger-than-life, holding rallies and press conferences to launch his radio show in new cities. Howard takes credit for many of the advances in radio, boasting that he broke down barriers for so many other radio hosts who have emulated his style. Howard’s jump to network TV with America’s Got Talent is another example of his larger than life persona.

2. Have more than one dimension. A lot of detractors hear Howard Stern and are immediately put off by his controversial content. But underneath the sex jokes and rude comments is a character who is remarkably interesting. He is a vocal supporter of gay rights. He is a home-body and comes across as hen-pecked. He watches trashy reality TV.  Howard, while incredibly boastful and egotistical on the air, is also often quite insecure and talks at great length about his ugly face and small penis (his words, not mine!).

3. Be honest. Howard puts it all out there on the air. He is so brutally honest about himself that you are often left wondering if he’s making some of his faults up. How could one person be so normal and flawed like the rest of us, and be so willing to bare it all in public? Howard’s frank honesty gets him noticed and endears him to his fans. That honesty makes Howard, a ridiculously wealthy media celebrity, seem normal and down to earth.

4. Be consistent, but throw a few curveballs. Showing up on family-friendly network TV was not something people expected Howard Stern to do. But it was a brilliant move on his part. Although his network TV act is toned down from his raunchy satellite radio show, he is still the unpredictable wise-ass that people have come to expect him to be. Just because he is on family-friendly TV doesn’t mean he can’t be himself.

You can order your copy of Brand Like A Rock Star right now and be reading the digital download in minutes. Or you can have the paperback delivered right to your door. If you’re not sure if you want to order, start by reading chapter one for free at www.brandlikearockstar.com.

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Sometimes, the best thing a brand can do is get the hell out of the way.

Today’s raving fans have access to legions of followers and friends who can make the uncool cool and make the successful fail.  Word-of-mouth is a powerful tool when one tweet or Facebook post can influence thousands of people simultaneously.  No longer can a bad move survive long enough at the box office to recoup its costs.  Today’s wildfire word-of-mouth means word about a dud movie spreads the moment the first showing lets out.  By day two, the studio knows they have a bomb on their hands and there is nothing they can do about it.

Perenially uncool 80′s pop duo Hall & Oates are riding a word-of-mouth resurgence, and one of the wisest moves they made was getting out of the way and letting their fans loose.

Their manager, Jonathon Wolfson, told billboard magazine that “some bands get in the way of themselves”.  They try too hard to manage the exposure of their brand, only allowing themselves to play hip venues and only granting interviews with vogue writers for underground publications.

Wolfson has taken the opposite approach to Hall & Oates, bringing their soulful pop to films, animations, on-line projects, commercials, and tribute albums.  They’ve been featured in everything from trendsetting movies to the home shopping channel.  Fans are fans.  Some appreciate the artistry of Hall & Oates and some soak up the kitschy nostalgia.  Whatever. It all works for Daryl and John.

As a result, the band can play “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart and at the same do “The Rachael Ray Show“.  They’ve even done Howard Stern’s radio show on Sirius and revealed dirt about their 80′s heyday and sexual exploits with groupies.

Kids who grew up with Hall & Oates have now come of age, and now their influence is being felt all over again. Gym Class Heros, The Killers, Fall Out Boy, and country singer Jimmy Wayne have all named Hall & Oates as musical influences, adding to their growing street credibility… a street cred they never had, even in the 80′s.

How can you “get out of the way” and let your brand’s buzz grow?

1. Use a tool like Google to alert you to mentions of your brand.  Watch the trending.  When you see forums or blogs mention you, read them.  Understand them.  Take part in the conversation.  It is going to happen anyway, with or without you.

2. Recognize who your audience is.  Kids who were weaned on Hall & Oates are now making today’s hit songs.  Even though music critics might think Hall & Oates are uncool and over the hill, there is a hidden generation of 30-somethings who loved them.  What the critics think is cool and what true tastemakers find cool can be vastly different.

3. Tap into Twitter.  Do regular searches of your brand’s name to see what people are saying about you.  Look for ways to tap into the buzz.  If you notice your brand is popping up with a specific group of people, acknowledge them and feed them.  For example, if you see that your brand is popular with Trekkies, consider showing up at their next convention or sponsoring something they do.

4. Mine your database.  Invite early trendsetters into your club, pull back the curtain, and get to know them.  Make them feel special, because they are.  They’ll help spread your brand’s virus for you.

5. Be honest.  Be real.  Nothing else works today.  By going on Howard Stern to talk about having sex with groupies in the same room as each other, Hall & Oates revealed a real side of them that you never saw back in their day.  That real human revelation might have been dangerous at one time, but today honesty earns you valuable points with a generation who has a bullshit meter on high alert.

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