Rock to the Top

Rock stars can be so self-absorbed that showing appreciation to others isn’t exactly at the top of their set list. The smart rock stars realize that no one does it alone, and those are the ones that say thank you with everything from gold and platinum albums and an exclusive interview to premium concert tickets, backstage passes, and trips to see them play. A single multi-platinum successful rock star could not have achieved that level of success without a back up band, studio personnel, record company support, radio airplay, and fans to buy the records.

No matter how hard you have worked for your success, you have to appreciate what you have and those that helped you achieve that success because I promise you, you did not do it alone. Be grateful for everything that comes your way, appreciate all you have, and always realize that no one owes you a thing. From gifts and rewards to customers and vendors to giving back to the community to the always reliable thank you note, let others know that you appreciate their help along the way.

Light My Fire

Rock stars have to thank the record company and the radio personnel as well as remembering to thank fans. Everybody in the food chain, above them and below them, is what makes for success. They award gold and platinum records to those employees in the company that they felt “worked” the record and made it a hit, and they award them to radio personnel as well. It’s a nice perk to have on the wall. Rock stars also reward radio stations with free concerts and exclusive interviews. All of it says, “Thanks for making my record a hit. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

As a successful business owner, you should know that thanking customers is a given. But when is the last time you thanked your vendors? The Space Store not only sent gifts and notes to our best customers, but also to the vendors who supplied the items we sold. When we sent a chocolate tower to the shipping department of the astronaut patch company over the holidays with a note to the staff, we knew our shipments would always get done right and sent out on time, if not early, all year long.

Billy Idol broke attendance records early one summer with a sold out performance at the amphitheater in a local amusement park. Park management was so ecstatic at the bottom line that night that they rewarded Billy and his band by taking them to the water park next door after the show, opening the gift shop for bathing suits and towels and turning on some of the rides. It was a fun entourage to be included in, and I’ll never forget the smell of wet hairspray from all the spiked hair and the running eye liner, a staple for rock bands in the 80s. It also made an impression in the back of my developing entrepreneurial mind. Always thank the ones that make you the money.

And don’t forget your employees. Whether it is with a bonus, a day off, or a gift certificate, you should reward a job well done. Yes, everyone should do their job correctly and do it to the best of their ability all the time. Yet, believe me, you can help that work ethic along with a little appreciation and make it a consistent in your business. It’s good for morale and it’s good for business.

Give a Little Bit

Look at the humanitarian work U2’s Bono does around the world. This is not something he has to do. He was a rock star long before he started all this and could definitely sit back and rest on his laurels and large bank account. But do it he does, traveling the world, speaking to politicians on behalf of those less fortunate. And the side effects of such work aren’t too shabby either. Bono has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time.

Giving back to your community should be a given in your business, whether it is donating to a silent auction or volunteering your time. One of the best examples I’ve ever heard of was a company that gives their employees a set number of days off a year to volunteer for a charity. It’s a paid day off that doesn’t count against vacation or sick days, and it gives everyone in the company a sense of doing what is right. Karma may be a goofy word and still a little too metaphysical for some corporate executives, but whatever you want to call it, it pays off in morale for employees, reputation for the company, and a better life for others.

The KLOL Rock and Roll Auction comes up again and again in this book because it is an excellent example of marketing, networking, promotion, passion and, most importantly, giving back to the community that put us on top. A lot of the celebrities that came through over the years and participated in the auction were smart enough to realize all of the above. It was not only a great opportunity for them to promote a new album or project, but it was also a great way to say thank you to the fans and to KLOL. A nice by product was all the press in the local papers and national trades.

I have been very fortunate in my various and assorted careers. When I first started in radio, I accepted every invitation to every charity event in Houston to emcee, appear, model, whatever they needed me to do. The exposure was priceless and gained me more listeners each and every time. Over time, I was one of the highest rated disc jockeys in Houston. Yet I continued to agree to every charity function request because it was the right thing to do. This community put me on top, I liked it there, and helping out was the least I could do.

We Will Rock You

David Crosby, of Crosby Stills & Nash, spent some time as a Texas resident after a rather eventful night in a Dallas nightclub. As he was preparing to leave the Texas prison system and move into a Houston halfway house, I was contacted to see if I could help David with a dentist, local information, and more while he was in Houston. There wasn’t a guarantee or even an offer of an exclusive interview. There was nothing in it for me, but it was just the right thing to do, to help someone. David became a friend, introduced me to some friends he had made at NASA who in turn introduced me to a NASA pilot by the name of Charlie Justiz. In real life, my legal name is Mrs. Charlie Justiz. It was an act of kindness that more than came back to me.

Doing something for no ulterior reason other than to help another is something else that should become a regular habit in your life. Introducing business associates without wanting in on the action, or passing on work you don’t have time to do to a competitor, are the sorts of things that are remembered and come back to you tenfold later in business.

Kevin Hendon was a seventeen year old Van Halen fan in Houston as well as a Cystic Fibrosis patient. I had read about Kevin in the local paper and made arrangements for him to attend the upcoming Van Halen concert as a guest of the band. The band went so far as to make plans for a nurse and oxygen backstage for Kevin if it was needed. He was a very sick boy, but we were sure he would be out of the hospital in time for the show. Unfortunately, it did not work that way.

On the day of the show, Kevin was still very much in Texas Children’s Hospital and was not going to be allowed to go to the show. He was just too sick. Van Halen cancelled everything they had planned that afternoon, jumped in their limos, and headed to the hospital to spend an hour with Kevin. No press and no ulterior motive. Just a visit with one thrilled teenage boy. We lost Kevin a couple of weeks after that. At his memorial, you could hear a recording of the Van Halen concert he had missed because the band had recorded the entire show for him. Van Halen stayed in heavy rotation on the radio station playlist and in my heart for a very long time after that generous act of kindness.