Seth Godin uses Lady Gaga as his example in today’s blog post about not trying to make everyone love you or your brand.  And Seth is absolutely right about the principle:

“Even if you’re a pop star, you don’t need everyone to be a fan or a customer. And especially if you’re not a pop star, worrying about whether everyone laughs at your jokes, buys your product or even likes you is counterproductive.”

But it struck me that while Seth may not care about Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga certainly acts like she’s read a few Seth Godin books.

She was dropped by her first record label after just three months, but she kept plugging away through the deepest part of what Seth calls The Dip.

She broke out by shedding her unremarkable persona and standing out from the pack of other aspiring pop singers.  (Would anyone be obsessed with a normally-dressed Stefani Germanotta?) In other words, she made herself into a Purple Cow.

And since she started to get big, she’s methodically built a tribe of passionate followers by applying the insights in Tribes.

If anyone has evidence that Seth is wrong to say “I’m virtually certain that Lady (do her friends call her that?) doesn’t read my stuff” please let us know!

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Robert McCrum of the Guardian recently blogged about “literary humiliations” – classic books that well-read people have never gotten around to.  Despite a Cambridge education and long career as a book editor and critic, he confessed to skipping George Eliot’s Middlemarch.  So he’s finally taking it on his August vacation.  “It’s long been my ambition to devote a period of sustained reading to this great English novel – and now that moment has come.  No turning back.”

McCrum added: “Now I’m inviting readers of this blog to play Humiliation and to confide the books they deeply regret never having read.”

OK, I’ll play.  I’ve been focused on the business category for 15 years but still haven’t read some of the most acclaimed and influential business books, the ones we use as benchmarks and role models.  My 7 biggest regrets (all sitting on my shelf, taunting me) are…

Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart
In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clay Christensen
Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove
Why We Buy by Paco Underhill
The HP Way by David Packard

Maybe I’ll take one of them on my vacation, too.  On the other hand, I’ve never read Middlemarch either.

For a great discussion of what makes a business classic, check out The 100 Best Business Books of All Time by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten.

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The inscription in my copy of “Then She Found Me” is as clear as the day it was written: “To Will, with all good wishes… and thanks.  Best, Elinor Lipman 4-6-90″

I remember that day clearly.  I was a 22-year-old publicity assistant for Pocket Books.  Lipman was an important new novelist, visiting from Massachusetts with her young son.  As part of rolling out the red carpet, my boss sent me across town to buy tickets for a hot new movie that her son desperately wanted to see later. (Back then you couldn’t pre-order by phone, let alone the Web.)  That was my mission while our publisher, editor and publicity director took Lipman to a strategy lunch.

Luckily the movie (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!) wasn’t sold out yet, and I returned in triumph.  And was rewarded with a signed first edition.

I pulled the book off the shelf recently for the first time in years, after getting Lipman’s latest email to fans and friends. She mentioned her recent (and highly praised) piece in the New York Times about her late husband and their son — the same kid who once loved the Ninja Turtles.

And it occured to me that this book is a treasure, far beyond the words that can be read on a Kindle, iPad, or Nook.  The jacket, flap copy, and paper instantly took me back 20 years.  The inscription is a time machine to the exact moment when we made an author happy.  The text itself is replaceable in less than 5 minutes for less than $15, but the object is unique.

I know e-books offer huge benefits and will keep growing exponentially.  But I hope we’ll never lose printed books, which never need new batteries or upgrades, and which can become priceless souvenirs.

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Fantastic post from Seth Godin a couple of days ago, contrasting two completely different approaches to a roadside lemonade stand — that classic icon of pure entrepreneurial spirit:  The Lesson From Two Lemonade Stands

As I was reading, it hit me that Seth had found the ultimate example that fits EVERY book he’s written since Portfolio began working with him in 2002.   Consider how it illustrates the core ideas in …..

PURPLE COW – One stand is remarkable; the other makes average lemonade for average drinkers.  Which one is going to draw word of mouth?

FREE PRIZE INSIDE – You approach a stand looking for a simple beverage, and as a free prize you get a delightful interaction that might be the highlight of your day.

ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS – Does a cup of fresh squeezed lemonade really taste better than Country Time instant, or do you only think it tastes better?  If it makes you happier, the truth doesn’t matter.

THE DIP – A girl decides to be the best in the world by defining a narrow niche: best lemonade stand in her neighborhood.  Midway through building it and gathering all the supplies, she’s probably wondering why she chose the hard way instead of the easy way.  She’s tempted to quit and go inside to play video games.  But she powers through the Dip and her hard work pays off.

MEATBALL SUNDAE – Where’s the fancy social media promoting her stand?  Where’s the Facebook page and the Twitter stream and the email newsletter?  She’s smart enough to know that she doesn’t need cutting edge marketing tools, no matter how cheap and easy they are.  Just like marinara and parmesan cheese won’t improve a dish of ice cream.

TRIBES – After just one day in business, she’ll have a small fan base spreading word of mouth.  If she keeps it up, her tribe will grow steadily.  But it still won’t be mass market growth.  She won’t draw all those average drinkers who like average lemonade and don’t have the patience for hand-squeezed.  But that’s fine, because a tribe has to be defined in part by who it excludes.

And, finally,

LINCHPIN – this eleven year old already knows how to be indispensable.  If she doesn’t lose her spirit over the next decade, she’ll be in high demand in the workplace of 2020.   She’ll get the best jobs and the most freedom.  I’m ready to hire her right now.

If you’re thirsty for lemonade after reading this, I can’t help you.  But if you’re thirsty for Seth’s books, please click here.

PS – here’s another perspective on the lemonade stand, from Jonathan Fields:  Why Having Fun is Great for Business

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