Lessons Learned From Kanye

"...But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief."-Unknown

In recent weeks, it has been impossible to turn on the radio or the TV and not hear about the impending downward spiral of award-winning rapper Kanye West.

His career started with songs that at times had the power to inspire deep thought. His new song “Lift Yourself” consists of lyrics like “poopity scoop.”

Kanye’s new music, and seemingly “controlled” statements on free thought, have people wondering what happened to him, and if his career is in fact over.

What does this have to do with a business networking social site? A lot.

When you think about it, Kanye is a business, and his actions have a direct impact on not only his brand but those associated with it. Just this weekend, a joint business venture with Yeezy and popular Australian clothing brand 2XU proved to be an epic failure.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there was a 1-hour launch event set up for those wanting to grab the latest garbs from the Yeezy and 2XU collaboration. Kanye’s brand has been known to attract lines that circle blocks. However, on Saturday, his fans were nowhere in sight. After 45 minutes, 2XU canceled the event for lack of attendance.

This turn of events was no doubt in direct correlation with the public downfall Kanye’s most recent statements have created.

So, what can we learn from this?… Plenty!

First Lesson:

Say what you mean.

This is an old adage that many of us have been taught to live by. In this case, it rings true. Kanye’s statements were deemed thoughtless, careless, and asinine, lacking the trace of free thought that he boasted about as being the confidence for him to share his opinion. While many understood what he meant, the uproar is about what he actually said.

It does not matter what your intent is behind your words if you do not say them correctly. One of the fundamental rules of communication is to be unambiguous. That means one must be purposeful and exact when speaking whether verbally or non-verbally.

Second Lesson:

Think it through.

How many times have we been taught to “Think Before Speaking”? It seems simple enough to remember, but as we can see, it is easy to forget.

It is important to think about the effect your contribution will have. Will it uplift someone? Will it tear them down? Will it cause turmoil in a group of people? Will it inspire the next generation?

Answering these questions is an important step to take when wanting to have an impactful dialogue. Quite honestly, if we practiced more of this, there could possibly be less tension in our daily lives.

Third Lesson:

Let the emotions go.

We are all guilty of this. We have an opinion that we know is the utmost truth and nothing or no one will get in our way of expressing it. When someone goes against it, we wage an all-out war to prove we are right and they are wrong.

This is not how effective communication works.

It’s ok if someone does not agree with what you are saying, and it is ok if you don’t agree with someone else’s statement. What’s not ok is insulting those who do not share the same opinion as you.

In Closing

There will be times when we practice all of these steps and still screw them up. To that, I call on Blockbuster’s slogan and say “Be Kind, Rewind.”

While you can’t take back what you’ve said once it's out there living on the internet, you can make amends. Take a step back, reflect, apologize, and learn from your mistakes. Things may never be the same as they were before the mishap, but they will certainly be better than they were during it.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens to Kanye. In the meantime, let his actions be a learning point for you not to make the same mistakes.