Unless you have been hiding under a rock, chances are you have heard Kanye West’s name this week. In his latest Twitter rant, West asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for one billion dollars to bail him out of his supposed $53 million debt. Don’t hold your breath for a response.
Heck, even Edward Snowden weighed in with a tweet that many say 
“won the internet.”
Most people will agree that West is a complete and utter waste of space, including me. Regardless of his musical talent, he has just gone too far.
The great thing about Kanye is that it gives all of us a chance to learn from another’s mistakes. And with that, I share with you these life lessons, influenced by Kanye:
- Hire a publicist.
If Mr. West had a publicist team, they would swiftly and quickly taken away his access to all social media channels and controlled the messaging being pushed out. Always defer to a professional, of course with his $53 million of debt, he obviously couldn’t pay them. We’ll just have to wait for Zuckerberg to bail him out. - 140 Characters.Twitter is 140 characters (for now) and all tweets should follow these simple rules:
1. Be brief
2. Be memorable
3. Leave room for RTs and hashtags.
Twitter rants are just plain confusing. At least he numbered them for us? - Growth is hard.If you don’t manage your growth properly, you will end up overextended, clearly by millions. (I am assuming there were a few red flags prior to the hitting the $53 million mark.) As a small business owner, it’s easy to keep spending to accommodate your growth. Taking on more clients, hiring additional staff, expanding office space and more all costs money, lots of money. It’s okay to say no.
- Don’t mess with Taylor Swift.There is power in numbers and T-Swift has a lot of fans. There is also something to be said about taking the high road. Throughout all of the bullying West has done over the years, Swift has not spoken ill of him. Sure, a well-worded response from her publicist (take note, West — see No. 1) may be distributed, but it is concise, to the point and most importantly, truthful. Less is more.
- Images have power.We tell our clients that if you can say it with a picture, video or infographic, then do it. Pictures can communicate a message in seconds, while a 500 word essay (or Twitter rant) will be ignored. $53 million in debt, you say? Odd.
- Hire smart.Surround yourself with smarter people than yourself. Hire individuals that possess talents you do not have and are not afraid to challenge you. They will only make you look good.
Perhaps the most important lesson Mr. West has taught us is to learn from past mistakes. If you don’t get the desired results or response the first time, try a different tactic or approach. Growth is learning from your mistakes and embracing change.
If all else fails, just delete your social media accounts. All of them.
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