I recently read a memoir in which the author recounts meeting Don Henley of the Eagles as a kid. She loved the Eagles and wanted nothing more than to tell him so.  He was a huge jerk, which devastated her. 

I have worked with my fair share of famous people; some of whom are lovely and some of whom are horrible. A close friend is well known for a role she had on a teen show years ago. Once while we were shopping at a super hipster store, I was shocked when a tattooed, pierced, bearded shop assistant ran over and gushed over her, telling her how much he loved watching her on the show and asking for an autograph like a 12 year-old girl. She smiled graciously, thanking him and signed his autograph. Later she told me that is why she’s never allowed to be in a bad mood when she’s out.  You never know who might recognize you and be disappointed that you were mean, even if you were just having a bad day.  

Not every famous person subscribes to this idea that they have a responsibility to their fans to be decent. We’ve seen it all to often, someone is surrounded by people telling them they are amazing just for breathing. They act as though they are royalty and treat everyone else as though they are dirt. It’s an ugly sight. 

Sunday night we watched Taylor Swift's profile on 60 Minutes during which she stated that stopping and taking pictures with a fan is 20 seconds out of her day, she doesn’t mind doing it. She said that she felt it was her responsibility to take her position of role model seriously, to make her words count. While it was a lovely profile, it could have been lip service as far as I was concerned. But, there have been no YouTube videos of Taylor drunk or doing inappropriate things, no pregnancy scandals, no trips to rehab. She has a squeaky clean image, I don't have to worry that the lyrics to her songs are inappropriate for either of my kids. I can see why my daughter loves her, so I keep my skeptism to myself. 
 
Monday night I took my daughter and two friends to see her play at Madison Square Garden, for my daughter’s birthday. I had miraclously managed to score amazing seats. We were close to the enclosure of Taylor’s people as my daughter who is a Swift aficionado told me. She and her friends decided to go talk to Taylor’s people. I cringed and silently prayed that they would be nice to them or they would be crushed. 

Her people were so kind to my daughter and her friends. They took pictures with the kids, hugged them, listened to them gush on and on, and gave them little gifts. I can imagine being bombarded by thousands of 12-year-old girls can be exhausting, and as an adult I could see how it would be easy to shut them down with a sharp word or two, but they didn’t.  

I believe that every business has its culture defined by those at the top.  As an old boss of mine used to say, “Fish stink from the head, and s**t runs downhill.”  Taylor Swift is a major corporation; I marveled at the business acumen this young woman possesses - she runs her own marketing company, and from the sales of T-shirts, bracelets and other merchandise - she runs it extremely well.

I am thankful that at the helm of this machine, is a young woman who is careful to consider the young people who put her there. I brought home three overjoyed girls Monday night, all of whom declare they had the best night of their lives. Their image of their idol hadn't been tarnished by bad behavior of those around her.