It is the holidays, which means every brand manager spending time with family will get the question, “So what exactly do you do”?

Do you make the product - no. Do you make the commercials - no. Do you own the company - no.

So what do you do? For a long time I liked to think of myself as a problem solver, but recently I realized a better frame is - DJ & Producer.

1. The power of the DJ is to fold the past into present…

   • As a brand manager we are fighting for relevancy, but we can’t forget our origins or heritage. We can’t simply reflect the times. We must bring the brand’s heritage into the present in a way that resonates.

   • Similarly, the DJ uses sampling to be in dialog with the past using a language of the present.

2. DJs are hemmed in by the need to both gratify the listener’s musical desires and to establish some kind of musical independence…

   • The brand and product manager needs to make something that the customer wants. It has to taste good, perform and look beautiful, but you need to stand apart from the competition. You need to bring a POV to your product that is unique. Design can help. Product features can too. But most of the time it comes to life as a signature style or identity - a way of existing on shelf or at retail that permeates everything you do.

   • The DJ does this too. You can spot a Kanye track and distinguish it from RZA or Premier.

3. DJs must make everybody stay and yet also ignore the idea of listener gratification (playing requests), and take the audience where you mean to lead it…

   • You need to understand the customer and spend time with him so you can design products that he doesn’t even know he wanted. You need to identify problems he didn’t know he had and resolve them in a way he never imagined. The customer will never tell you they want the product. But they will love the product when you make it.

   • The DJ can’t be distracted by the request. The requestor may say they want Katy Perry, but what they really might be asking for is a more danceable high energy song they can sing along to. Playing requests all night will lead to a disjointed and schizophrenic night.

So that’s what I do, mom. I produce and DJ products and brands.