The Daily Recruiter

by Rick Houcek

Had a thrilling experience last Thursday. My wife and I were in Nashville attending an annual marketing and business-building conference … and met Gene Simmons, the ‘god of Rock ‘n Roll’ and founder of KISS.

He spoke to an audience of 1200, and to put it mildly, I was stunned, shocked, and amazed.

I love rock music. Always have. And like many people, I’ve got my favorite bands. KISS, though, has never been among them. I don’t dislike them, they’re just not my style.

But I’ve respected their longevity and success immensely.

What blew me away, though, was Gene Simmons the man … and Gene Simmons the entrepreneur. Both threw me for a loop.

He was invited to speak on the success of KISS and impart his savvy wisdom in business. What I was expecting, to be blunt — and in true rock star stereotype — was an egotistical, wacky, incoherent speech from an aging, drugged-out rock star who has a popular band, made millions in concert revenues, probably blew most of it, has an attitude that he’s too good for us common folk, and who may have a few good ideas to share, but not many.

What I got instead was … well, the dead opposite on all counts. And frankly, blown away to boot.

First, Simmons the man.

He immigrated to the U.S. from Israel at age 8, knew no English, and spent his early teen years in stupefied wonderment over the freedoms, the possibilities, and the success potential that every American possessed. “I could be anything I wanted here. There are no barriers,” he came to realize. He was mesmerized by American culture, TV shows, comic book heroes, Walt Disney characters, and later the Beatles and their following.

He has never used drugs a day in his life, never touched alcohol to his lips, never smoked (“They all cloud my judgment and keep me from making money”) , and would never spend time with a woman who did any of the three.

He talks to his idol every single day — his mother — whom he refers to as his inspiration and the wisest person he knows.

In her cute Hungarian accent, he says, she continually and innocently asks, “So, how’s the orchestra?”

“‘It’s a band, mom, a band!’ She still doesn’t know what I do. When I got my first $3 million check in the early ’70s, I showed it to her. She said, ‘That’s wonderful. Now, when you wake up tomorrow, what will you do?’ Very smart woman. She was saying ‘Will you keep going or will you quit now?’ ”

He bought new homes for both of his parents.

He’s multi-lingual and demonstrated his prowess in conversation with several audience members from different countries. “The more you ingratiate yourself into the language and culture of the place you want to do business, the more money you’ll make.”

He’s never been married and never intended to have kids — though he has spent 25 blissful domestic years with life partner Shannon Tweed, an actress, model and former Playboy centerfold, with “never a cross word between us in all that time” — and two incredibly well-adjusted kids, Nick and Sophie. He spoke glowingly of his family. They’re all stars of “Gene Simmons Family Jewels”, a reality show on A&E and top-rated in its time slot. Simmons said “I’ve spent 25 years with the most beautiful woman in the world. We’re not married, but because everything we do is based on honesty and full disclosure, our relationship is stronger than most married couples. Our home life is just like you see on TV. Quiet and organized, not chaotic, and no yelling, ever. My kids are respectful, disciplined and awesome, they get straight As, and I love being their father.”

As an immigrant kid himself, Simmons saw America as a land where anything is possible, and nothing prevents you from making a lot of money. He is a proud American, and is angered by whiners who complain they have nothing — when it’s their own doing. He’s always had a job, starting with a paper route, then joined bands and realized he made more money one night a week than he did the rest of the week delivering newspapers — but kept both jobs. “I learned young to spread my risk. And I saved everything I earned.” Even after forming KISS, he held second jobs as an assistant to the editor at Glamour magazine, a deli cashier, and a sixth grade school teacher (BA Education, Richmond College).

“Everything I learned as a kid — even though it made little sense then — makes sense now. Kids need to realize that.” He was in Junior Achievement and swears by it. “It taught me capitalism, and I learned how to run a business. Best thing you can do for your children — two words — Junior Achievement.”

When an audience member — a uniformed Navy SEAL — asked him a question, Simmons politely interrupted to thank him for his service. “You provide me and everybody here the opportunity to do what we do, and I’m grateful.” Then he told the audience, “Thank every soldier you see. The next time you’re in line at Starbucks and a soldier is behind you, let him in front.”

Then there’s Gene Simmons, the entrepreneur. The businessman. The innovator.

From humble beginnings and after forming and dissolving several different bands, he created KISS in 1973. “KISS is not a rock band. It’s a rock brand,” he says.

That’s putting it mildly. KISS is the most popular rock band ever — as measured by being a $1 billion music, licensing and merchandising juggernaut — grossing more in sales than any other band in history, including the Beatles and Elvis.

Together for 35 years, the band still tours, and has maintained worldwide popularity with the KISS Army. Here’s a partial list of companies and events Simmons has masterminded business relationships with for retail, licensing and merchandising of KISS products: Canon, Coke, NASCAR, Warner Bros, Mars Candy, Holiday Inn Express, Universal Orlando Resorts, Super Bowl XXXIII, the NHL, the “Got Milk?” campaign, Partnership For A Drug-Free America, to name just a few.

And they have these KISS-branded products, games, and toys: KISS Coffee Houses, KISS slot machines, their own magazine, a 30-year comic book, KISS toys, KISS fragrance, KISS-opoly, KISS leather jackets, KISS Christmas ornaments, KISS wine sets, and more. They even have KISS Kondoms and KISS Kaskets. “From cradle to grave,” as Simmons put it.

Soon to be 59, he recently formed Simmons-Abramson Marketing with a partner, and they’ve created the “I Am INDY” campaign for the Indy Car Series and Indy 500.

He advised getting involved with charities … meeting people on a personal, one-on-one, individual level, not as a corporation … and always remembering to thank people.

“Life is about the pursuit of more. I wake up telling myself ‘It’s going to be a money day.’ In an athletic event, the number the judge holds up is temporary. What will you do tomorrow?”

He added that you don’t need knowledge to make money. “I don’t have any idea what’s under the hood of a car. But I created a multi-million dollar deal with Indy. I don’t understand anything about what I do, but I’ve created a $1 billion brand with KISS.”

I was surprised at his humble attitude and genuine friendliness. “None of this qualifies me to give anyone advice on anything. You’ve got to do what’s right for you.”

“I don’t have body guards,” he added. “I like to go by myself, to meet and talk to people, to learn from them, to find out how they make money. I often fly commercial just to talk to people.”

“People argue with me when I tell them money is the most important thing. They say, ‘No, love is most important.’ I tell them, ‘Yes it is, but all the love in the world can’t buy your children food. Or a college education. All the love in the world can’t buy medical attention for an aging parent. Money can. Money buys all. Money lets you provide for those you love.”

Point taken.

Lessons & Actions For You:

Wow. All that’s a mouthful. Let’s see if I can bullet-point his comments into a concise list of learning lessons for leaders (with a few embellishments of my own):

• Realize that drugs and alcohol cloud judgment and negatively impact your ability to lead. Imbibe accordingly. (Got any habits that need changing?)
• Respect the wisdom of elders, including your parents.
• Don’t let today’s success be the end. Always keep going, keep climbing, keep achieving.
• Ingratiate yourself into the language and culture of the place you wish to do business. You’ll make more money.
• Base your relationships on honesty and full disclosure.
• Be respectful in all your relationships — there’s seldom any need for chaos, shouting, and arguing.
• Revere your family.
• Be grateful that America is the land where anything is possible. You are your own biggest barrier to success.
• Respect our military personnel — they provide our freedom.
• Spread your financial risk.
• Save your money — don’t spend it all.
• Realize that everything you learned when young will someday be useful and important. You just don’t know when or how.
• Always expand your business by seeing new opportunities everywhere — for new products, new services, new licensing, merchandising.
• Every day, wake up saying “Today is a money day.”
• Get involved with charities.
• Meet people as the individual you are, not as a corporation. Represent yourself.
• Remember to thank people.
• Believe that life is about the pursuit of more.
• Knowledge is not a prerequisite to success. You can know absolutely nothing about a field of endeavor and still be wildly successful at it. Don’t de-motivate yourself because you lack credentials.
• Talk to other people regularly — everywhere you go — to learn, learn and learn more.
• Love is important, but money is the currency that buys what love cannot, by letting you provide for your loved ones.

Those are from Gene. Here’s a final lesson from me. Be careful judging a book by its cover. You may be deceived into thinking it hasn’t much to offer you. I was. I foolishly pre-judged Simmons as little more than a stereotypical rock star who spits blood and sticks his tongue out. What I gained from him will serve me for a long time.
I hope it will serve you too.

Rick Houcek facilitates off-site strategic planning retreats, helping CEOs and Leadership Teams create high-impact plans that overcome the crippling effects of lousy execution (the single biggest cause of plan failure) — and get successfully implemented!  His dynamic Power Planning^TM strategic process drives action through his Escape-Proof Accountability^TM system.  It’s ideal for small and mid-size businesses.  To bring this potent weapon to your team, contact Rick by phone, fax or email.  Visit his web site at www.SoarWithEagles.com.  And ask about his 100% No-Risk Guarantee.