By Stephanie C. Harper, PHRca, CCP, CHRM

Unfortunately or fortunately, no matter what a person does when the spotlight is shinning on them, people who are not even qualified to hold the light will have something to say! Social media was beyond buzzing about the performance delivered by Rihanna for Superbowl LVII. My silver glittered hair may place me a generation or two away from this genre of music, but I was just happy to see a woman that looked like me doing something that had never been done! I wont waste my time sharing all of the banter that took place on social media feeds today, but I will share a few lessons that I learned from Rihanna’s that I’d like to pass along to you!


Lesson #1: Always Be authentically you!
According to some of the internet’s buzz, Rihanna’s halftime performance failed to produce fireworks and stars, the absolute wow factor for me was her ability to just be! Be what? I’m glad you asked, “a 34 year old black billionaire woman who managed to capture the attention of well over 100 million people; while pregnant and suspended hundreds of feet in the air on a moving stage. There was nothing short of amazing about that! While people have made constant comparisons between Rihanna and Beyonce, Rihanna was not competing with any artist last night, she was simply BEING Rihanna and she was fully clothed while doing so!

In business, when you remove who you are to become a copycat or compete with others, you will miss the power of your true purpose, which is to show up unapologetically and authentically you!

Lesson #2: Move in Silence
Some friends and I watched the game in Long Beach California and when we saw the baby bump, we wondered if Rihanna was pregnant. Twitter was 3 steps ahead of us, as we logged on during the performance to see what others were saying. You guessed, it was confirmed that this Superbowl performance was indeed the announcement of baby number two for the Bardadian born megastar. Rhianna had many opportunities to share that she with child, but instead, she chose to keep things under wrap until the perfect moment to share her beautiful news. The only hint that Rihanna gave was that she was “bringing a special guest”. No one expected the guest to be her unborn baby. Not only was this special, but BRILLIANT! (She increased her sales without going on tour or putting out new music….keep reading).

In business, you don’t have to announce what you’re doing behind closed doors or with whom. Just show up after the magic has happened and show the world what you’re made of!

Lesson #3: Do exactly what people DO NOT expect for you to do!
I’m not sure what those complaining about Rhianna’s Superbowl performance were expecting and it doesn’t even really matter. Rhianna showed up her way, on her own terms. Her 13 minute performance was unique, carefully crafted and something that has never been done. If our focus becomes figuring out how to live up to the expectations of others, we may not be living at all.

In business, something has to be different about how you “do business” or you’ll end up being viewed as the average business owner.

Lesson #4: Run your show how you see fit for your branding message
As the creator of Fenty Beauty, Rihanna stated, :it was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures, and races. she wanted everyone to feel included”. After last night, she lived up to her mission by creating something for everyone. Even those who claimed not to like it and could not resist talking about it. Rhianna made a 13 minute move that had the world talking. Sounds like she did something where everyone could be included without even trying (Go Rhi-Rhi!)

In business, your branding message must be clearly defined, to withstand those negative Brand Ambassadors who will advertise and market your brand for free!

Lesson #5: Make history, while others make meme’s

History isn’t always the end result of popular opinion. If popular opinion had its way, Rihanna would not be the most talked about woman on the planet today. While, I’m not a Rihanna fan (though my daughters may be), she didn’t show up to become popular, she already was – – hence her invite to “be” the half time show. When you’re on a mission, people and their opinions don’t really matter. Not one “I didn’t like the show” opinion is going to stop Rihanna’s checks from cashing.

13 minute worldwide performance vs. 13 minutes of making a meme, which has a better return on investment?


While, Rhianna did not receive direct compensation from the NFL, you can bet your bottom dollar, she is richer today than she was just 24 hours ago. According to Vibe, after the Superbowl performance, Rihanna made history when she gained more concurrent listeners than any of last year’s performers—Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and 50 Cent. Coincidentally, the hour following the halftime show was Rihanna’s biggest hour in Apple Music history by both concurrent listeners and streams.

In business, it doesn’t have to gain the approval of everyone to make a historical or monetary difference for you!

And if you still aren’t impressed, Rhianna had 64 million Facebook fans….while a former president had 64 million votes! The nerve of you to even open your mouth about what you don’t like! Okay, fine, free speech is your right and privilege, but why not use it to focus on what did actually happen instead of what you “hoped would”. As we prepare for March, Women’s International Month, I’m going to sit back and pay attention to who is making waves and hope I’m inspired enough to jump in the pool! Rihanna reinvented means being somebody’s mother. It’s absolutely okay for her not to feel the need to twerk (oh and more people watched the half time show than the actual Superbowl game). She has already proved she can do that too (dancing and being sexy is how she was born, it’s part of the culture in Barbados). All Rhianna reinforced is “she can” but she doesn’t have to!

Final Business Tip: Focus on the facts and the funds will come!


If you haven’t had an opportunity to preview Rihanna’s superbowl performance, you can do so on Youtube!

About the Author: Stephanie C. Harper, PHRca, CCP, CHRM is a certified human resources known as the HR Compliance Coach. A paid subject matter expert, she has more than 20 years of expertise in the areas of human resources, entrepreneurship and publishing. A California native, Stephanie spends the majority of her time between Northern and Southern California helping her clients to “know better, do better and be better!”

Shared content, originally posted on www.StephanieHarper.com