Why Everyone Rooted for Dolly

This week, Maddie shares a short tribute to the queen of country music herself, Dolly Parton.

Enjoy 👇

I had a completely different newsletter written for this week.

Then I found out that Dolly Parton had passed away.

And I knew I had to change it.

I went to the University of Tennessee (go vols), so Dolly has always felt a little different to me. She wasn't just a country music legend from Tennessee. She was the heart and soul of East Tennessee. 

People jokingly called her the “First Lady of East Tennessee.”

And everywhere I went, I heard the same thing about her: nothing but good things.

She gave so much back to the community that gave her her start. Her Imagination Library began in her home county and has now given more than 270 million free books to children.

So when I started thinking about what Dolly taught me, I kept coming back to one thing:

She understood people.

And I think there's a lot we can learn from that.

Think about Dolly's brand.

The hair. The clothes. The humor. The music.

Everything is unmistakably Dolly.

But none of it feels intimidating.

She could be wildly successful without making you feel like she was better than you.

Instead, she made you feel like you were part of it.

That's incredibly powerful.

We spend so much time thinking about what we want people to do.

Dolly seemed to understand that before you can ask people to do something, you have to give them a reason to care. People respond to brands emotionally, not just rationally.

Make people feel good, and they'll want to come back.

This might be the biggest lesson I take from Dolly.

She didn't just build a hugely successful career and keep everything for herself.

She gave back.

Again and again.

The Imagination Library is probably the best example. What started as a program for children in her home county grew into a global literacy program.

And that generosity became part of what people associated with her.

People didn't just listen to Dolly.

They rooted for her.

That's the difference between having an audience and having a community.

People can tell when you only want something from them.

They can also tell when you genuinely wants to give something back.

I don't think the lesson is that everyone needs to become Dolly Parton.

It's that everyone should ask themselves a simple question:

How do we want people to feel after interacting with us?

Because people may forget your tagline.

They may forget your campaign.

They may even forget what you sold them.

But they'll remember how you made them feel.

Dolly made people feel good.

She made people feel seen.

And she gave more than she took.

That's why, decades into her career, people didn't just love Dolly Parton.

They wanted to see her win.

And maybe that's the best lesson she ever taught me.

I know this week's newsletter was a little less funny than usual, but I promise I'll be back to making annoying Gen Z jokes next week.

Until then, if anyone needs me, I’ll be listening to Dolly on a loop for the foreseeable future in my “I ❤️ Dolly Parton, Tennessee, and the Vols” shirt like the deeply normal person I am. 🪕💋

—Maddie