If you’ve listened to the radio in the past few months, you’ve likely heard of the song Old Town Road by the rapper Lil Nas X. It’s a catchy songs that lies in the midpoint between country and rap, an uncommon combination but one that’s quite successful with executed correctly. At the time of this posting, the song is on its ninth consecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100. This is an impressive feat that only a handful of songs have ever accomplished, but it wasn’t luck. Lil Nas X figured out how to make a song successful and put a plan into motion. The important thing about his plan: it worked.