“That guy who usually works with you, he is just lovely.” This comment came from another veteran communications colleague this week who us used to dealing with the massive egos in and around business, sports and entertainment, and I guess she found it refreshing that in a competitive world of communications with people yelling over each other being nice was…sadly…refreshing.
Maybe it’s the culture we are in or the demands of a 24/7 world, but time and again over the last few weeks I have heard more than a few people, especially those in communications from politics to the NBA, talk about the meanness that an industry based on relationships has fallen into. No is the first word, sometimes without even listening, and frankly it really is counterintuitive into how to be a successful communicator.
The goal folks, isn’t no, it’s how to do the things to get stuff done. A few weeks ago my colleague Mandy O’Donnell came to talk to our class at Columbia, and in the midst of her very positive talk on creating storytelling, she discussed the fact that “NO many times means NOT NOW,” and that you usually have to be able to listen really well to find ways to get things done and tell solid stories. Overcoming the no by being a little nice, and working together, still works well in problem solving as much as storytelling.
Recently I caught up with one of the best proactive storytellers I know, Warriors communications guru Ray Ridder. Ray, who has seen Golden State at 19 wins and 71 wins, remains a pillar of proactive storytelling and finding ways to get things done even with new layers of “people” advising his high level clients. Despite the extra efforts and voices that need to be heard and trusted, he always seeks out the best stories and finds ways to get them told. It would be very easy to just sit back and always say no. Ridder holds that hammer. However being nice and finding ways to get things done has made him a Hall of Fame storyteller.
Nice works.
Now the little things and being nice are not always easy. The pressure to compete and to stay relevant and active can be very difficult. However the best in any aspect of business do find the ways to do the nice, and the right things, especially with a newer workforce that is much more attune to culture and empathy than years past. One who I recently observed doing the little things, the nice things, in the heat of competition is Chief Executive Officer at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Scott O’Neil. We were sitting a few rows behind Scott at a Sixers game last Friday, a game which was headed to overtime against the Charlotte Hornets. However in the midst of talking to people around him, watching the game and doing the things CEO’s do, he saw a little girl sitting off to his right. Without saying a word he walked around a few sections grabbed a tee-shirt and brought it back as an unexpected surprise for the girl. No one noticed except me, but that’s how you build fans for life. You look, you listen, you watch, you do the little things, and you be nice. Her family may not have even known who he was, but he made the girls night.
Do the right thing.
Of course no one can be on all the time, and sometimes it’s just easier to look away or say no. It’s the easy way out. However I believe finding creative ways to GSD, and storytelling is infinitely more enjoyable. And so is being nice. Just ask the little girl who Scott O’Neil gave a tee too, or the school paper the Warriors PR honcho quietly hooked up. Those rewards are infinitely better than 
being mean.
Goes around comes around.
