by Kirby Hasseman
If you had told me, when I was first watching Billy Madison, that I was watching one of the most bankable movie stars of the next 20 years, I would not have believed you. Adam Sandler was silly, obnoxious, absurd and, well, funny. But I did not see this as an act someone could ride for more than one movie or two.
I would have been wrong. Way wrong.
For years, Adam Sandler has made movies and money at the box office. He has had some really fun movies (Happy Gilmore, Waterboy and Grown ups) and he has made some bad ones (think Grown ups 2). But whether you like Sandler or not, I think he has several things to teach us about business.
Do What You Do: Sandlers first movies were obviously not Academy Award winners. But he found a formula that worked, and he stuck to it. He was the goofy underdog that overcomes in the end. Then, obviously a sports lover, he started making silly movies about sports. He found his niche, and did not try to be something he was not.
Lesson: Find your niche. Be authentic.
Have A Crew: One thing that always catches my eye with Sandler movies, is he has a consistent group of friends that he works with. Sure, he is obviously buddies with Chris Rock, David Spade and Kevin James. But his other cast of characters comes with him on nearly every project too. When you have a crew you enjoy working with (and trust), keep working with them!
Lesson: Find a team you trust…and stick with them.
Be Willing To Fail: Though I enjoy some of Sandler’s movies, he has certainly has had some stinkers (Jack and Jill and Little Nicky come to mind). But each of these has involved him trying something and taking some creative risks. The fact is, once people hit a certain level of success, many people don’t want to try something new. They don’t want to fail. I love that Sandler is willing to try some off the wall things. They either work, or they don’t. But he is already off to something new.
Lesson: Take creative risks. Failure is not the end of the world.
Let Others Shine: As I mentioned, Sandler clearly likes working with friends. He has even created a production company that produces movies that he is not even in! He lets some of his other friends take the lead and showcase their talents whether he is involved on screen or not.
Lesson: You don’t always have to be center stage. Let others have the spotlight.
Be Willing to Branch Out: Once he established himself in Hollywood, I like that Sandler did do some more family friendly movies. Though he still has his core characters, he has done some movies that the whole family can enjoy.
Lesson: Once you have a track of success, continue to grow. The most successful people, in any arenas, can teach us lessons we can emulate. Adam Sandler has created an amazing career that nearly anyone could envy. And best of all, it seems like he enjoys it too. Bravo.
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by Kirby Hasseman
My awesome wife (yes my wife is the best) bought me tickets to go see Garth Brooks in concert for Christmas. So I was lucky enough to be among the thousands of fans to see him in Pittsburgh recently. The show was truly outstanding. Whether you are a fan of his music or not, Garth puts on a show to remember. What an entertainer!
But it got me thinking, “What can I take away from this? What can I learn?” So here is what I came up with…5 Lessons to Learn from a Garth Brooks Concert!
The Power of the Wink: Gary Vaynerchuk actually talks about this concept. Garth understands that there is a huge amount of power in making each person in the stadium feel special. He runs around the stage so he spends time really singing and engaging with each section. He waves at individuals, slaps hands, and spends real moments that will create raging fans for life.
Lesson: Each customer matters…do you make them feel special?
Do More: The show was amazing. At the end of the event, I was tired! We had gone on a journey and stood and sang along. We had laughed and cried and screamed. And all I could think was, “He is going to do this again…tonight!” Garth scheduled two shows at 6:30pm and 10:30pm. Now that is ambitious.
Lesson: Want to grow your business? Do more than most people think is reasonable.
Bring The Energy: The reason I was so amazed that he was going to do this twice was, the level of energy he brought to the show was off the charts! He ran around and sang and screamed and (it seemed) had a great time. The audience responded to his passion by screaming louder (which I am sure fed his energy again).
Lesson: Your energy can really be contagious…is yours worth catching?
Play The Favorites: Garth actually talked about this during the show. He said when you come to see your favorite entertainer, it’s okay to hear the “new stuff.” But you bought the ticket to hear the old favorites. He’s right. The same is true for your customers. If you won them over with fantastic service, don’t change that model if you grow. Do what you do best!
Lesson: Don’t lose sight of what makes you special.
Let Your Team Shine: Around the middle of the show, Garth brought out his wife Trisha Yearwood to the stage. She is a talented entertainer in her own right and she did several great tunes from her career. In addition, both Trisha and Garth took the backseat as they welcomed one of their back-up singers to to front of the stage. She had written one of the songs Trisha was performing so they let her sing lead (and she was awesome). It was a cool moment for her and it made you like Garth and Trisha even more.
Lesson: Don’t be afraid to let your team members take the spotlight sometimes! It makes you look good.
What a show! If you get the chance to see it, I recommend it. And if you do (or if you have already seen him) let me know what lessons I missed! Remember…Sail Your Vessel!
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by Kirby Hasseman
We have all been there. It might be a situation or a person, but we have all had that moment. It’s a place I like to call “At Wit’s End.” Let me paint a picture. You know you have a busy day, so you make it a point to get up early. Your alarm goes off, and you are just plain tired. But because of your full day, you drag yourself out of bed. When you head through the darkness to the kitchen to make coffee, you stub your toe on the coffee table. Then you make coffee and you sit down to get started on your computer. But the puppy hears you up and starts to bark. In order to keep him quiet, you run up to get him and take him outside. While you are outside the coffee overflows and makes a mess on the kitchen floor. While cleaning that up, the puppy makes a mess by the door (you were just out!). This series of events continues and, despite getting up early, you get nothing pro-active done for the day. You take a deep breath. It’s fine. You can just get ahead once you get to the office. But the trend continues. You get cut off in traffic. You spill your coffee on yourself on the way. You get stuck behind a train. You get a nasty email from a client. Then you get a nasty follow up email from the boss (who was copied in on the client email). The day just spirals out of control. You are “At Wit’s End.” In order to take a break you head to get some Sprite out of the fridge. You had some in there for moments like this. But you reach into the box and the Sprite is gone. Someone had helped themselves to your drinks! Naturally…you lose your mind. You yell to everyone in the office! You throw the box. You stomp, carry on and generally throw a tantrum. And all anyone in the office knows is someone took your last $.50 can of sugar water. Jeesh. What a baby. But you and I know it wasn’t the Sprite. It was a whole series of unrelated events that led you here. The Sprite was just “the last straw.” We understand the concept of “the last straw.” Most of us have used it or heard it on more than one occasion. But have you noticed, it’s always in the negative. I get it. That’s just the connotation. But have you ever considered it a different way? Let’s take sales. You have reached out to the prospect again and again. You feel like they are a great fit. They have even given you some positive feedback. But time after time, you send proposals and presentations…and nothing. You have been charming and professional. You just can’t seem to break through. Then one day, after a seemingly innocuous email, they take the next step! It wasn’t that you were more brilliant on that point of contact. It was just “the last straw.” Or how about Content? You have written that blog over and over. You work to cover interesting topics and give your specific take. You have a point of view. It’s well written. It’s targeted to a great audience. But day after day, week after week, very little action is happening. Then one day it changes. One day a blog takes off. It gets shared. It drives leads. It hits the mark. Was it that this particular blog was the best one yet? Or was it just “the last straw?” Keep showing up. Keep providing value. Keep doing your good work. You never know when this will just be “the last straw.” Make sure you never miss an update! Today might be the last straw for you. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We gather each piece of content and send one email, so you have them in one place. Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. It seems like the whole world starts trying to celebrate Christmas after Labor Day. But I like the idea of gathering with family and friends, with no gifts, and being grateful. And this week I have talked a bit about being grateful and kind in our lives here. But today I wanted to say “thank you” to you. Yes…you. Since May 31st I have been writing a blog post here every day. It’s been fun on some days and a struggle on others. But I have put something up here each day. And today, it occurs to me, that many of you have read quite a few of them. That means a lot to me. So I am grateful for you. In honor of that, and in honor of those that have joined in along the way, I have decided to share some of the most read blogs here. 5 Books I Recommend: There are some cool books on this list, and it ties to my podcast. But this one took off because my good buddy, Jeff Haden, shared it! He is a Linkedin influencer (and this features one of his books). I Am Not For Everyone: This is one that caught we off guard. I took this from a conversation I was having and post it at the last minute. But it must have struck a nerve! Sometimes authenticity and vulnerability matter. 3 Lessons from Bohemian Rhapsody: My wife and I enjoyed this movie (regardless of reviews) and it made me think. I woke up the next morning thinking about the band’s journey. Here is what I took from it. 5 Lessons from Skucamp: It’s funny. This event has obviously left an impression with me. I posted about it yesterday here. But my original post about my lessons from the overall event still have people checking it out. 5 Book I Want My Daughters to Read: Yes, I am all about books. But this book list is foundational for personal development (from my perspective). Check out the list here…and read them! So like I said, today I want to say “thank you.” I really appreciate you taking the time to read, engage, share and grow! Let me know if I can help you! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here! Each week we put together one email with all of the content of the week and send it to you!
by Kirby Hasseman
Fact > Opinion Here’s a troubling thing about social media and our culture today. We have blurred the lines between opinions and facts. I tell you this and it’s a FACT! Careless Whisper is a terrible song! I mean, what kind of lyric is “Guilty feet have got no rhythm,” anyway? It’s so bad! Though I stand by that statement, it’s my opinion. It’s not a fact. And one of the biggest challenges I see to real truth telling in the world today is that (ever more) blurred line. It certainly starts with our traditional media. At one point, our news was brought to us at 6pm and 11pm and was designed to be informative in nature. Here are the events of the day But what media companies have discovered is that controversial opinions move the needle on viewership…and eyeballs mean advertising dollars. So more and more of what you see on the “news” is simply someone’s opinion on the events. It’s a line that has become difficult to see if you are not looking for it. But it’s not the media’s fault, my friends. It’s ours. Why? Well first of all, the media is a reflection of what interests us. If we stop watching, and ratings plummet, they will change. They are a business. So if we continue to gobble it up, they will continue to serve us. That’s part one. But maybe more importantly is what we do with the information that is served to us. What do we do with it? So often, we take the information at face value, with no research or thought, and we regurgitate it. Hateful and deceitful and, at the very least wildly biased messages get shared again and again. That, my friends, is not the media. That’s us. And you might say that “it’s the same for both sides of any argument.” You would be right…sort of. The fact is, more and more today we can shut out any voice that does not agree with us. We can block them on social media. We can watch only the the networks we agree with. We can attend only the events that rally our emotions. It becomes an echo chamber and that sort of distorted information channel is dangerous. What does this mean for you? It means, most likely, you have really strong opinions on most matters. They might even FEEL like facts. But have you really listened to both sides? Have you really dug in? Have you really done the research to understand the specifics? If so, cool. Let’s talk about it. I will probably still view it as your opinion…but at least it will be an educated opinion. If not, do us all a favor. Keep it to yourself. It’s time to get educated each week! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
