Business Etiquette: Success in 3 Simple Steps

by | Feb 20, 2013

Kindness is Key to Success
 
Tampa Bay Buccaneer Rookies
 
I love working with collegiate and professional athletes and their teams. Their determination, talent, and possibility fascinate me. The possibility is my favorite because I have seen what working just 1% harder yields for a hopeful young man or women. Also, the range and strength of using their soft social skills is key. Determination and soft social skills intelligence usually predicts how long and successful they will be; whether it’s a short 60 months or a beautiful 60 years.

Athletes with the most determination and best soft social skills win. They win in triplicate.

  1. For their team from the front and back offices to the ticket takers, to their fellow teammates…not just in their playing years but for many years to come.
  2. They win for their fans and families, present and future as well as their local and hopefully their global community.
  3. They win for their personal brand and professional longevity, resulting in a long and engaging career filled with media endorsements, speaking engagements, book deals, etc.

I had the good fortune to work with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past year. They were amazing young men each and everyone. One of the players had such wonderful communication skills and manners (Not fancy! Just kind!). I knew immediately he would be the one to win a coveted
position on the team and he did. And yes! he is written about favorably in the media and gaining lots of respect from the seasoned players as well.

He comes from a single parent home, where I read his mother had to work several jobs to keep the house running. It doesn’t take money, Ivy League Schools and a name like Vanderbilt to become successful. Thank
God…because I had none of those either.
When I work with college and professional athletes to build, strengthen, and maintain their brand, they side eye me when I walk into the room. But within three minutes we are off and running with our interactive and roleplaying training because they know I am teaching them the national laws of a good life…That we all want to matter at our cores and that what you put out there boomerangs back at you, at warp speed.
Guess what? This is true for all of us, not just professional athletes. We all have a team, fans, and a community that is pulling for us….

Honor your team. With your words, thoughts and daily actions show respect and gratitude. Whether it’s an office of 100 or a neighborhood book club, your team will make you shine and carry you places you could never go alone.

Honor your fans. We all have fans, whether it is the intern in your office or a neighbor that loves your landscape or culinary skills. When you have a fan it means they have hope in you… Honor that hope as they will carry your brand places you could never reach.

Honor your community. Add value to your borderless community and it will be your biggest cheering section in good, as well as, challenging times.
There isn’t a single one of us that doesn’t want a long and beautiful career and to be loved and respected. What will you do with your next 60 months? It all hinges on the way we treat our team, fans, families and communities. If we take our soft social skills into each of these relationships with the intention of honor, kindness and respect., the outcome will yield rewards unimagined.