Leadership lessons from pop culture
The BIG Takeaway™
newsletter
April 18, 2022

​What leaders can learn from TV, sports and movies this week

Hello current and aspiring leaders!

The pop culture tsunami continued this week with the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the NBA playoffs, the Boston Marathon, Jackie Robinson Day and lots of new shows.
  • Sadly, on Friday, April 15, Liz Sheridan died; she played Jerry’s mom on "Seinfeld." Every mom's view of their kids can be seen in this one clip.

​This week I am going to focus on building your personal brand.
  • Season six of "Better Call Saul" premiers tonight. I will use the award-winning show as the foundation for this week's skill to work on.
​
👉​Amazing stat:  $6.8 billion.
  • The amount of money trial lawyers spent on more than 77 million local and national advertisements from 2017 to 2021.
  • There are about 50,000 ambulances in America; the $6.8 billion could buy all of them. Why not just buy the ambulances and streamline the process?

    "Take live tuna fish and feed them mayonnaise." - Michael Keaton in the 1982 film "Night Shift"

​Off we go.

Rich Trombetta
@trombettarich
April 18, 2022
Section No. 1: This week's big takeaway
Building your authentic personal brand is a key to success
Image: AMC
A Brand new you
Lessons from the hit show "Better Call Saul"

The context: "Better Call Saul" is a prequel to AMC's "Breaking Bad."
  • Bob Odenkirk plays Jimmy McGill, a cash-strapped lawyer who works and lives out of the back of a nail salon.

  • McGill grew up in Chicago and had the nickname Slippin' Jimmy because he would fake falls on sidewalk ice and scam people for money.

  • His scams eventually catch up with him; he moves to Albuquerque, New Mexico and becomes an attorney. I won't spoil things for you.

Watch this clip: McGill watches episodes of "Matlock" to learn how to woo elder clients, going so far as to change the suits he wears.

  • Also, despite being a solo practitioner, he answers his phone pretending to be a receptionist with a British accent.

  • He explains that his piece-of-junk car is just a loaner and that his Mercedes is "in the shop."

  • Throughout the series McGill constantly presents one image to the world but, inside, can't escape the fact he is still Slippin' Jimmy.

What we can learn:  You are who you are and trouble starts when you try to be someone that you're not.
  • A personal brand is similar to a company brand; think of Apple, McDonald's, Honda and other prominent companies.

  • These companies go to extremes to create, promote and protect their brands. Their reputation is at stake and their clients have an expectation of the type of product or service they are purchasing.

  • Most importantly, companies need to be authentic. McDonald's can't trick people into believing that a Big Mac should cost as much as filet mignon at a fancy restaurant. The McRib...maybe that is a trick.

My take: Go to extreme lengths to create, promote and protect your authentic personal brand.
  • The lines between personal and professional life are blurring. Why someone would post something on Twitter that can get them fired is perplexing.

    Why people post almost anything on Twitter is perplexing as well. Does the world really need to know you just ate a Chalupa at Taco Bell?

  • In our "look at me!" culture what you say, how you dress, the people you associate with - EVERYTHING - is becoming public knowledge; proceed with caution.

  • Above all, don't try to be something that you're not. 

​A quote to drive the message home:
  • “Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn't make me Madonna. Never will.” - Joan Cusack in the 1988 movie "Working Girl."
​​
THE BIG TAKEAWAY:  ​
  • ​​Building your personal brand isn't about tricking people; it's about communicating "this is the true me."


ACTION STEPS

👉​What you can do on your own: 
  • ONE: Ask this question: What is the first thing people think of when they see or hear your name? Review our "Self-awareness is your superpower" edition for tips on how to be able to answer that question.

  • TWO: Think about your reaction to the next phone call, text or email you receive. Look at the person's name. Did you think "excellent, [name] is emailing me!" 😊 or "Ugh. [Name] is emailing me." 😢 That is the power of a personal brand.

  • THREE: Download and use our FREE "Building Your Personal Brand" workbook. It is a step-by-step approach to creating an authentic and powerful personal brand.
Personal Brand Workbook
File Size: 143 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
👉​What you can do with others:
  • Use our discussion guides with your team or other colleagues to dig deeper into this topic. (Instead of a book club I like to think of this as our "movie-or-TV club") This week: What is your team's brand?​​
Did you know we can design a custom leadership program based on topics like the one above? Click the button to learn more.
Section No. 2: Take 30 seconds
Learning from commercials
 Video: YouTube
You won't be able to stop singing this jingle
  • ​Lawyers couldn't advertise until a Supreme Court decision in 1977; Warren E. Burger was the chief justice during the ruling.  Mmmm. Burger. 

  • Thanks to judges who studied at some of the most prestigious law schools and were given life-time appointments to the bench we now have spectacular ads like the one above. Who says the American legal system is broken?

  • There's actually a great lesson in this video: The attorney has a niche (billsbills.com), a catchy jingle and he knows his target audience; he embraces his brand and goes all in.

    BIZZARE FACT: I Googled where this lawyer's office is located and I learned I worked across the street from the guy about 20 years ago. Couldn't make that up.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY: 
  • ​Define your personal brand and lean in to it. Own it. Be it.
Section No. 3: What to watch this week
Image: Apple TV
📺 Here's what I will be watching this week:​​
​
  • More NBA playoffs, especially the Celtics. I beg you to PLEASE watch this clip as Shaq explains how to manage your trips to the gas station.
  • "Is it Cake?" on Netflix. Why is this show so addicting? Must be the sugar.
  • "Better Call Saul" on Monday, April 18 on AMC.
  • "They Call Me Magic" on April 22 on Apple TV. Between this and "Winning Time" I guess Lakers fans need something to watch. 😁
 Section No. 4: Quick info and dogs
 Image: Pexels
Here are some quick links:
  • 🎓 Learn: Follow Salman (Sal) Khan, Founder of Khan Academy; he is revolutionizing how people learn. He is one of my heroes.
  • 💼 A business life hack: Love the measure app. 
  • 💪 Inspiration: The power of sport. 
  • 🐕​  Smile: Our weekly dog video. ENJOY! 
Section No. 5: Have fun
Let's vote. Would you rather...
A. Have the "Pay me, pay me, pay me" jingle in section No. 2 above be the only song you could ever listen to for your entire life OR
B. Pay $99 per month for your entire life to never have to hear the song again
That's all for now

Thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying this newsletter. I some big plans in the works so stay tuned.

​Please remember:
  • We archive our stories and put them here for the world to read so feel free to have a look.
  • If you have any ideas or feedback Contact me with your thoughts.
  • We can create a custom newsletters​ and training on the topics we write about.
"Read me, read me, read me...read...me...now!"
​
Rich Trombetta
​@trombettarich

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