Leadership lessons from pop culture
The BIG Takeaway™
newsletter
July 4, 2022

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

Hello current and aspiring leaders! Happy Fourth of July!

​Before we get into the BIG Takeaway here are some highlights from a wild week in pop culture:

  • One: UCLA and USC left the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten.
    For those keeping track at home, the Big Ten now has 16 teams, the Big 12 has 10 and Pittsburgh is in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The bottom line is my alma mater, UMass, still stinks.

  • Two: "Stranger Things" released more episodes.
    In one episode a person testified before Congress that a former President grabbed the steering wheel of his bullet-proof car and smashed his lunch against the wall. Wait. I'm thinking of the wrong "Stranger Things."

  • Three: "Only Murders in the Building" returned for season 2.
    Any show where Steve Martin and Martin Short concoct an idea to bring Sting a turkey for breakfast is definitely worth watching. Related Sting note: I still love Eddie Murphy's version of "Roxanne" from 1982 film "48 Hours."

  • Speaking of "Only Murders in the Building"...this week I am going use an element of the show to show why it's critical to remove (or not hire) any jerks on your team.

    Sounds like an obvious approach, right? 

Let's go.

Rich Trombetta
@trombettarich
July 4, 2022
This week's BIG Takeaway:
Just be nice 
Image: Hulu
Only nice people in the building
​Being kind might be the most critical business skill

The context: "Only Murders in the Building" is a show on Hulu starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short.

  • These three strangers decide to work together to solve a murder in their Manhattan apartment building.

  • Along the way they decide to make a podcast about their investigation; the three have very different personalities and some fairly wacky quirks, but they somehow make it all work.

  • During each episode they gel as a team and, despite some ups and downs and moments of suspicion, they have sincere care for one another and are truly nice people.

What we can learn: Hire nice people and the rest will follow.
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  • The trio has no specific skills related to crime investigation or podcasting. However, they work together so well that...(I won't spoil it for you).

  • They also haven't completed a personality assessment, participated in a team development activity or worked through conflict management scenarios.

  • They naturally work through conflict, respectfully challenge assumptions and are motivated by a common goal; no one is in charge and there are no titles.

My take: Step 1 - be nice. Step 2 - See step 1.

  • Think about when people are gossiping, cc'ing someone's boss, wanting it their way, fighting for a certain title, arguing about what type of muffins to serve (true story), talking behind people's back, embarrassing someone publically - it is all destructive and can solved with one behavior: BE NICE.

  • We have all violated the BE NICE rule; some more than others. Speaking for myself, there are some things I wish I could go back and redo; but I can't.

  • And that is the lesson - just be nice and the rest will follow. Being nice AND advancing your career aren't mutually exclusive.

    Side note: Watch this clip (NSFW) from the 1989 movie "Roadhouse" to help the message sink in. My goodness. This clip could be an entire MBA course! So many great lessons.

The BIG Takeaway:
Just be nice​​
Let's put this into action
Image: Pexels
👉​What you can do on your own: 
📢​ What you can do with others:
  • USE OUR DISCUSSON GUIDES: Work with your team or other colleagues to dig deeper into this week's topic. Instead of a book club I like to think of this as our "movie-or-TV club." 
    ​This week: Be nice​
Did you know we can design and deliver custom classes or programs based on topics we write about?

​Click the button to learn more.

Before we end here's our weekly grab bag of quick links
😁 Smile: Best friends. Dogs are the best.

🎓 Learn: Read about Robert Sutton, author of "The No A**hole Rule."
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🌷 Relax:  Detach by playing this drawing game.
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That's all for now

​Thanks for reading and 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 custom newsletters​ and training sessions on the topics we write about.
Rich Trombetta
​@trombettarich

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