Be The Person Everybody Wants to Work With

NOTE: The context of this post was written with controversy as a way to stand out in or get ahead in an industry and work setting. My remarks here do NOT pertain to or include issues of diversity, equality or other cultural, political or human rights issues. Please take a stand on those. I stand with you.

Early on as I was building and growing iThemes, I thought to myself:

Be the person everybody wants to work with

There will always be the people who choose the shortcut of controversy to get attention, but I choose to do the opposite.

Because here’s the deal: Choosing to be controversial might get you short term attention, but it has consequences.

I didn’t want to repel people …. I wanted to attract the best people.

So that belief formulated my actions and reactions for past next decade, with two basic values steering my way:

• Be gracious and generous with my time, experience and connections.
• Be good people. Do right by people every damn time.

Why?

Well, there’s two simple reasons for me:

• It’s the way I do human. And frankly, the way I think we all be doing it.
• Vast unexpected or intended opportunities that blossom from it. See all Cultivate Epic Relationships.

This applies to entrepreneur, leaders and any professisonal …. and here are some more specific benefits if you need more convincing:

• Earns you a stellar reputation
• Become magnetic for the best relationships which lifts you higher as a person — You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, kind of thing.
• Compels others to talk well of you, refer you, etc to their spheres of influence
• Everybody will root you on too

I believe it’s the reason why Rebecca, Jeff, Brian, Jonathan, and others were open and trusted me to partner up.

Be the person all the best people want to work with. It pays off richly.